Management books – who needs them?

Who needs management books when we have sport...

All Sport is good for you. Play, watch or comment on it. It forces you to have an opinion, to take sides, to get off the fence. It fills bookshelves physical (and virtual) with great titles and inspirational content. It teaches how to be the best, how to train, how to win; survival both mentally and physically.

It seems obvious that increasing the heart rate, stretching muscles and sweating are all good for the mind, body and soul; add a little nutritional guidance and you can achieve pretty much anything.

You don’t even need to take part in a sport, the books alone provide a wealth of food for the brain. I recently read the autobiographical ‘Racing Through the Dark: The Rise and Fall of David Millar’ a book about drug taking in cycling, because I was unsure whether drug cheats should be allowed to compete again. This was not about forming or changing my opinion; it was about expanding my understanding and challenging the issue and this is where sport really comes into its own.

‘Engage’ by Paul Kimmage on the other hand was inspirational. It was a tough read, trying to gain an understanding of how a 20 year old rugby international, paralysed from the neck down can cope in the face of adversity; but wholly rewarding.

Several years ago I was lucky enough to meet two 18 year old boys, sponsored by UPS to compete in the ‘Porsche Carrera Cup’. They were young, but took a mature approach to their sport and knew how to conduct themselves. They explained that to progress further they had to learn how to manage the ‘red mist’. Control it and the opportunity remains in tact, react negatively and you are smoke. This is so true. Contrast the way Lewis Hamilton dealt with relegation from pole to the back of the grid at Cataluñya and how Joey Barton tweets that he had the presence of mind to try and take someone, a Manchester City player, off the pitch with him.

What is the point of this brief blog?

I am sure the pressure to win within sport is immense but is it any different to those faced by everyone, everyday? I think not. My son a keen, competent sportsman studying at university asked me recently if I knew of any good management books. My simple response was “who needs management books when we have sport?”