Flat over brow

Last week I was most fortunate to meet many extraordinary people and a few of the conversations stood out:

Speaking with legendary racing driver Barrie “Whizzo” Williams who rallied at the highest level in the 60s and is now known for his expertise at the wheel of historic and classic racing cars.

Discussing Cyber Security Challenge UK with Lieutenant Colonel Nigel Harrison, MBE, decorated for his part in the liberation of Kuwait during the first Gulf War. 

Also a lively discussion with Tanya Rennick, the energetic force behind The Oyster Club, London’s Premier Networking Club.  

Watch this space….

So, flat over brow, not a term I was familiar with.  Those of you who know a little (or a lot) about rallying will be aware that it means flat out, over the blind brow of a hill, requiring complete trust in your navigator or co-driver.  What transpired in discussion with Whizzo was not so much the "flat over brow" but the "right hand turn 50ft" immediately afterwards, in thick fog!  

"Flat over brow" seems to me to epitomize trust, that well-worn word that is talked about such a lot, but maybe not as truly practiced as it might be.  Not so in my discussions above, these truly inspiring individuals expressed candidly that if it hadn’t been for the trust in team or indeed trust in self, they wouldn’t be where they are today. 

As Ernest Hemingway eruditely put it "the best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them”. 

Will you? 

A little bit scared......

‘Do one thing everyday that scares you’ Eleanor Roosevelt famously quoted. 

Easily said and quoted, a little less easy to do. Of course when we do something that scares us slightly  (or a lot) we learn, grow and develop even if we don’t feel that way at the time. 

   It is oft noted that people perform rather well when scared too. 

This week I’ve been very fortunate to meet three incredibly inspiring individuals who have each done things that many of us would consider a little bit, if not downright scary; Toby Younger who finished one of the toughest races on the planet, The Dakar, on a motorbike earlier this year, his first attempt.

Rene Carayol, an inspiring leader who regularly speaks out and asks the difficult and challenging questions irrespective of who may or may not like it.  He is formidable in his beliefs and wonderfully provocative.

And Paul Gurney, an adventurer who in a twelve month period is tackling both the 5 week extreme race to the magnetic North Pole and the Marathon des Sables. 

Watch this space.....

Fear is a curious emotion, that I’ve yet to completely comprehend. However, what I do know from the course of my work and general observation is that the majority of us spend our lives not only living in fear, but allowing it to dictate the terms of what we call life.

Whilst fear for sure has the potential to hold us back, being scared isn’t always quite as bad as it first appears.  Being scared generally means opportunities for growth and a step towards what’s outside that comfort zone and as those of you who know me will know, I’m all for that.

If we face our fears rather than run from them, our perspective on what we can and can’t deal with, will change (and usually for the better).

And of course, when we look back over the years, those things that we were fearful or scared of, don’t phase us anymore. 

Obviously, we all wish to be safe and tend to design the world around us to be just that, though deep down many of us a crave a little bit more ‘scary’ in our lives. 

Not all ‘scary’ is created equal.  Fear and feeling scared is universal, though some see fear and use it as fuel to create the life they desire.

I happen to think a little bit of scared is a good thing, so long as it doesn’t stop you in your tracks?  

What will you do today that scares you?

(PS. I’ve signed up for a challenge next year  - not immediately scary from where I’m sitting, tea in hand, but thinking about it surprisingly so). 

What's your passion?

This weekend I felt very privileged to attend The Goodwood Revival meeting in West Sussex.  A veritable hotbed of exquisite historic cars, aeroplanes, fashion, music and memorabilia of a bygone era, not the mention the superb motor racing for which the event has an unrivalled reputation. 

I believe it was Fangio, the Argentinean Formula One racing driver of formidable achievement who said, “You need great passion, because everything you do with great pleasure, you do well”.

From a spotless original 1965 Ford Transit, The Shelby Cup, a tribute to Dan Gurney to a grid value of c £300,000,000 worth of historic race Ferrari’s  - the magic and sparkle one could almost hold.   Now for those of you who are not particularly interested in things ‘petrol-head’, this is not the purpose of the post.

It was the passion and unbridled enjoyment that was palpable. Not only for the cars, the planes, the history, the racing, the clothes (that’s another post entirely) the atmosphere at this event was inspiring and extremely pleasurable. I met people from all walks of life, had conversations with more strangers in a day than I’ve done for ages and met one or two celebrities to boot. The passion of individuals for their cars, racing, the era, the clothes or just to enjoy a day at Goodwood House, was incredible.

I don’t think there was one vehicle, plane or person there that wasn’t immaculately turned out, well maybe one or two, but you get my point.

It may be the legacy of the success of the Olympics, the sheer passion and attention to detail for this event by Lord March and his team, or the sunny day that made the difference.  However, living in challenging times, with volatile markets and economies, if finding our passion for what we care about makes such a big difference; to us, our friends and families, our companies, motor-racing events, then surely that’s the way to go. 

As Disraeli said “ Man (or woman) is only truly great when he acts from his passions”.

What’s yours?

Are you living or working to Gold Standards?

What a phenomenal achievement; 65 Team GB Olympic medalists, an uplifting and inspiring fortnight and a certain ‘joie de vivre’ around the capital city.  What a lot to celebrate!

Andrew Hunt, CEO of the British Olympic Association has been talking widely about the magic that the immense collaboration and support of our amazing sports men and women has enabled in terms of success and medals.  Yes, they are incredible athletes in their own right however as so many have attested and in some instances in a very moving way, it was also about the team around them.

Be it in sports or in business, it is very well documented that teamwork, collaboration and cohesiveness really does pay dividends and that feeling of being part of a community or something bigger than oneself is part of being human.

Last week I had a meeting in Westminster followed by one near Green Park in London and I decided to walk, as it was a nice day.  Now, this was right in the middle of the Olympic fortnight and my route took me past Buckingham Palace – it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea and might make me late.  It didn’t. It was also a most palpable and memorable experience, there were hoards and hoards of people (they were changing the guard too) but the atmosphere was electric.  There was an immense feeling of camaraderie, support, happiness perhaps and just an enjoyment of being part of something very big and very special.

I met one of the Games Makers (the volunteers who gave up their time to work at the Olympics for free) yesterday and he very humbly said, it was one of the most amazing experiences of his life.  He has traveled the world and sat on the boards of some of the world’s most illustrious companies, so he’s had some experience in his life.

The focus and dedication of the sportsmen and women is just extraordinary, and as many of them have said ‘ if you really want something’ you can. The Team GB women’s hockey players who won bronze medals have talked widely about their pact and commitment to each other some years ago in 2009 to train and live their lives at gold standards.  That’s just what they did and made some monumental sacrifices along the way. They defined their goals, refined along the way and now have the medals to prove it. If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is.

Great success and achievement comes from hard work, focus, teamwork, tracking progress and celebrating the small stuff and the big stuff along the way. 

So, if gold is what you’re seeking in any area of your life  - are you living or working to gold standards?

Or perhaps we could all take a leaf out of Eric Idle’s book (Olympic closing ceremony) and ‘always look on the bright side of life, de doo, de doo, de doo de doo.’ Not a bad place to start.