Over one hundred representatives of a variety of local businesses attended a business lunch hosted by Lloyds TSB on Monday 16th May. The event, held at the Sefton hotel, featured talks by two Olympians on applying an Olympic mentality to the workplace. Steve Backley OBE is the former world record holder for the Javelin and has won two silvers and a bronze at the Olympics, as well as a host of other international awards. He was in the British national athletics team for over fifteen years and is the only British track and field competitor to have won medals at three different Olympic Games. Roger Black MBE is one of the most successful track athletes in British Olympic history and has won one bronze and two silver Olympic medals as well as two gold medals at the World Championships. The two athletes now work as motivational speakers and were brought to the Island by Scottish Widows, the sponsors of the Parish Walk. In their talk they focussed on the role that passion plays in driving success, a fact that is as true of business as it is of sports. The major difference, they said, was that the goals were much more clearly defined in sports, so business people needed to focus their passion on clear, achievable goals in order to harness the same effect. They also discussed the necessity for a strong team and the parallels that could be drawn between sport and business in that context. They were well received by the audience, which was largely composed of the bank’s corporate clients. Roger commented: “Ultimately what we talk about is performance and the lessons we learnt about it. We then challenge people to look at their own performance critically, in light of that. Clarity of goals is essential, so we go through a goal setting process. If everyone can go away thinking differently, we’ve done our job.” Commenting on Lloyds, he continued: “Lloyds are an Olympic sponsor and a great supporter of grassroots athletics and sport, so it’s always a pleasure working with a company so committed to its communities.” Steve added: “This is my first trip to the Island and I’m very impressed so far. I’d just like to thank Lloyds for the opportunity to be here and to share our stories. Personally I always enjoy the Q&A part more than the talking, because that’s when you really get to know people and when you get challenged.” Trevor Kirk, Head of corporate Banking at Lloyds TSB Isle of Man, added: “I think it is important for us as a bank and major employer on the island to give something back to the community, our customers and those we do business with and ensure that the Island benefits in some way from our sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics. I am of course very grateful to my colleagues at Scottish Widows who have made today possible and I have to say how thought-provoking and interesting Steve and Roger were and how well their talk was received by our guests.” - ENDS -