One thing that struck me though in reading your mental toughness article is the absence of the notion and role of ‘stakeholders’ which more often than not in the corporate world is now the shareholders and public scrutiny.

When I look at Novak or Rafa, or Usain Bolt, I see a mentally tough sportsman, ruthless, competitive, driven and talented. Where they differ from the corporate world in my eyes (and i’ve chosen individuals specifically rather than team sports), is that they are personally the product and business. Their interests are personal and while they have fans, sponsors and even a team behind them with a stake in their success, their personal performance has the most dramatic impact on their fortunes, goals and ambitions, which i believe breeds the environment for mental toughness and self belief to flourish.They are and own the biggest stake of all.

Translating that to a corporate environment is an area in which i would like to understand more but i think is also fundamental in developing the next generation of business leaders. You could compare the sporting mental toughness to an entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg’s vision and drive comes to mind, but again Facebook is a unique business which draws as much on the brand of the individual and their goal as the ultimate product. The key stakeholder is Mark himself, his vision, his drive. I’m not sure this in true in large organisations for middle/senior management, who have less ‘skin in the game’.

I guess my question is: How do you align a recruited business leaders goals with shareholders interests to create the environment for mental toughness to come to the forefront? Does it require a love for the game/business from the outset, or can this love and ability to stamp ones one brand on a product of commercial enterprise be developed and honed.

I believe everyone has a level of mental toughness, that’s human nature and often might not be visible until the correct environment/variables are in place to push the individual. Creating this environment and getting the buy in of stakeholders is something business needs to create before we can draw on Novak’s example in my opinion.

Keep up the good work.

I read a stat recently that said mental health problems affect every business – right now, 1 in 6 workers is experiencing depression, anxiety or stress, at an average cost of £1,037 per employee, or £3billion in total per year for the economy as a whole.

I have started writing about this subject in greater depth and I will publish an article on this subject (as well as some of the other questions above) once this series has concluded. If you haven’t already do sign up to get an email telling you when that is published: http://eepurl.com/iYcID

In the meantime – my latest article on mental toughness is now live, so please have a read of it here and let me know your thoughts: http://bit.ly/yM2L6E

Thanks everyone,

Vik

Vik

Follow @FootdownVikram for updates.

Excellent report as always – thought provoking and lucid.

I’ve been a member of Footdown for a couple of years and your economic forecast has (correctly) been rather grim throughout.

Do you think this is the way of things for the next generation as power and wealth move East, or can you envisage any kind of resurgence in The West/UK?

Related to this, I read an interesting book called “How The West Was Lost
” and wondered what you thought of its analysis.

Tom