Recent recipients of his pep talks include organisations as diverse as BT the England and Wales Cricket Board and The Guardian
Recent recipients of his pep talks include organisations as diverse as BT, the England and Wales Cricket Board and The Guardian. He has become, at 58, one of the top motivational speakers, translating the techniques that helped win gold medals and break records into a formula that spurs the high-flyers of big business into boosting sales and increasing productivity.He calls it “The Winning Difference”. It was a decision he took with sadness but not one he now regrets Since then his new career has taken off in leaps and bounds. Dick turned his back on the glory years at the same time as the promotions chief, Andy Norman, was sacked, and while the two events were not related it was significant that the departure of the twin pillars of the production line coincided with the sport’s immediate decline, which has only recently been arrested.
A row over the slashing of his coaching budget by more than half led to Dick resigning his pounds 37,500 post after an angry car-park confrontation with the then chief executive of the British Athletic Federation, Peter Radford. Sport teaches you what to do when the you-know-what hits the fan. It’s about coping with a crisis, and applying sporting principles is an effective way of getting the message across.”ALAN HUBBARD.
IT IS five years since Frank Dick stepped out of the athletics arena, quitting as Britain’s coaching guru after the most illustrious spell the sport has known. He overlorded an inspired era when all that glittered on the track really did turn to gold; from Coe, Cram, Ovett and Thompson through to Christie, Jackson and Gunnell. If I was in the middle of a storm in the Southern Ocean the last thing I’d want is to read about theory. I’d much prefer someone had told me what to do.”What business people want is to hear at first hand about the experiences of others, not some Professor Snodgrass droning on. “In the past, people have read books about it but what people really want is to know about actual experience. “Motivation may be the in thing at the moment but I’ve always felt we have been a long way behind America in this area,” said Edwards.
Our message is that we are ordinary people, and that ordinary people in all walks of life can achieve extraordinary things.”TEAM targets the financial sector and retail and communications industries. Next year her motivators will be moving into Europe in a big way. We work along the lines that we have all succeeded in our particular sports, have all been at the top and know the qualities needed to get there. “We approach things from different angles, concentrating on teaching management leadership and teamwork development skills through our own sporting experiences We are a lot more hands on, with interactive seminars. They include the former Olympic champions Sebastian Coe and Mary Peters, the rower Matthew Pinsent, the ex-Scottish rugby captain Gavin Hastings, the explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Rebecca Stevens, the first woman to climb Everest.”We are somewhat different from the other motivators out there,” said Edwards. Talking up sport as a means to boost the corporate image is a burgeoning profession And it helps if you have a bit of the buccaneer about you. Tracy Edwards, one of the most celebrated adventuresses of the high seas, now runs a company specialising in coaxing big business into climbing mountains.
Reading-based Tracy Edwards Associates Motivation – or TEAM for short – comprises an illustrious task force of 16 whose differing talents can be tapped for tailor-made projects.