The Athlete's Mindset applied to Business

tag: unstoppable

One of the most critical reason's Jordan is Jordan and Lebron is Lebron is the intensity they bring to games and practice day in and day out.

Working with them is hard. They demand everything from themselves and their teammates too.

Business is fundamentally different than elite level sports, but the dev teams that bring intense focus and work ethic will gain a significant edge over the larger, business as usual organizations.

Netflix comes to mind as a company that brings an elite team mindset to the workplace.

How can I apply this to my work?

Think of my development sessions as a practice. When I am in dev mode, I am 100% focused and maniacal. I take risks, push myself, and expect greatness.

When I am working with others, I expect the same from them. I push them to be better and I show them that I am pushing myself too.

But also like an athlete, I understand that you can only intensely focus and practice for 4-5 hours max, and need time to recover and reflect. And while I need to reserve time to do email and meetings, it's not OK to clutter the rest of your day with endless busywork (which is energy draining).