Think Ahead

There’s a show on the Beeb that I watched once only to realise that the hostess was so singularly untalented and undeserving of her role that the show was rendered unwatchable.  There does however appear to be the once-off saviour of two stellar guests that can rise above  questioner’s stunning lack of nous.

Opening bat and a genuine heir to the incomparable Richie Benaud, Geoff Boycott, was joined by GB Cycling’s top coach, Dave Brailsford.  I’ve blogged about these two separately before so to see the pair of them on one show was fantastic.

Insight wasn’t long in coming.  ‘Firey’ courted headlines with his “Strauss isn’t a natural captain” remark, yet in context, it was not the slur it’s been made out to be.  He believes that a true captain is always thinking about what should or could happen next.  He tries to mould the future into his vision.  He tries to make things happen rather than react to what has happened. This is exactly the kind of trait a successful solution salesrep needs.

Although Dave Brailsford’s insight was more muzzled by the host, he still came across as true to his guns about the value of intricate planning.  Superstar of the future, Mark Cavendish, was examined in detail.  He will succeed (there was no doubt in the coach’s mind) because he believed in himself (at age 14 when the two first met the youngster quietly pronounced he would be the fastest in the world), set ambitious targets and intelligently, honestly, measured his pursuit of them.