This week I was at the annual CSA conference, held this year at St George’s Park in Burton, Derbyshire.
An interesting agenda and discussion of course… albeit with a slightly disturbing update on the economic outlook for the UK. It sent me into a bit of a spin over dinner… for which I must apologise to my fellow dinner guests… I am sure it will be fine 🙂 … honestly. These things also come with a bit of political analysis and update too… often, and in contrast, strangely reassuring.
It is not to say you necessarily agree or disagree with any of the policies, however, to have the curtain lifted slightly and be given a sort of peak underneath to see the balancing act of political decision-making is always fascinating. Less ‘dark-arts’ and more ‘fact-based’ calculated decision-making than you would think… for me at least the hard-nosed rationality of it all really is quite comforting (esp in contrast to what is said by everyone else on social media).
[If you are interested in the report back from the conference – read about it here].
However, outside the conference itself… what also really struck me this year was the venue.
Unfamiliar to me prior to this visit, St George’s Park, is not just a conference centre but also a home to English football. Apparently having been built by the FA for $105m in 2012, it is a world-class training facility.
Now I am not particularly a fan of football, however, even I was excited… the whole facility was quite remarkable. Perfect pitches, manicured grounds, first-class facilities and a nice hotel, it really was a very impressive high-quality environment.
Admittedly I got lost trying to find a car park and then the entrance at night (getting my 10,000 steps in)… and even the staff car park (where I ended up) seemed nice too!
This great location for sport, got me thinking about the role of quality and competition in driving performance. Having such excellent facilities, training, teaching and performance data has undoubtedly allowed the teams to stay focused and strive for excellence.
It may not have happened immediately, but over time the culture grows and performance improves until eventually (and in some cases hopefully) they win tournaments.
Looking at all the facilities laid out and the investment made (and no doubt also at the local level), it really helped explain much of the team’s in England (improved) performance since the 2010s.
Clearly, it was not just luck, but also a good deal due to the investment, skill and focus that has been made to strive for excellence. The hard work pays off.
And, all of this is applicable in business too… an environment of excellence and indeed competition, makes a difference. Trade conferences and award evenings, just like this one, are a good example. These meetings are always an opportunity for people in the same industry to get together.
Just like the teams and players, they are also often competitors, looking to win, going after the same business and even making pitches to the same clients. On a day-to-day level this competition can be tough, with hard-fought wins or indeed hard-to-take losses.
Yet, like in football, this competition also drives the whole industry to higher standards, greater excellence in the delivery and design of products… and investment in excellence amplifies this further delivering even more gains over the longer term.
Looking around the world you see this effect elsewhere too… the development of Singapore or Dubai, the food culture in Italy or Japan, excellence in education/research in Oxford or Cambridge… it is about focus and investment, which then leads to a virtuous cycle… tending to even more excellence.
Yet, to take the warning from the economist, sadly the opposite is also true. A lack of investment or competition can lead to high prices or poorer service… look no further than my local bus service as an example, or even the rise in 1st class postage rates rising again this week. It is something to be careful of.
Yet rather than risk me getting sucked into another doom loop (again!), there was a lesson from this location.
Keeping our eyes on the prize and making sure we continue to invest in excellence is clearly critical and it demonstrably works.
We need to remember it is not only about just bettering ourselves but also creating an environment where we are all encouraged and strive to improve… to generate better outcomes. These conferences and locations are always refreshing and a great start…
We need to continue to create spaces and systems around us to inspire and perform at our best… something to remember no matter how tough the environment in the future gets.
Have a great weekend everyone.
