Author Daniel Pink scanned the coverage and isolated six uniquely Norwegian practices that might explain how this tiny country with a population less than that of metro Atlanta managed to win more olympic medals than any other country on the planet during the 2018 Winter Olympics. These are practices that “offer broader lessons on motivation and performance of any kind”:
– The social fabric of the team comes first.
– Zero tolerance for jerks.
– Humility and respect are the highest virtues.
– Minimal prize money.
– In youth sports, athletes don’t keep score until they’re 13.
– Friday night is taco night.
He learned this by reading these articles:
The Ski Team That Sleeps Together Wins A Lot of Gold Medals Together (NY Times)
In Norway, kids aren’t taught to compete with each other until they’re teenagers (World Economic Forum)
Norway Crushed the Competition at the Winter Olympics. Here is the Tiny Country’s Secret (Time)
I learned this from his excellent bi-weekly newsletter the Pink Newsletter.
Image by Ståle Grut via Creative Commons
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