Five Business Lessons from the Paris 2024 Olympics

While the Paris 2024 Olympics and my #OlympicsLeadershipSeries are now history, there are many business lessons we can learn from this exciting international event.

PLANNING

In September 2017, Paris was awarded the 2024 Summer Olympics, also referred to as the 33rd Olympiad, thus, the planning began then.

According to Wikipedia, “The Olympic events were held in the city of Paris and its metropolitan region, including the neighboring cities of Saint-Denis, Le Bourget, Nanterre, Versailles, and Vaires-sur-Marne. The basketball preliminaries and handball finals were held in Lille, which is 225 km (140 mi) from the host city, Paris; the sailing and some of the football games were held in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, which is 777 km (483 mi) from Paris. Football was hosted in five additional cities: Bordeaux, Décines-Charpieu (Lyon), Nantes, Nice and Saint-Étienne. Meanwhile, the surfing events were held in Teahupo'o village in the overseas territory of French Polynesia, which is 15,716 km (9,765 mi) from Paris.” 

With all those locations plus transportation, housing, and food for 10,500-plus athletes, a team of experts was needed for such a large undertaking.

According to CBS News, “At 594 athletes, the United States had the largest presence at the Olympics. Trailing the U.S. was France, with 572 athletes, and then Australia, with 460 athletes. On the opposite end of the scale, four countries – Belize, Liechtenstein, Nauru and Somalia – sent just one athlete each to compete at the Olympics.”

A take-away for businesses is, when tasked with a large project, spend the time to learn all the facts, assemble a talented and enthusiastic team with many areas of expertise, and above all, don’t be afraid to think outside the box to create an incredible result.

COURTESY

Athletes demonstrated courtesy toward one another. Audience members demonstrated courtesy as they watched the competitions. And the International Olympic Committee demonstrated courtesy when it acknowledged its error from the Opening Ceremony, when athletes from South Korea were introduced as representatives of North Korea.

A take-away for businesses is to always demonstrate courtesy toward employees and customers and acknowledge (and own) errors when they occur.

TEAMWORK

While athletes competed in both individual and team competitions, however, they all represented their countries, for example, TEAM USA represented the United States.

A take-away for businesses is to explain the importance of teamwork in onboarding activities, on-going training, and the creation and maintenance of a positive corporate culture.

And to quote American Olympian Chloé Dygert, an American professional racing cyclist who has won seven gold medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and three medals (one silver and two bronze) at the Olympic Games, "The team behind the team is everybody."

COMMUNICATION

204 countries were represented at the 2024 Summer Games with 54 from Africa, 48 from Europe, 44 from Asia, 41 from the Americas, and 17 from Oceania. As a result, a single language had to be used to make communication possible. Since the event took place in France, the main language was French, but some sports have universally-understood words or phrases.

A take-away for businesses is to avoid industry lingo when possible. It’s important to present information in as clear a manner as possible to employees, customers, and fans.

RECOGNITION

Exceptional athletes received medals (gold, silver, and bronze), and during the medal ceremonies, the three top winners stood on podiums and listened to the national Anthem of the gold medalist.

A take-away for businesses is to recognize the quality work product of employees on a regular basis and also create unique ways to showcase special employees and/or their successes.

What other business lessons did you learn from the Olympics? Chime in and share.

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Image Credit: Paris 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee.