01926 633333August 15th, 2024
Our Partner, Ghislain Taschini recently had the privilege of putting on hold his Bourton Group responsibilities to support, as Technical Officials Team Member, the athletes and judges of the Archery competition of Paris 2024.
There were two aspects to his exceptional experience: first, he was part of a multinational team of 200+ trained staff and volunteers led by Sebastien Flute, 1992 Archery Olympic Champion. Second, closely observe and learn from the world’s 128 elite shooters as they deliver their sporting interpretation of Operational Excellence.
Photographic credit: Lars Moeller Photography
Readiness is the key prerequisite to delivery excellence
To be successful, the Olympic Games need their organisational readiness to peak at the same time as the athletes’ readiness. This joint-readiness principle applies in the exact same way to major one-off events of the business world including major conferences, forums, trade shows, etc.
To ensure that the world’s biggest sporting event delivers on time requires the design, organisation, planning, and execution of a highly complex multi-year preparation journey which can be broken down into:
- Validation of requirements and outcomes, budgeting, and high-level design.
- Detailed design plans by key functional areas: for sports similar to archery, these would include General Operations (athletes, federations and judges, workforce, information & media) as well as Technical Operations (Field of Play coordination, infrastructure & equipment).
- Integration of detailed plans into event/venue operational plans,
- Staffing and training of teams,
- Trial of operational plans / procedures before finalisation.
Unsurprisingly, organisational readiness will benefit from establishing a clear vision and motivating goals, lean collaborative planning, and relentless coordination and adaptability.
How does an elite athlete’s excellence readiness journey differ from the host city’s preparation?
- Athletes face fierce internal and external competition in the long build-up to the Olympic Games. In contrast, for the winning host city, the competition takes place before the Games are awarded and thus before the planning and preparation phase begins.
- Athletes spend several years in intense individual or collective tactical, mental, physical, and technical training. They endlessly rehearse their ‘Standard Operating Procedures’ leading to opportunities to “Plan-Do-Check-Act” and improve. Host cities and Organisation Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOG) usually experience a very steep learning, a “Beginner’s Effect” which can be mitigated with the relevant strategies, tactics and support.
- Athletes are specialised ultra high-performance individuals focused on their own or their team’s requirements and needs (“outside-in”). In their preparations, the host city and the OCOG must consider, understand and deliver to the needs of a multitude of external stakeholders and their complex interactions (“inside-out”).
Unwavering Support Behind the Scenes: The Backbone of Paris 2024
40,000 staff and volunteers are currently producing the highest possible level of service and support to 10,500 Olympic athletes who themselves will strive to be excellent in their respective disciplines. The same engagement will be displayed for the Paralympic Games later this month.
If Paris 2024 is successfully delivered, the structures, teams, processes and technologies set-up by the OCOG will be “invisible” to the spectators, athletes and media who will have limited to no awareness of the formidable operational complexity which lies behind the curtains.
10 Key Success Factors for “invisible” Delivery Excellence
Committed to Excellence: Embracing Servant Leadership and the Olympic Spirit
At Bourton Group, we are strong advocates of Servant Leadership, and we strive to apply this principle, so our consultants deliver or exceed on customer expectations. With Paris 2024 Operational Excellence and Sporting Excellence in mind, during his time supporting the athletes and judges Ghislain made “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (faster, stronger, higher) his motto for Delivery Excellence and Continuous Improvement.