Taking nothing away from Wayde van Niekerk’s scintillating world record run at the 2016 Olympics, Chad le Clos has returned the ultimate South African hero .

Le Clos won two silver medals, in the 200m freestyle and the 100m butterfly races, in Rio to add to his gold and silver from the London Olympics – giving him the distinction of having won more Olympic medals than any other South African.

But, there’s more to it than that .

The Olympic Games is all about milli- seconds and milli-meters. Taking home gold demands that athletes enter what the great champions refer to as “ THE ZONE “. In performance coaching we call it “The High Performance Zone”, or even more accurately:

The 90 /10 Zone

It’s where focus matters most.

When Tiger  Woods dominated world golf for nearly a decade, sports psychologist, Dr. Stephen Kosslyn described his mind- state as follows:

In Tiger Wood’s head there is an orchestra .And it’s not just that some of the orchestra’s players are virtuosos, a lot of them are .How they interact make Tiger what he is. There is a confluence in his brain, his person, his world, his goals and beliefs, his culture. He has all the aces.

For Tiger, it was a high performance zone powerfully orchestrated with the support of a supreme mentor, in his dad. Sadly Tiger was unable to sustain ‘ The Zone’  after the passing of his dad in 2006.

The 90/10 Zone demands focus – where 90% of the focus is placed on:

The Right Stuff.

There can be no doubting that Chad le Clos put everything into his physical preparation for Rio 2016 , but the challenging situation he faced , with both his parents battling cancer , would have made it near impossible to come close to the 90/10 zone– from the mental preparation side .

That’s the human factor. It plays a huge role – as we are what we are – human emotional beings.

When pushed by reporters to explain why he did not return with the two gold medals which he had prepared for, Chad had only this to say:

No excuses. That would be disrespectful of Michael Phelps

It’s the same in any other sport. Golfers, who go through a personal challenge such as divorce, find it near impossible to enter the zone – let alone strike the ball with any type of consistency.

When asked to define his cricketing success, Sachin Tendulkar , who scored more test runs than anyone, had this to say :

Still head. Speed of wrists

Sachin Tedulkar was alluding to far more than just holding one’s head still at the crease.

Hats off to Chad le Clos. For him to come back with two silver medals speaks mountains of the man who stands behind his family and his country – and he’s only twenty four .

He displayed all the C’s of a great champion in :

Challenge , Culture, Character , Capability, Courage, Consistence, Confidence , Control , Certainty , Creativity, Concentration , Commitment , Contribution , Connection, Charisma, Class and Camaraderie

He has all the aces . The mind set to conquer the world . And a dash of humor too.

Every cloud has silver lining – pun intended : Chad le Clos on returning to his Durban home.  __________________________________________________________________________________

Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist, Speaker, Author and Performance Coach to Business executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

• Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his site : www.thegameplan.co.za

Most sporting pundits would agree that :

Second is Nothing.

Not so, for the mighty Lions rugby team.

Johann Ackermann, Warren Whitely and their charges can stand proud of their achievements. Down and out of Super rugby just three years back, their story is a sensational one of building a team from bottom up.

The Lions saw change happening in rugby.

They saw change as an opportunity window – and an invitation to reframe Lions rugby

The change I am referring to is the power of the yen, the euro and the pound – luring many players to the lucrative northern hemisphere teams.

But, the cold reality is that:

Money builds neither Culture – nor Character.

After two days at a Lions bosberaad in 2014, the Lions decided not to have a goal of winning Super Rugby.

The team decided two things – they wanted to be the team that plays the most exciting brand of rugby, and secondly they wanted to be an inspiration for their fans in the way they play. Johan Ackermann

The Lions committed to reframing, refocusing and rebuilding a brand.

And the most powerful way to do that is to build Culture – and Character. Ackermann tapped into the magical multiplier effect which kicks in when a Team Brand is optimally aligned with the Personal Brands within the team.

It was important to create the right culture, I made it clear to the guys what my expectation was for those who are going to wear the jersey – there must be a caring culture for each other, I need to be ready to give, not just to receive. Johan Ackermann.

The Lions took the opportunity gap created when the stronger unions started to lose key players to the northern hemisphere.

The very opposite was happening at the Lions.

Many of their players were fuelled by having tasted adversity through rejection. Rejection became their advantage. It built them stronger as humble grateful individuals – with a burning desire to make things work – when given the opportunity by Ackermann.

Adversity was the breeding ground for all growth going forward .

Charting a new course with the right structures in place, culture and character combined to allow the Lions the freedom to execute an expressionist playing culture.

But, it’s something that does not come easy, unless the right groundwork is done.

Branding, both Team and Personal, are key to driving sustained success and significance in sport, business and life.

The Lions knew that they wanted it more – playing with promise and purpose.

