Five lessons business could learn from the Olympics

The Paris Olympic Games were filled with inspiring success stories. Carlos Cordon and Sameh Abadir consider what companies could learn from France’s triumph

Not everyone in France welcomed the news that Paris would host the 2024 Olympic Games. Fast-forward seven years, and in the months leading up to the Games, French newspapers were full of alarming stories – from concerns about infestations of bed bugs in hotels to worries about the transport system’s ability to cope with so many visitors. Parisiens reportedly left the capital in large numbers to avoid disruption.

In the aftermath, views have shifted dramatically. Many French people appear to be proud of how the country hosted the Olympics, taking the view that the Games were a definite success. That the Games significantly boosted France’s economy has undoubtedly contributed to this feel-good factor.

Companies should take inspiration from the example set by the French. What does it take to pull off an event of this scale, particularly in the face of prevailing skepticism in the run-up? What might companies and their leaders emulate from the French approach to the organization and management of a huge operation with many moving parts? Below, we give five stand-out examples:

#1. Without brave decision-making, talk is cheap

France’s leaders deserve a gold medal for their efforts to tell a positive story about the Games. Policymakers, from President Emmanuel Macron down, could not have talked about the Games in more glowing terms. Event organizers were relentlessly upbeat, and officials posted breathless updates on social media – helped by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to relax the rules in this area.

However, this front-of-house optimism could not have been sustained without hard work and tough decision-making behind the scenes.

The row and subsequent fallout over the cleanliness of the River Seine was a case in point. Before the Games, many people warned of the dangers of holding swimming events in the river, given its high pollution levels. But the organizers decided they would go for it, launching a clean-up operation and building public confidence through stunts such as getting Paris’s mayor to swim in the river for the media. When bad weather saw pollution levels rise once again, the organizers acted quickly and decisively to delay events, explaining their actions with clarity, and returning to Plan A as they brought the issue under control.

It’s a lesson in crisis management that many leaders would benefit from taking on board. Even in difficult, fast-moving circumstances, communicating consistently and clearly in public is much easier when dynamic leaders are prepared to make tough decisions and stick by them.

When organizations consist of multiple businesses that operate in different sectors, with different cultures and no shared sense of purpose, things inevitably go wrong.

#2. Big can be beautiful, but scale causes problems too

The US and China topped the final medal table, but if you’d added up the tallies of the EU’s member nations, the bloc would have been miles ahead. If Europe were a country, in other words, it would have won big.

Two decades ago, as the EU embraced collectivism and collaboration towards shared goals, that idea would not have felt outlandish. Today, in a bloc that now consists of 26 countries, many of which have very different values and behaviors, almost no one thinks in those terms.

There’s a parallel here for growing businesses. While the desire for expansion may feel unquenchable – often leading to ever more M&A activity – and drive superior performance, it’s also possible to reach a point where additional scale leads to more problems than benefits. When organizations consist of multiple businesses that operate in different sectors, with different cultures and no shared sense of purpose, things inevitably go wrong.

The dismantling of GE – once the US’s ‘everything company’ – is the perfect example. In a final retreat from conglomerate status earlier this year, the company split in two. Its management simply could not manage a string of barely related businesses doing everything from manufacturing lightbulbs to selling sub-prime mortgages.

#3. The diversity dividend is clear but doesn’t come without difficult debates

The Olympic Games is, in many ways, a shining beacon of diversity. Over 200 countries sent athletes to Paris; more than 80 of them won at least one medal. This year’s Games was the first at which all 32 Olympic sports offered the same number of slots to men and women. Almost 200 openly LGBTQ+ athletes competed – more than ever before. And the Paralympics added to the sense of inclusion, with more than 4,000 athletes taking part in 22 sports.

At its best, the Olympic Games is a fantastic demonstration of the strength that comes from embracing differences and challenging stereotypes. Human endeavor delivers incredible results when unfettered by prejudice and discrimination.

For all that, diversity is hard-won. The incredibly raw arguments about Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, accused by some of being transgender despite a lack of publicly disclosed medical evidence, were painful and upsetting – for Khelif herself, obviously, but also for many others caught up in the controversy or sympathizing with her situation.

It’s a reminder that setting borders around inclusion is fraught with difficulty. Brave organizations take on these debates because they believe in individual rights and the collective benefit of defending them.

Rio Olympics of 2016 appear to have underperformed in this regard: its venues fell into disrepair within months of the Games ending

#4. The search for operational excellence must not compromise strategic endeavor

The IOC states that the goal of the Olympic movement is “to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through a sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play.”

This is the kind of strategic ambition that organizers can only attain through consistent application over an extended period. The problem that France, like other host nations, has had to wrestle with is that the Games constitute a project management exercise. Successful execution within a very short public window requires careful planning, not least to coordinate some 45,000 pro bono volunteers.

How, then, to balance these conflicting demands? Some cities offer more successful examples than others. The Barcelona Games of 1992, for example, are widely seen as having an impressive legacy, with many venues repurposed for ongoing and constant use, and the event itself acting as a catalyst for social, economic, and political change. In contrast, the Rio Olympics of 2016 appear to have underperformed in this regard: its venues fell into disrepair within months of the Games ending.

As for Paris, time will tell, although organizers claim legacy has been front of mind since the beginning of the project. New sustainable buildings were included in the project design, for example, providing Paris with residential accommodation and sporting facilities with a much smaller carbon footprint than traditional construction.

Companies and their leaders will recognize this debate. They must weigh the strategic priorities against the pressure to deliver in the short term. It’s difficult to focus on the future when the present is in your face.

Still, the successes of cities such as Barcelona offer useful insight. They appear to have benefited from collaborative and cooperative governing authorities, genuine engagement with the local population, and a clear long-term vision.

#5. There’s no ‘I’ in team

One final point. Every Olympic athlete’s success reflects the efforts of a broader team behind them, supporting them in striving toward a specific goal. It’s easy to look at individual excellence, but the broader context is that there are always high-performance teams that underpin these successes.

Indeed, there is a reason why team-building exercises have become a staple of leadership training events for businesses. It is teams that deliver, rather than individuals, even if there’s a public figure who takes most of the glory. Businesses will be stronger if they embrace this truth and employ leaders who know how to build, manage, and support high-performing teams.