Eddie’s mission to build lasting value

The worlds of sport and business are both regularly guilty of short-termism. Under pressure to perform, banks, institutional investors and management are forced to report progress formally as often as quarterly. Internally, it’s monthly or even weekly.

Rooting for the captain Down Under

England cricket captain Joe Root has many qualities that headhunters in the business world would struggle to find in a single candidate: talented, confident, tactical, determined to a degree just the right side of stubborn and ready to turn on the aggression when needed.

Bend Me, Shape Me

Dreamkillers Ireland scuppered England’s hopes of a second grand slam, but Eddie Jones’s back-to-back Six Nations winning rugby squad is still considered by many to be set for even greater success than Sir Clive Woodward’s 2003 World Cup heroes.

An Inflated View of their Worth

Footballers probably don’t worry too much about inflation. Top players are fabulously wealthy and their demand for most goods and services is relatively inelastic. But even the ‘beautiful game’ is distorted by inflation when you look at the effect it has on the eye-watering transfer fees paid to soccer superstars.

Leadership After Brexit

No team can win without good leadership. Fresh from England’s three-test whitewash of Australia’s rugby players, coach Eddie Jones has again extracted from his men the brilliance that his predecessor failed to find.

At The Top Of Their Game

So far, so good for Aussie Eddie Jones’s managerial grip on England’s rugby squad. Of course, foreign coaches for national teams (or domestic sport) are nothing new. But they underline the need to have the right man or woman for the job, wherever they come from.

Sink Low, Sweet Chariot

Early baths all round for England’s sportsmen this year, it seems. Within six months of the national cricket team’s early exit from the ICC World Cup, Chris Robshaw’s side became the first ever Rugby World Cup hosts to crash out in the pool stages.

Shaping Up

Andy Murray gained more than half a stone in muscle to reach the top three in tennis. Gym work, track training and 50 pieces of sushi a day helped. For all athletes – and for the rest of us and our businesses - new routines are important for achieving different and better outcomes.

It’s Just Not Cricket

Cricket lovers across the globe will admit that the game of cricket has changed forever.  Gone are the memories of donning the whites and whitening our boots in preparation for the new season. Instead, we now have a kaleidoscope of colours on the field and a cacophony of sounds of cheerleaders and fans at the international 20/20 matches.