Olympian Insight: Successful Scenario Planning

When the countdown is on and an Olympic Games is approaching, what you don't often see is the depths of planning and attention to detail that goes on behind the scenes.

In my keynote speech, I talk about the importance of scenario planning to an athletes confidence and readiness for success - from training after no sleep to competing with substitute coaches, being ready for weather or injury delays to being the last competitor to go when GOLD is on the line!

To give you an example, I would scenario plan out exactly what I'd do if I'd done an average first jump in a competition, so I knew how I would prepare myself (mentally and physically) to ensure I could unlock the next best jump of my life. I would also scenario plan for opportunity as well - if I landed the best jump of my life in qualifying, I knew exactly how I would spend my recovery time in order to stay calm and in control before the upcoming final, so another great jump could be done.

It's exactly the same in business - take event planning for this example - often we scenario plan out the risks (like bad weather, delays or catering to go wrong), but there is just as much power in planning for the opportunity. Asking yourself 'what if this all goes right' and 'what can we do to maximise' can help us reach even greater heights.

Off the field, the team behind the team who support out athletes, are using exactly the same approach - planning and rehearsing alternative mitigation strategies and ensuring that all possible "what if's" are ready to be covered by an effective Plan B or Plan C.

Whether it be in sport, life, business or the board room, active scenario planning improves agility, resilience, self belief and readiness to perform under pressure. It empowers people to ideate, be creative, hypothetically navigate worst case scenario's and be ready to make the right decisions when needed.

Scenario planning helps our brains to experience situations before they might happen, it helps us find clarity and solutions more quickly and elevates our belief that we can effectively work through challenges and take strategic risks.

In a world that's constantly changing course, get ready to pivot, adjust and perform when it counts, just like our Olympic athletes. Get ready for success and do a little "if this, then that" planning!

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