What can business leaders learn from Premier League underdogs Leicester City? According to Appco UK, the team’s unlikely rise to the top of the table is a lesson in true grit and determination for any business owner or budding entrepreneur.
Football commentators have described this season’s Premier League as one of the best ever. Leicester City’s dramatic rise from relegation prospects to title favourites has captured the imagination of not just the club’s fans, but spectators worldwide.
Their overwhelming support clearly illustrated the public’s desire to see an underdog succeed – an idea that extends well beyond sport.
The inspiration of such a David and Goliath battle is particularly applicable in business, where self belief and commitment to hard work can reap similar ‘against-all-odds’ rewards.
It’s a message embraced by Appco, where the `Be Something More’ motto encourages people to always strive for their best, no matter what personal or professional path they take, or what challenges or setbacks they face.
And for Leicester fans, those struggles have been more than apparent over the last 15 years.
The club spent a decade outside the top echelon of English football and was relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2007-2008 season. It wasn’t until 2014 that they regained a spot in the Premier League.
Since then, in spite of continued setbacks, Leicester’s dogged determination has seen them slowly climb back to the top of the ladder.
This remarkable turnaround demonstrates an unfailing commitment to succeed, and the power of hard work and positivity that any business leader or entrepreneur can learn from.
Leicester City: a lesson for business
You have the tools to achieve your goals
Setting up and then maintaining your own business is a lot like reaching the Premier League. Challenges, setbacks and losses are guaranteed. The only other thing that is certain is that success requires motivation, self belief, team spirit and a never-give-up attitude as much as demands talent.
Complacency is also not an option – on the football field or in the office – as Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri points out, even as his team draws ever closer to the ultimate prize: “We have to fight, we have achieved nothing yet. We’ve made a good story, but to make something you will remember in 30 or 40 years, we have to win.”
Rather than being content with early successes, Leicester’s focus on their ultimate goal is an invaluable lesson to anyone in business to use every achievement and milestone as fuel to drive you towards your main objective.
The grit and determination Leicester has shown, along with the reliance on teamwork, serve as a reminder that, no matter how difficult a task might seem, you have the tools to achieve your goals – no matter how unlikely or far off they may seem.