E331 | Winning Strategies from Sports to Business with Ben Hunt-Davis
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In this conversation, Ben Hunt-Davis shares insight into what drives and empowers an Olympic gold-winning team. A Former Olympic rower turned successful entrepreneur, Ben is the author of the acclaimed book Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?
Tune in for invaluable insights from Ben’s illustrious rowing career, recounting the journey from consistently finishing at the bottom to clinching Olympic gold. Discover the transformative power of team alignment and purpose, the crucial role of feedback and trust, and the non-negotiable importance of shared goals—whether in sports or business.
This episode delves into the details of team dynamics, the impact of clear communication, and the courage to embrace discomfort for the sake of improvement. Tune in, and let’s make your business unstoppable!
Takeaways
- Finding team alignment and purpose.
- Fostering a culture that values collective success over individual glory.
- The pivotal role of clear goals and regular feedback in driving continual improvement.
- Everyone brings different strengths and life situations to the table. Leveraging those differences to optimise performance.
- Embracing open, honest feedback as a tool for growth, even when it’s uncomfortable.
About Ben Hunt-Davis
Ben is an experienced performance coach, facilitator and world-class keynote speaker. Ben has spent the last 20+ years specialising in translating his Olympic-winning strategies into everyday business success.
Specifically focusing on leadership and team development, Ben has designed and run training courses, conferences and events for more than 100 different organisations.
Ben and executive coach Harriet Beveridge published the best-selling book Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? in 2011. Their real-world application of Ben’s rowing crew’s strategies, habits, and mindset is world-renowned. The performance principles underpinning their story still shape the philosophy of our business today. Ben is an expert in galvanising executive teams and organisations behind a shared ‘Crazy Goal’.
Ben consistently leads and inspires teams to deliver exceptional results. He is a three-time Team GB staff member at the Summer Olympics and chair of organising committees for two international rowing events in the UK.
Follow Ben Hunt-Davis
Books by Ben Hunt-Davis
Will It Make The Boat Go Faster
Book Recommendations
Books by James Holland
Quick Fire Questions
Q: What drives you every day?
Ben Hunt-Davis: So I want my business to be a good business. I want people I want to do. We measure a few different things, measure whether we make a difference. And I really actually, I really want to do good stuff for our clients. I really want to be highly rated for what we do. We’ve got a finance metric which I’m not particularly interested in. We’ve got a profitable and then, you know, we’ve got to be profitable, but money is not what motivates me. And then our third goal, which again really motivates us, is about, we talk about, you know, people that join a lot.
Happy being engaged in our business, wanting to be part of the team, and the things that are so kind of from a business thing. I want to do great work for clients, I want us to do great work for clients, and I want everybody in the business to be really happy and engaged with where they are. Those two things are important to me.
Q: What’s your genius?
Ben Hunt-Davis: I’ve been really struggling with that one. I think once upon a time, I was quite good at rowing, but other than that.
Dominic: Do you think it was that you were good at rowing, or do you think that you could just force yourself to do stuff every day even though you didn’t want to?
Ben Hunt-Davis: I think I was pretty bloody single-minded. I think that I’m not necessarily a keen sports person, but I found something that I could do, and I could do it day in and day out with a level of focus and a level of resilience. I think I’m probably pretty consistent. I think I’m pretty open to feedback, and I have a desire to be better than I was yesterday, and I think those things probably stand in pretty good stead.
Q: What unpopular opinion do you hold?
Ben Hunt-Davis:Well, it kind of depends who I’m popular with. So that feedback is a gift. It’s a good thing. We should be more open and honest with each other. A lot of people don’t really like that.
Dominic: We almost teach it. We almost, you know, if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. It’s almost sort of taught out of us in a British way. I often find as I go Eastern Europe, you know, the Dutch and Eastern Europeans, it becomes much easier for them to be black and white and just say how it is.
Ben Hunt-Davis: And then if you go further east, you know, then it becomes even harder. So, you know, there are all sorts of cultural bits, but I mean, yeah, being open and giving feedback is, is a. Is an unpopular opinion, I think.
Q: What’s the most significant risk you’ve taken?
Ben Hunt-Davis: Jumping out of a plane with a parachute. I mean, that seems… Starting a business with someone I didn’t really know. I mean, is that you know, so, yeah, business… Dropping out of university to try and be a professional athlete when there was no money in it. And, you know, that was a risk. And I think there’d been all sorts of different risks, but so much of it is down to perception.
As to, you know, everybody perceives risks differently, and there are some things I’ve done that people have gone through. Oh my God, that’s a risk. And I haven’t actually noticed it was a risk. So, you know, and there are other things that I just sure as hell wouldn’t do. So I think it’s, you know, perception.
Q: What’s the most recent skill or thing you’ve learned?
Ben Hunt-Davis: So, at the moment, this is slightly random; I’m doing a cross-country ski marathon in March. So I had my first lesson on my first cross-country ski lesson a few weeks ago, which was actually on those ridiculous little short rollerblade skis around the park that looked like a bunch of total Nutter Muppets. It was definitely a new skill. It was. So that was something totally different and new. I think there are also areas where I’m improving my knowledge and skills most days. I had a call early, just before this, actually, where I kind of learned a whole load, but in terms of something totally different and random. Cross-country skiing on roller skates.
Dominic: And is the marathon in aid of something, or is it just a single-minded personal challenge?
Ben Hunt-Davis: So a group of friends, we’ve, we’ve decided we’ll, we kind of want to do it, some sort of challenge each year. So we kind of rowed around Venice a couple of years ago. This year we’re doing this ski marathon. The idea is to do something together. Do something which is a new skill for most of us. Do something that is kind of challenging in a beautiful place and have fun.
Q: What’s your biggest source of inspiration?
Ben Hunt-Davis: Generally, it’s people who are a bit better than me. So when I was rowing, I wasn’t looking at the people who were at the top winning everything. I was looking at the person who was one step ahead and go, they can do that. I reckon I can do that. When I speak to people who are running businesses, you know, a bit bigger than mine, and when I see people who are doing stuff a bit better, I find that kind of brilliance. I find it relatable and really inspiring. I look at the chief executive, you know, some massive organisation, they go, that’s pretty amazing, but it’s definitely not me. Whereas the people who are doing stuff that’s close to me and better, I find that quite inspirational because I kind of connect to that and I think I can have a crack.
Q: What’s the biggest myth in business you’ve ever received?
Ben Hunt-Davis: So I remember, I remember kind of my first job post, rowing. I was thinking of leaving, and I kind of, when I met up with my dad; what do you think? And he, you know, we spoke for about an hour and at the end, he went, you know, actually, what the hell am I doing? Because he said, you know, I was in the army for 28 years; I was a civil servant for 18 years. I have no idea about the free market commercial world that you’re working in. So actually his advice was quite good, but it was quite, you know, at the end he just went, what the hell am I talking about? I don’t, you know, you’re in a totally different world. So I thought I was kind of quite good.
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