This article featured in Scotland on Sunday on 10 October 2021.
When an Olympian steps on to the medal podium, their success is not by chance. Behind that moment of triumph lies years of hard work. They set clear goals, surround themselves with the best possible people and plan how they are going to reach them. No-one is in any doubt as to what they must do.
The same is true in business. Success generally comes by design - from that same laser focus that an elite athlete has on achieving their aim, with each member of the team clear on their part in order to be best prepared, overcome challenges, seize opportunity and celebrate victory.
I genuinely believe that lessons learned in sport can be used to create healthier, happier, more efficient workplaces - and vice-versa.
Mine is a view shaped not by theory, but moulded in real-life experience, having seen successes on the track and field, as well as in the boardroom. And I hope to toast many more wins in the sporting and commercial arenas in the years to come.
I was delighted recently to be appointed chair of UK Athletics, a position I take up having completed a nine-year spell in the same role at Scottish Athletics and alongside my day job as chief operating officer at independent Scottish legal firm Lindsays.
It is an exciting time to be taking the job on. Next year alone, there are three major championships - World, Commonwealth and European - in just six weeks.
I am looking forward to helping the organisation provide a positive environment for athletes, coaches, officials and everyone else involved in the sport to ensure we all perform our roles to the highest standard, giving Team GB and our individual sportsmen and women the greatest chances of success.
Announcing my appointment, UK Athletics said my business experience will be an asset to them.
Conversely, I hope my insight into athletics will bring a positive influence to my business life, where it is my job to get the best out of our team.
Whether as a competitor, coach or committee member over many years, my involvement in athletics has reinforced my belief in business that short, medium and long-term targets are critical to success.
Being organised in how you achieve that is important too.
When I was a student, I had a friend who played football at a decent level, for Queen’s Park. It always amazed me how he was always on top of his studies, despite having heavy training and playing commitments too. He was focussed, so did everything well. I’ve seen that time and again from people in sport and have tried to build strong organisation into my professional life.
As well as taking lessons on the art of the possible from sport, my involvement in athletics has also helped me realise the things that aren’t necessarily practical in commerce.
One big difference is that, in elite athletics, every 0.1% in performance matters. It could, indeed, make the difference between an Olympic medal or not.
As a chartered accountant, I am someone for whom numbers matter. Yet that pursuit of complete perfection can sometimes create an adverse effect in business in the same way in which it does not in sport.
Sometimes in business, you’re better operating at 95% across an entire firm than throwing everything into having one project at 100%. That will bring better results for companies as a whole.
In both sport and business, happiness is a critical part of achieving good physical health, mental health and professional productivity. At Lindsays, we have worked hard to create a working environment which achieves all three.
Professional services have often been seen as workplaces where presenteeism is king - where the longer you work, the further you go. That’s not right, in my view.
Over the years I have seen businesses that expect employees to be there 12 hours a day. But I have always questioned how effective people are in those last few hours. If they have pulled an all-nighter to prepare a presentation, how effective will they be the next day?
Sometimes we need to work late to ensure clients get what they need. But the last thing I want is to see people sitting at their desk night after night just to show face. I would rather they were with their families, enjoying a meal or doing a workout. I like to focus on what people are achieving rather than who works the most hours.
It’s that balance which we try to achieve at Lindsays. It helps us attract new staff and it’s supported us as we have integrated smaller firms and their people into our firm in recent years. We want to create a way of work that’s built to last.
Unsurprisingly, I believe that with good physical health, comes good mental health. Pre-covid we had regular lunchtime runs for colleagues at Lindsays. They were great - a chance to clear your head and chat to people from across the firm. I hope they will return when we head back to the office more.
Whether your “work” is in sport or business, enjoying what you are doing as part of a team which understands the ultimate aim is a key part of securing victories in which we can all be proud. Do not underestimate happiness. It breeds success.
Ian Beattie is Chief Operating Officer of Lindsays, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and takes on the role of UK Athletics Chair later this month (October 2021).