Culture and Character create the momentum for the all important  C’s –  which any champion team needs to gain traction:

Confidence , Courage ,Consistency , Capability ,Certainty , Control , Concentration , Commitment , Challenge ,Creativity.

Johan Ackermann may not have Super Rugby silverware in his cabinet as yet, but he has the game plan to do so.

For now, his reward is knowing that his team has set out to do what they said they will do – inspired their fans in the way they play – and captured more than a few hearts.

They have Entertained , Educated, Enriched – and filled Emirates seats.

And collected 9 Springbok caps.

What better way to reach the next level, than to turn your adversity into your advantage.

Go Lions.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it a seed of equivalent benefit: Napoleon Hill

For more Insight, Innovation and Inspiration on how to unlock and unleash human greatness – please do get in touch at:

robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist, Speaker, Author and leading Performance Coach to Business executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals. His game-changing “The Game Plan Method” methodology, derived from the great champions of business, sport and life – is creating stories of sustained success and significance across South Africa.

• Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his site : www.thegameplan.co.za

Win or lose in Wellington this weekend, the Lions have shown that mindset matters most in sport  – and in life.

They have rebuilt the pride of Jozi – inspiring Brand South Africa – playing with Faith , Confidence and Belief .

Who would have thought that they would have Stormers, Sharks and Bulls fans rallying behind them – to keep the Lions winning juggernaut rolling.

But ,will the Springboks take a leaf out their book –  and bounce back against the ever improving record of the All Blacks, under Coach Steve Hansen – his coaching prowess now reflecting a 91 % win record .

And how will the Boks face up to a resurgent England under Eddie Jones at Twikenham on 12th November.

Let’s look at an interesting sporting analogy.

Lewis Pugh had all but perfected the science and  art of swimming in ice cold waters.

That was until ‘ The Human Polar Bear’ encountered Lake Pumori – at 5200 meters above sea level on the slopes of Mount Everest .

The lake is glacial. The water is freezing, but that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was altitude.

 

 

I prepared to do the swim the same way I’ve done every other cold water swim for the last 23 years – dive in and go for it with everything I’ve got. The colder I would get – the faster and harder I would try to swim ‘

This strategy backfired, with Lewis Pugh nearly drowning on the slopes of Everest.

His coach immediately called for what is known as a R.T.S :

  RADICAL TACTICAL SHIFT

Swim more slowly, swim breast stroke, swim with humility, not aggression – nobody ever bullies Everest.

Lewis and his team learnt a few valuable lessons on Mount Everest.

The first, that because something has worked successfully before, doesn’t mean it will work in the future. Have a Plan ABCD.

The second, that if something is clearly not working, one needs to implement a R.T.S : a Radical Tactical Shift.

Lewis found out that day, that one can change a lot of things, like your stroke, your speed, your style , but for effective change to take place – you have to change your mind set.

CHANGE  BEGINS WHEN MINDSET CHANGES

So, how can the Boks counter an impressive 91 % winning record, which is even better when one considers that astute coaches like Steve Hansen will sometimes leverage off dead- rubber games  – to strategically guard against complacency.

People say that rugby has changed radically, but in reality the fundamentals of the game will never change.

You can choose to RUN, PASS or KICK –and if a team does these with purpose – they will be on the winning  side more often than not.

What has changed  though , are the strategies and tactics employed by today’s modern coaches.

The game, more than ever, has become one of skill and speed.

However,  the Springbok statistics continue to point towards a Bok team stuck with old school tactics, which will continue to back- fire against the best teams in the world.

Statistics show that a player like Damian de Allende goes to ground nine times out of ten in contact situations , whilst a player like Sonny Bill Williams will off-lay the ball effectively nines time out of ten in contact situations.

That loss of seconds , means the Boks are playing rugby without options and without opportunity.

And without options and opportunity , you can never beat the best .

Put simply , crash ball tactics do not work against the very best :

You cannot bully Everest.

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The Lions have up-skilled. Their style of rugby is nothing short of innovative and  inspirational .

52 000 adoring fans at Emirates Park confirmed that last Saturday.

It’s been a Radical Tactical Shift –  a new culture executed superbly by executives, coaches and players in alignment. Players with confidence and freedom to execute .

But, most of all, they have proved that mindset matters most.

And when you do that , absolutely anything is possible.

Win or lose , Wellington awaits .Opportunity beckons.

Welgedaan Lions.

Go Lions.

As Richie McCaw believes :

 The body will do what the mind says

For more Insight, Innovation and Inspiration on how to unlock and unleash human greatness – please do get in touch  at robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist, Speaker, Author and Performance Coach to Business executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

• Rob’s latest book: The Game Changers: Good to Great to Greater is available FREE to readers as an instant digital download on his site : www.thegameplan.co.za