Guest Fran Millar, founding member of Team Sky and CEO of Belstaff, discusses embedding 'winning behaviors' from elite sport into business with Sir Michael Barber. Topics include creating winning behaviors, achieving success through focus and innovation, applying high-performance strategies to Belstaff, influence of a talented cyclist on creating a clean cycling environment, and the importance of mentorship and growth.
Success patterns in elite sport can be translated to business for achieving excellence.
Creating winning behaviors and aligning individual goals with team objectives are crucial for success in any organization.
Deep dives
Applying Lessons from Elite Sport to Business
Fran Miller, former CEO of Team Ineos and founder of Team Sky, discusses the transferable lessons between elite sport and business. She highlights the importance of learning from patterns of success and excelling in one field, such as sport, which can be applied to other disciplines. Miller emphasizes the role of creating winning behaviors, which she implemented in Team Sky, to codify a successful culture and maintain their level of success. These winning behaviors focused on self, team, performance first, communication, and constant improvement. Miller believes that these behaviors are applicable in any organization and can drive success.
Cultivating a High-Performance Culture
Miller talks about the challenge of maintaining a high-performance culture within a cycling team and how it differs from a business environment. She discusses the importance of aligning individual goals to the team's overall goal, even for those who may not have a direct chance of achieving the primary objective. By cascading the overarching goal and ensuring everyone understands their role and motivation within the team, Miller created a culture of commitment and focus on winning. She highlights the significance of fostering an outcome-focused mindset, analyzing demands, optimizing performance, and executing with excellence.
The Power of Data and Attention to Detail
Miller emphasizes the importance of data and attention to detail in achieving high performance. She credits the use of data analysis, biometric testing, and warm-up routines as crucial factors in Team Sky's success. Miller highlights the value of utilizing both tangible and intangible elements like performance data, equipment, and overall efficiency to inform decision-making and drive incremental improvements. She shares insights from her experience in breaking the two-hour marathon barrier with Eliud Kipchoge and the meticulous planning and execution required to optimize performance.
Balancing Performance and Business Operations
Miller discusses her role as CEO of Bellstaff and how she balanced performance and operational aspects of the business. She stresses the importance of protecting the performance team from external pressures, such as sponsor requests or media engagements, to maintain their focus on performance. Miller also highlights the significance of operational excellence in ensuring that the team has the necessary resources, equipment, and support to achieve their goals without compromising performance. Her approach involves creating an environment that minimizes distractions and maximizes efficiency, allowing the team to thrive.
As one of the founders of Team Sky, Fran Millar was at the heart of a decade of innovation and unparalleled success in professional cycling. She then went on to play a pivotal role in the successful sub-2 hour marathon challenge by Eliud Kipchoge, before taking all this experience in elite sport to the world of business as the new CEO of heritage British brand Belstaff. In this episode of the Accomplishment Podcast, she talks to Sir Michael Barber about embedding ‘winning behaviours’ and how she has adapted the lessons and culture from elite sport for the world of business.