Who cares about the Commonwealth Games?
The Gold Coast 2018 games will proudly host the largest integrated Para-Sport program in Commonwealth Games history. However, If you don’t care about the games, that’s OK too.
You are just not in their Target market, and if people don’t respect your opinion, they can’t expect you to respect theirs. However, the show WILL go on.
I’m not in their Target Market either, but what I am into is the people, and formal skills recognition. Specifically transferable skills from the community to workplace context. This is not about me-tooism. Sport is the most recognizable to business for transferable skills (maybe due to the fact many sportspeople end up there).
I’m also involved in projects to formally recognize parenting and carer skills for leadership and project management skills demanded by business. I believe this will create employment opportunities from “non-formal” learning opportunities (See the previous blog article), but more about that in forthcoming blogs…
Fact is now, sport has lead the way to skill recognition, but the biggest issue with the games is also present in business. It focuses on “product praise” and being the best, not “Process praise” and what it took to get there, which is the reward for effort.
We now have two generations that don’t understand Process Praise. For most in these generations, the “Para” games would be of more interest to you. Not the games its self, the people, but that is not where the focus is, nor the advertising dollars.
It’s hard to see process praise in the games unless you know the people. I was lucky enough to grow up swimming against a guy called Adam Pine. He used to swim butterfly in the freestyle races because that was what got him to the end of the pool fastest, and the rules didn’t say he couldn’t, so that is what he did.
Adam went to 3 Olympics, 4 Commonwealth Games, competing in the butterfly as an individual, and received 1 Olympic gold and 2 Olympic silver medals for relay (teams) events.
He wasn’t one of the 4 people that swam in the gold medal winning final at the Sydney Olympics, but he swam (freestyle this time) in the heat to get the team into the final, even though it was not the stroke he was best at. In his individual event at the Olympics, he placed 20th and 17th, but that seeming average effort got him to where he needed to be, to get 3 Medals.
Why did he accept the medal? Just like Steven Bradbury (who now is well known for speaking a business events), he didn’t accept the gold medal for winning the race, it was for “the more than 12 years’ work” he had put in before it, many of which he was kicking my arse in relay events in the pool.
Adam’s reward for his efforts? he read the Athlete’s oath at the opening ceremony the last time the Commonwealth games were in Australia. What does Adam do now? Swimming Australia Paralympic Performance Manager… Putting back into what he loves, encouraging people who will never be the best at what they do, but want to do the best they can.
I use this as an example to inspire people as a way to make it relevant to their needs, not mine. I may not have their needs, but understand many in business and sport do.
Who am I to take away from Adam doing what he loves, any more than I would do that to you. When I hear people say the money spent on the games would be better off going to other things, I wonder what other opportunities you are missing to find others that do what you do.
If the world is about groups of people, then why should individually any of us give a rat’s arse about any event? That’s just my individual opinion, just like I don’t believe the Earth isn’t the only life in the universe, and you are not the only person in the world that can do what you do.
I also believe in life on Mars, but not so I can go there, I am happy to use the technology here on earth. Life on Mars has been confirmed, even by Oprah, and not where people expect it, but that is another blog… coming soon too.
The world is changed by those that care, which others obviously do, so I know you will do (are doing) wonderful things. It’s not that you don’t care for the games, it’s just you can’t care… it’s not a priority for what you do, and you already have a big “to-do” list for when you get time.
I for one have no objections for you advertising your to-do list; people can get a head start on it for you. Keep the ideas coming, and there are many ideas worth spreading, but I digress…
I mentioned at the end of the last blog that coaches fight similar battles to parents, but I’m sorry to tell you that you’ll have to wait until the next blog for me to explain that if you still don’t have a clue. Want another hint?
This blog is about getting your head around the relationship between social/community activities and the workplace, so as described in the previous post, what “Job” do coaches do?
Want to get ahead?… Google: “Jobs to be Done” Theory of Innovation”.
See you soon.