Ah, Paris 2024. Athletes performing at the highest level. Great. But watch out for any supposed business or life lessons to be learned from these performers. Beware of marketing driven syllogisms.
Syllogisms, a deductive form of argument dating back to Aristotle, are simple. In the case of Olympic athletes, one might be structured as follows: Athlete X is successful; I want my business to be successful; therefore, Athlete X can help my business be successful.
You know what I mean. If you’ve attended an industry trade show, college commencement, or any similar gathering lately, the keynote speaker was probably a celebrity sharing the “secrets” of his/her/their success. For $5,000 to $50,000, sometimes more, a pop.
Great money, if the market will bear it. Just don’t mistake a slick, charismatically delivered speech for sound business advice. Especially if the speaker is an athlete.
Intense dedication and hard work, two critical athletic-success factors, are not a business philosophy. Would such characteristics be helpful in the workplace? Of course, but few workers have sponsors, a team of coaches, or can single-mindedly pursue one activity at the exclusion of most, if not all, others. And, no, prepping for an Olympic final is not like preparing for a big investor meeting. Really.
Winning athletes are also gifted with great natural physical gift/talents. When was the last time you saw a worker who was genetically blessed with superior office talents? Don’t bother searching YouTube for the equivalent of those young Lionel Messi or Lamine Yamal videos; you’ll not find any.
“Wow, look at 6-year-old Clem typing circles around his age group peers”
Let’s not forget the dark side of modern athletics. The pressures are such that they can foster toxic/volatile team cultures. At worst, the rewards encourage athletes to break rules, cut corners, and otherwise misbehave. Not exactly role-model stuff.
So, why are so many athletes hired as keynote/corporate speakers? Great marketing, for one; agents earning their fees. Another reason might best be described in the form of a syllogism:
Mo Optionz, CEO, wants to hang out with a famous athlete; Simone Biles is a famous athlete; therefore, Mr. Optionz should hang out with Simone Biles. . . by hiring her to teach supposed business lessons to his employees.
Peter has spent the past twenty-plus years as an acting/consulting CFO for a number of small businesses in a wide range of industries. Peter’s prior experience is that of a serial entrepreneur, managing various start-up and turnaround projects. He is a co-founder of Keurig.
