Singapore business lessons from the Olympic and Paralympic games

The business world is driven by motivation and opportunity, of which there could be no more dramatic illustration than the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In those few amazing weeks we saw what motivation is all about. Although some of those Olympic stars will become rich on the back of their achievements, they are not motivated primarily by money. They are simply determined to make the best of whatever talent they happen to have.

The same goes for the Paralympians, except that until quite recently, there was hardly any opportunity for people with disabilities to progress in sport. Now, thanks to changing social attitudes, government action and technological advances, a growing number have that opportunity, and a lot of eyes have been opened by the results.

The motivation of all these athletes increases as they acquire coaches, teams and supporters, whom they dare not let down. And the combination of motivation and opportunity makes almost anything possible.

So how can we transfer the lessons from the 2012 Games to the business world of today? Let’s tackle motivation first. Why do most people go to work? Some do it to put bread on the table, others have more complicated aspirations, but almost all require some kind of job satisfaction. After all, work is a big part of our lives, and if we don’t find it rewarding, why would we carry on?

As for what makes a job satisfying, that depends on the person. Some need variety, adventure, responsibility or opportunity. The great majority want to feel they are making a difference. Everyone wants to feel valued.

This is where managers come in. It’s a truismthat while people join organizations, they almost invariably leave bosses. If you report to someone who treats you with consideration, acknowledges and rewards your successes, and helps you to be more productive, thereby boosting your own market value, you will not only want to stay, but will be encouraged to perform even better.

Good managers, like the coaches who bring the best out of Olympic athletes, have the vital quality of empathy – and thanks to Myers-Briggs and other psychometric techniques, it is much easier nowadays to identify those qualities and choose people who are likely to be effective in the role, instead of the old habit of promoting the person who achieved the best results in whatever their previous role was.

What good managers understand is that for the great majority, the strongest possible motivation is simply to be recognized for the work you do. That’s not so different from Olympic athletes. If you have witnessed the way in which these men and women typically congratulate each other at the end of a race, you will probably have understood that what matters most to them is the endorsement of the crowd and their fellow-competitors.

Many commentators were struck by the contrast between on the one hand, the wholehearted endeavor, camaraderie and generosity of Olympians and Paralympians, and on the other, the habitual dishonesty and occasional spitefulness of a good many professional footballers.

It corresponds remarkably closely to the difference in motivation, between those who do something for pride in achievement, along with mutual respect, and those who do it, above all, for money.

Let’s get back to opportunity. The Paralympics did much to highlight the welcome new opportunities for people with disabilities. And both games did a lot to advance the cause of women. Perhaps more than any previous Olympics, this was one in the women shared centre stage with the men.

The great news in the business world is that opportunities for women and people with disabilities have opened up simultaneously. There is one overwhelming reason for this: the rise in flexible working.

When new technology makes it possible for people to work at times and places of their own choosing, the old model of the weekday commuter – overwhelmingly male – is looking increasingly obsolete.

And the result is liberating for everyone. Suddenly it becomes possible for young parents, carers, or people with disabilities, to do themselves justice, and make valuable contributions to the corporate effort – from home, at different times of day, in many different ways. The new workforce is increasingly diverse, and all the better for it.

Regus did a study just over a year ago which showed that nearly half the global business population was expecting to hire mothers to work part-time over the next two years. In India, no fewer than 64 per cent of employers expect to hire mothers returning to work after the birth of children.

Along with changing social attitudes, it is technology that has done so much to widen opportunity, by changing the way in which business strategy is developed. The old model was for a standard to be set from corporate headquarters, which would then hire people for particular tasks. The modern business, by contrast, identifies the work that needs doing then allocates it as efficiently as possible, taking the work to the people.

Today, if you have the necessary qualities and qualifications, you don’t have to report to HQ like a worker bee to its hive. You can ask for the work to come to you, wherever you are in the world, whatever your personal circumstances. And you should be judged by results, not by appearances, nor by your ability to conform to a centrally dictated routine.

We do it within our own company too, identifying work that needs doing, then farming it out to the most suitable people we can find. And if those people get the results, we are looking for, the sky’s the limit. People in their 20s can find themselves leading our operations in one country. I am personally immensely proud of the many examples of senior people who have grown with the company. We like to promote from within, and we believe that by offering opportunities as widely as possible, we increase motivation.

Motivation and opportunity – it’s an unbeatable combination.