The latest Clay Shaw Butler 'Looking After Business' column



Looking after business, the business page column from the Carmarthen Journal.
By David Butler, of Carmarthen-based accountants and business consultants Clay Shaw Butler


Sport is bound to be high in all of our thoughts this summer – Wimbledon, the Euro 2012 football tournament and the Olympics are just three of the events dominating press coverage.
I am proud to be involved with a charity called SportsAid Wales, which supports some of our most successful sportsmen and sportswomen.
A few weeks back, the ‘team’ at Clay Shaw Butler also turned out on a Sunday morning to cheer the Olympic Torch Relay as it moved up Lammas Street in Carmarthen.
It seems that, no matter where you turn, sport is one of the major topics of conversation.
But does sport matter when it comes to business?
Well, it can teach us valuable lessons.
For example the dynamics of sport can have parallels in the world of business.
In both areas you need –
  • Leadership 
  • Group cohesion (or teamwork) 
  • Communication. 
Sport doesn’t just burn calories and stimulate endorphins; its benefits pay off in longer term.
For example, sporting activity helps keep us fit and can give some of us that extra edge in business.
Sport builds up physical and emotional endurance, and demands that players are constantly aware of their weaknesses and strive to overcome them.
Pushing yourself through things in sports can help create the kind of resiliency that you will need if you are thinking of starting your own business.
Sport provides a complete set of metaphors for business success: getting a team working together and finally reach the podium is very gratifying.
Applying these metaphors to the business world can be the key to success.
Many top sport performers used the lessons learned during their sport career to establish a successful career in business.
Success in both sport and business must include the following –
  • You have to be focused. 
  • You have to plan meticulously. 
  • You have to learn how to perform at a consistently high level. 
There are lessons galore in sport.
For example, if the team members of a business are not well motivated and they do not enjoy their jobs, then it is impossible to maximise the team potential and win.
The team at Clay Shaw Butler are on Twitter. Look for @clayshawbutler. We have more than 100 followers, so join the club!
The team at Clay Shaw Butler can be contacted on 01267 228500 or through the website at www.clayshawbutler.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former Gower MP Gareth Wardell the guest speaker at Llanelli Rotary Club

Image
Former Gower MP Gareth Wardell was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of Llanelli Rotary Club held at the Stradey Park Hotel. Mr Wardell gave an illuminating address, weaving comparisons between his job as a politician and his late father's job as a Tumble barber. It was an amusing, highly-entertaining and thought-provoking address. Mr Wardell, now 69, won the Gower constituency seat in a Parliamentary by-election in 1982. The Labour MP held the seat until his retirement in 1997. He now works as a public affairs consultant in Wales. Mr Wardell's Parliamentary term was largely in opposition to Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government. But his did make a significant contribution by being the youngest MP to chair the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. Mr Wardell recognised that in the 'fame stakes' he may have played second fiddle to his father, Jack, who was one of the UK's oldest barbers and who cut and styled hair for almost 80 years. Jac
Read more

'Class of 1980' from Burry Port enjoy reunion

Image
There was a big class reunion held in Burry Port at the weekend. Members of the Class of 1980 from Porth Tywyn (Burry Port junior) School got together at The Coasting Pilot pub. The reunion was organised by Christine Rees and same 22 members of the original class of 28 turn up to discuss their old schooldays. One ‘Class of 1980’ member was Burry Port businessman Owain Davies. He said: “We all have very happy memories of our time in school. We had a fantastic teacher in Mr Heddwyn Jones, who now lives in Four Roads. “We were very fortunate to have the same teacher for three years and we were a very happy class. Mr Jones was an inspiring teacher and we all got on every well and we are all still good friends. “Heather Thomas (now Heather Osmond) made it from Surrey, but she was trumped by Gail Morris, who flew in from Ohio in the United States for the reunion. “It was a fantastic evening at the Coasting Pilot with good food, good wine and good company. We even recreated the class
Read more

Lauryn Davey is making her mark in athletics - but needs sponsors

Image
Ammanford-based Lauryn Davey is making a major mark in the world of Welsh athletics. At just 16, she is the best all-round athlete of her age in Wales. She's chalking up Welsh championship victories and has been honoured by her club, the Carmarthen Harriers. Lauryn's been earmarked as a future international star, but knows the road to the big championships is difficult, demanding and expensive. Ammanford businessman and well-known comic entertainer Phil Evans has launched a campaign to get cash backers for Lauryn's athletics career. "Everyone in the area is hugely proud of her achievements in athletics to date," said Phil. "But we also want to see her go on and do bigger and better things. "Together with some friends, I am helping find ways of generating much-needed sponsorship cash for Lauryn. "She has massive potential to succeed on the international stage and I am sure a little bit of financial help will help to smooth her
Read more