WEBVTT
00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:02.319
This is the Huddle.
00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:10.080
Every Monday, a few minutes, one idea about performing under pressure, and one piece of work to do before we talk again.
00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.199
We meet, we get the assignment, we go.
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:20.079
I want to start with what taught me that talent becomes useless the moment it has to be used under pressure.
00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:25.039
I was 21, competing for my first national title in the former Yugoslavia.
00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.320
My quarter-final opponent was a world vice champion.
00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:30.160
He was more talented than me.
00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:33.280
It was in his city and the crowd was behind him.
00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:39.439
I won in overtime where whoever scores first wins, and there is no room for a mistake.
00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:43.920
There were bigger wins after that against men more gifted than I was.
00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:49.039
So how is it possible that talent, even well-developed talent, guaranteed nothing?
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:52.880
When I walked on the mat, I felt that mat belonged to me.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:58.960
Anyone else was an intruder, and there was only one possible outcome: the intruder got defeated.
00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:08.799
That feeling was not a gift, it was built, years of training, two and three times a day, and my teammates knew I would not quit a session short of a heart attack.
00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.599
Pain and discomfort were my fuel.
00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:13.920
My opponents sensed it.
00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:18.400
I never spent a second thinking about how good and talented they are.
00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:20.480
That was outside of my control.
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:28.640
I work only on what I could control: composure, breathing, body language, timing, distance, execution.
00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:34.319
Here is what it looks like when performing under pressure hasn't been built.
00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.760
A director came to me after a board presentation.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:40.799
He knew the material better than anyone in the room.
00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:42.560
He built the model himself.
00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:50.640
3 minutes in, a VP asked him a question he had already answered on the previous slide, and he lost his train of thought.
00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:52.799
He rushed the rest and sat down.
00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:54.560
He wasn't underprepared.
00:01:54.560 --> 00:02:00.319
His problem was that he had never trained for the moment when things don't go as planned.
00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.799
So your work before the next huddle.
00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:04.719
Assess yourself under pressure.
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:07.680
Don't avoid tough questions, walk into them.
00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:12.240
While you're in them, notice your breathing, your composure, your body language.
00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.120
Notice how you speak to your family and your colleagues.
00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:18.400
Notice how you decide when the going gets hard.
00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:23.759
When you see how pressure affects you, you will know where you have the most room to improve.
00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:26.000
That was Huddle number one.
00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.719
Take your position and get to work.
00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:02.319
This is the Huddle.
00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:10.080
Every Monday, a few minutes, one idea about performing under pressure, and one piece of work to do before we talk again.
00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:13.199
We meet, we get the assignment, we go.
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:20.079
I want to start with what taught me that talent becomes useless the moment it has to be used under pressure.
00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:25.039
I was 21, competing for my first national title in the former Yugoslavia.
00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.320
My quarter-final opponent was a world vice champion.
00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:30.160
He was more talented than me.
00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:33.280
It was in his city and the crowd was behind him.
00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:39.439
I won in overtime where whoever scores first wins, and there is no room for a mistake.
00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:43.920
There were bigger wins after that against men more gifted than I was.
00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:49.039
So how is it possible that talent, even well-developed talent, guaranteed nothing?
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:52.880
When I walked on the mat, I felt that mat belonged to me.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:58.960
Anyone else was an intruder, and there was only one possible outcome: the intruder got defeated.
00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:08.799
That feeling was not a gift, it was built, years of training, two and three times a day, and my teammates knew I would not quit a session short of a heart attack.
00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.599
Pain and discomfort were my fuel.
00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:13.920
My opponents sensed it.
00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:18.400
I never spent a second thinking about how good and talented they are.
00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:20.480
That was outside of my control.
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:28.640
I work only on what I could control: composure, breathing, body language, timing, distance, execution.
00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:34.319
Here is what it looks like when performing under pressure hasn't been built.
00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.760
A director came to me after a board presentation.
00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:40.799
He knew the material better than anyone in the room.
00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:42.560
He built the model himself.
00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:50.640
3 minutes in, a VP asked him a question he had already answered on the previous slide, and he lost his train of thought.
00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:52.799
He rushed the rest and sat down.
00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:54.560
He wasn't underprepared.
00:01:54.560 --> 00:02:00.319
His problem was that he had never trained for the moment when things don't go as planned.
00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.799
So your work before the next huddle.
00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:04.719
Assess yourself under pressure.
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:07.680
Don't avoid tough questions, walk into them.
00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:12.240
While you're in them, notice your breathing, your composure, your body language.
00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.120
Notice how you speak to your family and your colleagues.
00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:18.400
Notice how you decide when the going gets hard.
00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:23.759
When you see how pressure affects you, you will know where you have the most room to improve.
00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:26.000
That was Huddle number one.
00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.719
Take your position and get to work.
