With the Summer Olympic games starting later this week in Rio de Janeiro, CUToday.info’s The Corner offers four books with insights into the big business of the Olympics and the lessons offered in gold medal management.
The Olympic Games Effect: How Sports Marketing Builds Strong Brands, by John A. Davis
In describing this book, Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School, said, “The Olympics are the quintessential athletic competition. But beyond athletics lies a network of investment, organization, and case studies in leadership. For sponsors, a key byproduct of these networks is a strong brand halo--the focus of John Davis' interesting new book. Davis brings a keen academic and business eye to the brand halo associated with the competition. And this book will be an important resource and practical guide for firms in evaluating Olympic sponsorship.
Managing the Olympics, by Stephen Frawley and Daryl Adair.
According to the authors, “The Olympic Games are the world's most complex and challenging sport mega-event to organize. Managing the Olympics is the first ever attempt to bring together the world's leading Olympic management researchers in one book and draws on the latest research into the management challenges faced by the organizers and key stakeholders of the Games.”
Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games, by Mitt Romney
The former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate is also well known for taking over management of the struggling organizing committee overseeing the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. The games were among the most successful ever hosted. In this book, Romney details the crisis and what was done to lead the turnaround effort.
Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?, by Ben Hunt-Davis and Harriett Beveridge
Ben Hunt-Davis won Olympic Gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as part of the Men's Rowing Eight.
He and Executive Coach Harriet Beveridge have teamed up to show readers how to use similar strategies to improve their own lives. The pair have been road-testing these methods for 10 years, with clients from all walks of life; managers, leaders, call center staff, sales reps, athletes and shop assistants; whatever your challenges, whatever your goals, there are ideas that will help everyone.
Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? is divided into 11 chapters, each of which is split into two halves. Firstly, Ben provides a narrative, recounting an episode from the eight's journey to Gold, and shows the team using the methods in action. Then comes the analysis, explaining why and how the crew did what they did.
“Simple and chatty, the book is a warts-and-all authentic account of a journey to success that will show you how you can succeed in whatever you want to do,” reads one review. “It is aimed at readers interested in personal development and managers wanting to achieve corporate goals. It will appeal to sports enthusiasts, practitioners and coaches who will find the Olympic story compelling and learn plenty of techniques for improving their own game strategies.”