THE F FACTOR

                  
 
It’s only really as I‘ve got older that I’ve attached more importance to the idea that small amounts can make a big difference. In the sporting world, especially at the more elite end of the genre teams and individuals, they’ve become acutely aware of this. Sports people are so closely matched that tiny moments and split seconds can mean the difference between success and failure.
 
The sports psychologist has become an essential asset in almost all sporting fields as the realisation that getting belief systems in place and psychologically ‘right’ can have a huge impact on your results. I heard an interview this week with a psychologist who had overseen Britain’s Female Olympic Curling team that won Gold in 2006. Not only was it a shock to the Curling World, it was a shock to most of Britain who hadn’t heard the phrase outside of a hairdresser’s. This psychologist was adamant his team knew they were going to win 3 months prior to the event.
 
One of the more inspirational advocates of attention to detail is Dave Brailsford, the former British Olympic Cycling Manager. He now has a worldwide reputation after heading Britain’s ascent to the very top of track cycling, and winning medal hauls so disproportionate to our numbers that everyone had to take note. Clive Woodward was another sporting leader who achieved world success with our Rugby World Cup team and who was famously pedantic in the extreme. Just this week Fabio Capello has been seeking verification on the type of grass England footballers will be using at their training facilities during the world cup, wanting it to replicate the playing surfaces they will move onto.
 
Businesses can learn so much from these models. Even Imagine can punch way above our weight if we apply the same principals. Our personal and office presentation should be spot on, our vehicles sparkling, our preparation and planning careful and constructive, our marketing prevalent and our systems constantly tweaked. Here’s a fun little test I set my staff to see how sharp they were.
 
Count the Fs in the following sentence:
 
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-
IC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.
 
Answer is on our Twitter Page (www.twitter.com/imaginewatford), but if you said 3 or less, count again!

ANSWER IS 6 - Apparently a large proportion of us don't register joining words like 'of' when reading. If you got it right you are very analytical and probably in banking or an accountant (and maybe a tiny bit sad) :)