Am I good enough?
The business news that matters
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch…
There is one question that business leaders should ask themselves if they want to sustain a high-level of performance over the long-term and avoid fizzling out. That question is this - am I good enough?
That is the view of Catherine Baker in her latest column for Business Leader. Catherine runs the consultancy firm Sport and Beyond and is the author of the excellent book Staying the Distance: The lessons from sport that business leaders have been missing.
Catherine focuses on what sport can teach business about sustaining performance over a long period of time, as the title of the book suggests. This, she argues, is more important for business leaders than looking for lessons from sport about how to reach moments of peak performance that may only be fleeting. Her work therefore covers wellbeing and avoiding burnout as well as how to improve your output in the first place.
I am delighted that Catherine is writing a regular column for Business Leader on sustaining performance. Her latest piece looks at the importance of the question above and what the answer should be.
She writes:
The right level of confidence is central to sustained performance – confidence that gives you enough assurance to deliver and perform, balanced with an awareness that you are not the finished article and can always improve. This is the confidence sweet spot. And this is the case whether you are an elite athlete, an elite coach, or a business leader.
This is particularly pertinent for leaders of businesses that are growing and scaling up. And even more so where you have been there from the beginning, when it is natural to doubt if you have the required skill set for an evolving and changing business.
The photo at the top of the newsletter today is Steffi Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam titles in her illustrious tennis career. This is what Catherine writes about her and why it is relevant to business leaders:
Would you believe me if I told you that one of the best female tennis players of all time, who won 22 Grand Slam titles and held the no. 1 world ranking spot for a record 377 weeks, achieved all of this without being able to execute one of the basic strokes in tennis? That’s right, you read that correctly.
Steffi Graf could barely hit an attacking backhand. Much as she practised it in training, when it came to matches, she just couldn’t pull it off. Fortunately, her coach got round this by making sure they spent the majority of their time in practice focusing on developing and improving her strengths; her serve, her forehand and of course her amazing footwork, which enabled her to consistently run round her backhand.
This approach doesn’t mean you should ignore your areas of ‘weakness’ entirely. Whatever you are doing, there will probably be one or two key limiters which do require you to work hard at improving them. But we need to shift the balance away from our natural tendencies to focus on our weaknesses, and instead play to, and develop our strengths.
It’s a brilliant piece and can read the full column here
Podcast…
The latest episode of our Business Leader podcast looks at the story behind Robinhood, one of the fastest-growing companies in America, and its launch in the UK. Jordan Sinclair, the president of Robinhood UK, explains how it is approaching the launch and the challenges that Robinhood has faced along the way…
You can listen to the podcast episode on Substack here, Apple here or Spotify here
Other stories that matter…
1. The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25 per cent. Eight members of the monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to hold rates at the latest meeting, while one voted to cut them to 5 per cent. The minutes from the meeting, which were published at noon, show that some members of MPC are still concerned about inflation and how to get it down, dampening expectations that a rate cut is on the way. You can read a summary of the Bank’s decision here. As an aside, Switzerland today became one of the first countries to cut interest rates this year.
2. Nationwide has agreed terms with the board of Virgin Money to buy the high street bank for £2.9 billion. A combination of Nationwide and Virgin would be the second largest provider of mortgages and savings in the UK (behind Lloyds) and would look to expand in business banking. Statement from the companies here
3. Following on from the piece we flagged about Next yesterday, the high-street retailer has annual results out today. These results include some great insight from Lord Wolfson, the chief executive of Next (and the longest-serving boss in the FTSE 100). His commentary includes some thoughts on why it is important for a business leader to offer such insights in the results. “As is so often the case, the requirement to explain ourselves has been instructive,” he writes. “It has prompted us to step back from the myriad of day-to-day initiatives with which we busy ourselves and reflect on where we are; take a hard look at our two main engines of growth - the Next brand and its Infrastructure - clarify our priorities; and determine what we need to do to maximise our chances of success going forward.” You can read the results in full here. Shares in Next have risen more than 5 per cent on the back of the results to a record high. Annual pre-tax profits rose 17 per cent to £1 billion with revenue up 9 per cent to £5.5 billion.
4. India is stepping up its efforts to search the depths of the Indian Ocean for valuable minerals that could be used in new battery technology. More from the BBC here
5. “Work hard, be kind. I mean, it’s very, very simple but it does all come down to a work ethic. If you’re lazy, nothing will f***ing happen. That’s it. Don’t be f***ing lazy.” That’s Tom Kerridge’s guide to finding success in a fascinating interview by The Times. Kerridge runs six restaurants, including the Hand and Flowers pub in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, which has two Michelin stars. You can read the interview here
The new Business Leader…
The new Business Leader website and magazine have now launched. We are building a new inspirational, aspirational and agenda-setting business publication for the UK. You can read our analysis, interviews and expert columnists on our website by clicking the image below. Our new magazine is now available in shops and you can subscribe to your own print or digital version by clicking here
And finally…
I try to focus on restaurant and hotel recommendations outside London in this section of Off to Lunch. However, today I want to mention Noko in Camberwell, south London. I ate there recently and it was simply too good not to recommend and share. Noko serves a range of Asian street food on small plates. It is fantastic. You can find it here
Thanks for reading. If you enjoy Off to Lunch then please share it with others and spread the word. If this newsletter was shared with you then please sign-up below to get Off to Lunch sent directly to your inbox