I, like many of you I’m sure, have been both captivated and distracted by the 2008 Summer Olympics. I’ve found it difficult during the past several days to focus during my “prime” blogging time because of all the great athletic events going on Beijing (check out this clever video clip for proper pronunciation). There’s just nothing like Olympic competition.

I’ve been trying to find a good way to relate the Olympic games to leadership and product management. I was pleased to find a post on Hubspot by Colleen Coyne — 8 Marketing Tips from an Olympic Gold Medalist. Colleen won a gold medal in the 1998 games and is now an inbound marketing consultant. She compares the work involved in successful marketing with the work it takes to train for Olympic events; she applies eight specific tips she learned while training for her event to marketing. She gives the following tips:

1. Don’t train harder, train smarter
2. Success is a decision
3. Plan the work
4. Work the plan
5. Be in position to be in position
6. Nobody cares what you want, they care what you do
7. Hang out with & watch the pros
8. If you are not getting better, you’re getting worse.

I recommend you read Colleen’s post to get the full content of her comparisons.