The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed
Cath Bishop
After a summer of sport including the Olympics and The European Cup amongst many other huge sporting events, I was stunned by the number of times the word “cost” was used when referring to the toll that sport places on athletes. It wasn’t cost in terms of time or money, it was the impact on their mental health, their relationships and their identities that was repeatedly commented on. I read the 1st edition of Cath Bishop’s The Long Win in 2020 and have subsequently heard her speak on several occasions on the meaning of success, so it was timely to see that she had revised the book this year. Once again, I have been struck by her thoughtful wisdom and insights both from her own career as an athlete and from her experiences of working with athletes but also from her business life too.
From an early age, we talk of success in terms of winning or losing, from early classroom experiences, family games, to sporting achievements. So often, in business and in sport, people are judged by whether they achieve promotion, their ranking or their results and not by how they achieved those results and the lessons they may have learnt in pursuit of those successes.
Cath Bishop questions how society has come to view success and how this attitude may prevent us from reaching our true potential.
She describes her 3Cs Framework based on the 3 themes:
- Clarity – what matters to us, our why, our purpose and the impact we want to have on others
- Constant Learning – looking for opportunities to grow and learn
- Connection – the quality of the relationships we build along the way and the ability to listen to others to collectively succeed.
She encourages us to ask questions and consider whether the verbal and non verbal language we use truly matches the culture and values by which we aspire to work and live.
This book is an essential read for parents and coaches of young athletes to promote a long win attitude. All too often, short term success is celebrated when children are spotted early by eager talent ID programmes, win medals and pressure builds on their young shoulders to live up to that expectation. The fun can begin to diminish, the relationships within the family unit change and all too quickly the motivation to play may drop. The book also considers the impact of this focus on those who are slower to mature or develop and how many truly talented players may give up when the struggle seems too hard and are lost to the benefits and joy that lifelong engagement in sport can bring.
The book questions the messages we give when victory is close but maybe not achieved. Does coming second constitute losing? The author was “only” a silver medallist at the Olympics. Should she view that as a failure or a wonderful experience
