Businesses have the chance to talk to some of the UK's top sports stars and others at the peak of their profession at a pioneering event next month. Iain Laing reports.
COMPANIES which want to succeed in today’s tough economic environment have to reach high and set their sights on being not just good but world-class.
Nebusiness has launched a major new event which gives firms in the North East the opportunity to be inspired by a line-up of speakers who are truly world-class in their chosen fields.
Businesses will get the chance to learn from some of the best professionals in the UK who are world-class in their field, whether it be sport or the leisure industry.
The Be World Class conference, organised by leading sports psychologist and performance coach Simon Hartley and Muckle LLP, and supported by HSBC and UK Trade and Investment, will give bosses a unique opportunity to take a fresh look at how to take their business to a new level.
Speakers will explain the principles which have underpinned their own success and how they can be applied to business.
Hartley said: “There’s been lots of interest in the event. I have had people from firms in North America and Europe who say they are really sorry they can’t get along and want to get hold of the dvd of the event afterwards.
“There are a lot of events with consultants or bankers or accountants talking about how to make your company better, but here we have an unusual line-up of high profile professionals explaining what it takes to be world class.
“It’s a real opportunity for companies in the North East to get a chance to hear these speakers. The event will be very interactive. We’ll have a panel to take questions. I am compiling questions sent to me on Twitter and Linked In and those going will get a rare chance to talk to these speakers over lunch or after their talks.”
Hartley is a sports psychologist and performance coach. During the last 15 years, he has coached a wide variety of high-performing individuals, business leaders and teams.
The former director of performance sports at the University of Northumbria and the speakers will explain the key principles that have underpinned their success, and how business leaders can apply these lessons.
He got the idea while carrying out research for a book he has written on ways companies can improve to reach a new level.
Hartley says: “For many years I have had the pleasure of working with world-class athletes and sports teams.
“Watching them has raised questions in my mind. What is it that makes some people world-class? My rationale was simple.
“If there are traits that are common to world-class chefs, mountaineers, baristas, athletes, special forces personnel and scientists, those traits are likely to cross into any domain.
“I found that the interviews were incredibly insightful. They gave me a real glimpse into the way world-class people think, how they perceive the world and how they make decisions.
“I was able to get under the skin and start to understand very profound differences in the mind-set of world-class people.
“The Be World Class Conference allows me the chance to share some of these fantastic insights with people first hand. I want to give others the chance to meet these world-class people, chat to them, ask them questions and to be inspired by them, as I have been.”
