When the project ends: Working towards legacy

Legend. Moody. Hero. Emotional. Powerful. Vulnerable.

There are many words required to adequately sum up Sir Andy Murray , who took to a tennis court for the very last time yesterday as his career ended in defeat at the International Olympic Committee – IOC 's Paris games last night, against #TeamUSA.

There is something about a British sportsperson that catapaults them to the status of icon; Olympic, or otherwise - but it isn't rip-roaring success...

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill . Sir Steve Redgrave. Sir Mo Farah . Nicola Adams. Tom Daley . Zara Phillips. Amir King Khan . Louis Smith. Adam Peaty OBE . and the list goes on, and on...

While some of these athletes reached the absolute zenith of their sports, many of them captured the hearts of sports fans and common folk alike - and it was their toil, their journey, and their commitment which imprinted them so indelibly on our collective consciousness.

Not all of us are privileged to have our life's work watched, critiqued, and analysed by the general public. Very few sportspeople escape the ire of the 'angry mob' at some point in their careers - and this is not limited to UK Athletics or any other sporting body - its not a British thing...

If you hadn't noticed, I repeatedly find myself drawing parallels between business and sports...

I am not delusional - the parallels are caveated, and limited in scope; but it did get me thinking about large projects, with big teams working on them and far bigger teams impacted by the outcome. So my musing for today is:

How do we build empathy and recognition of our work in business, the way sportspeople do?

This is clearly not a deeply scientific question; sportspeople attract fans who are passionate about the sport, or discipline - the pinnacle of sport is competition, so constantly refining and reviewing to gain an advantage - with a legacy of eternal glory for those who hold their nerve.

One thing I ma going to try to do is work harder on the 'passion' within my customers and prospects to achieve their goals...

I mean, nobody wakes up early and goes to the gym so that they are ready to procure software (even if it is Olympic-gold-level software, like Certinia #PSA (!)

But the partnerships we build with our customers are, in some way a sports-esque interaction;

• We work on a plan with a set goal
• We define the steps we need to take to achieve them
• In procurement, we work to outperform our competition to achieve the result desired...

But there are no medals, or national anthems, or knighthoods at the end of a project; most of the time there isn't even a promotion, or award to recognise the work. We just move onto the next one (not dissimilar to how athletes move on from competition, to competition.)

We always work hard to identify the Personal Value for decision makers - what drives them, what success from this project means for them personally, etc.

But I am proposing to go a step further, by unlocking that inner athlete that is striving to create a legacy - in me, and my customers!

By doing that, my relationship with customers will morph from trusted advisor (a safe pair of hands, and a sounding board) to a coach (providing real feedback, using data to prove the approach).

I'll see you at the next annual Sales Olympics 2025 - in London!