What Chris Did Next: An Invitation To Prepare For Mission 2036

02 Apr 2024 | Sport Industry Group

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‘If sport makes such a positive difference, how come it’s everywhere, but the world is in deep sh*t??‘

You might argue that that’s an unfair question, so let’s frame it more
positively without downplaying the scale of the challenge.

‘At what point will we get off the fence, and how can we genuinely become part of the solution?’

On the early evening of Monday 22nd April, I shall offer two answers. Both are richly informed by observations made in boardrooms, strategy sessions, post-competition reviews and elsewhere. Both require the shedding of old assumptions, and both are too urgent just to talk about them. So the order of the evening will be ‘show-don’t-tell’.

The first answer is to free ourselves from the tyranny of short-termism. After all, in a general election year, it’s natural to ask what can be achieved in a single parliament.

Also a Paralympic year, it’s reasonable to ask what can be achieved in a single cycle. But the challenges and opportunities we face within our organisations, our economy, our communities – and yes, our sports – look much more soluble through a 12-year lens than a four-year one.

The 2024 Paralympic Games will be held in Paris.

Of course, it’s futile to test this proposition by trying to predict the future. But this year – halfway between 2012 and 2036 – provides a superb vantage point to consider the last twelve years, and to extrapolate what our leadership approach needs to be in the twelve years to come. To put it another way, how can we create our own Mission 2036?

The second answer is to make room for the new leaders in our midst.
They’re here already: In 2012 they were competitors or organisers or volunteers or fans.

Now they’re ready to run the show, and the only thing stopping them is … us: the older ones. We’re not obsolete, we just have to find new roles and let them apply their digital savviness, their capacity to relate to Gen Z, and their alertness to 21st Century conundrums.

Not convinced yet? Well, come and hear three current stars of the sporting world share their wisdom on topics that all leaders need to be thinking hard about right now: standards, staying power and succession.

‘How will we do all this in a single evening, and still leave room to network with old and new friends?’

The only way to find out is to be there to experience high quality leadership education, horizon scanning and the fertile meeting of minds.

You can access further information and book your slot for the event here.