This summer the world is coming to London and along for the ride will be some of the best athletes the world has to offer. These athletes from swimming, gymnastics, sailing, and diving don't make it to the Olympics on sheer luck. They don't just sail into an Olympic venue and shine. Well come to think of it, some actually do.
A few years ago when I was studying for my exams I bought a book titled 'Sailing through Exams.' Of course it was meant to help you breeze through academic hardship. Just the other day, I overheard someone talking about our MPs and the amount of time they have off during the year, saying 'They might as well go sailing.' Do a Google search with the words 'sailing and economic times' and you will get a plethora of articles that read on 'How companies and CEO's are sailing through the recession.'
Sailing sounds so easy. So I wondered if our MPs could do it. But after spending some time with one of the top sailing teams in the world, I realised that our politicians wouldn't last for a day trying to battle the high seas.
Next week is the start of The Volvo Ocean Race, which is a round-the-world race that tests the endurance of expert sailing teams going for the gold. Chris Nicholson is the Skipper of Camper Emirates Team New Zealand. At age 42 he has been sailing professionally for over 20 years and has represented Australia at two previous Olympic Games. His motto he says is 'There are lots of ways to lose, but fewer ways to win.'
Sailing to the average person sounds like fun. A beautiful sail boat, the high seas, sun, a bottle of champagne and sunblock and you're off. But the truth is it takes dedication, commitment, teamwork, strategy, and a lot of hard work and a devoted team. Which one of these words can be attributed to our politicians who are in the news everyday trying to solve this economic mess we are in? They keep adding to the flame more of the same medicine that is getting us nowhere except deeper and deeper into recession.
Becoming a skipper to head a team of sailors is similar to running for office. You have to convince people you are the right man for the job. Your team and sponsorship company, just like the voters who elect MPs need to have confidence that you can get the job done. And believe it or not, the skipper just like the politician has a media man on board at all times to help craft and deliver the message.
Nicholson says 'Everything bad comes back to me and everything good just goes to glorify the team.' I couldn't help but think this was an interesting concept. In politics it's the complete opposite. A politician takes the credit for a great economy and blames the previous administration for a recession.
Over the next nine-months Nicholson will head a team of ten sailors into the seas of unpredictable weather conditions. Much in the same way our politicians are steering the boat into the most unpredictable economic times since the Great Depression. Piracy, debris in the water, hurricanes, and El Nino are just some of what the team is prepared to battle. 'I'm not sure of any other sport where there are more variables in the field, but the trick is how to limit some of those variables to some kind of controllable amount and that is what gives you a better chance of winning,' Nicholson says.
I wish our MPs would take some of this advice. When they decided to throw Britain into the age of austerity and cut spending across the board did they actually think about what some of the consequences would be? Clearly the latest economics figures prove we are sailing along the wrong path. The austerity measures have just stalled the economy, not kick started it as they told us it would. But the same old plan continues.
The attention last week focused on inflation rates and how they were rising in the UK. Of course the Bank of England and MPs moved their attention to rectify the problem and try to bring inflation down. I am not an economist but I can tell you that other countries like Argentina which currently have double digit inflation rates are seeing huge economic growth at the moment. So maybe it's time we look at a different strategy.
Nicholson and his team put together a strategy and dissect it every step of the way. If you think they have no one to answer to, well then you're wrong. Camper, the Spanish shoe company is sponsoring the team and forking over millions of pounds. Nicholson doesn't take the money and just sail. He provides a detailed cost analysis to Camper and emails them several times a day. I wish our MPs were able to account for every pence they spend, but I doubt they would be able to. Only when we pressure them with a freedom of information act do we find out their expenses are going to home gardening and porn.
By now you have read the headlines of our politicians spending hundreds of thousands of our taxpayer pounds to buy Olympic tickets in order to entertain dignitaries. Six days ago Hackney Council decided to spend another £46,000 on Olympic tickets despite approving £47 million in cuts this year.
Let's face it, the tickets are bought and plenty of MPs and politicians will be at the games shaking hands and taking pictures with Gold medal winners and showcasing the city of London. That is a guarantee.
But I do have one request for all these elected officials who claim to have the answers for our economic problems. Please take the time out to actually speak with the Olympic teams and athletes. Ask them about strategy, about team work, about how they got to the Olympics. Politicians are quick to look to their fellow suit and tie colleagues in the business community for advice. But I suggest making a change in direction. I suggest using the Olympics as an opportunity for MPs to learn from the hard work, strategy, and dedication that these fine men and women bring to sport.
We just about tried everything else. Why not look at athletes for some new direction. Who knows, they might just provide the right tools for smooth sailing.