Have you ever heard of Dragon Boating?
If not, I’d highly recommend you check out some of the online videos and the one I would really recommend is the final of the 500m Open Category at the World Championships in Welland in August 2015 which you can find here –
It’s a fantastically exciting and competitive water sport.
I have been Dragon Boating for almost five years now and my team is Worcester Dragon Boating Racing Club and I am also proud to be the Dragon Boat Racing GB Team Manager.
Most weeks I’ll either be training or taking part in an event.
It has taught me a great deal and many of the lessons I’ve learnt also apply to my business life.
Here then, are five things Dragon Boating has taught me about business.
- You must work as a team to win
With 22 paddlers as well as a drummer, who is beating the drum in time to the stroke, and a helmsperson, it’s clear that in Dragon Boating everything is down to team work. It’s the same in business. Everyone involved must understand and clearly see the ‘end goal’ and work together utilising their unique strengths and position, to get there.
- You must have clear leadership
This may be a single person or a team of people who will shape and demonstrate a clear vision of the goal and destination and also, how everyone is going to get there. You may create this internally within the team or with some external coaching support.
- You must work at the right pace
In a Dragon Boat the drummer at the front beats out the paddle pace and this changes depending on where the boat is in the race. Maintaining pace therefore is all about sustaining delivery so that you do not tail-off or burn yourself out.
- You must train and plan
Whether in sport or in business you cannot just dive in and make a start. You need to learn skills and techniques and you need to prepare. What’s more, as learning is a continuous journey, your development training to uplift your skills should be ongoing.
- You must have the right kit
This needs to be strategic and sustainable too. This means you need to make an appropriate investment in your resources you could try here. It’s your job to ensure you have the right tools in place, that they’re all working correctly and that they give you the support and structure you need to keep you afloat and swiftly move you forwards.
Find out more
If you’d like help to ensure that you have everything in place in terms of your business marketing then please call me, Jenni Henderson at Chrysalis Business Support on 01905 670910 or 07818 037475.
You can also email hello@chrysalis-support.co.uk