Team Sky - Ants, Chimps and Crowns
With the first team training camp due to start Saturday The Times published this article on Team Sky today, with Brailsford waxing lyrical to their Chief Sports Reporter
For more on the mentioned Steve Peters (in his own words) scroll down this page - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tomfordyce/2009/10/the_man_behind_the_medals.html
about 2 years ago
andrewp
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Mmm, yes, read this over my cereal and toast this morning
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Interesting...
but I’m keen to see what Scandinavians think of Brailsford’s description of them…
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Yes, rather full of national stereotypes was it not?!
Not sure the southern Spaniards and southern Italians would be too amused!
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Yeah, those people are quick to take offense.
It was just a long race--Edvald Boasson Hagen, on the Giro
lol
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
I can see what they're getting at & clearly with the track team it works
but from a personal point of view it sounds absolutely horrific.
That was kind of my reaction.
On a personal level I’m not really into all this psycho babble. But it seems to work!
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Except on Cav.
Not his thing at all—if I have time I’ll look up the relevant passages in his book.
It was just a long race--Edvald Boasson Hagen, on the Giro
Re: your EBH sig. line
Read the CycleSport piece today . Man, did that reporter have to work for his money on that piece.
I'm just in awe of EBH.
He doesn’t know the legendary cyclists. He’s not fazed by the grandeur and history of the races. According to whichever commentator was laughing about EBH’s post-race interviews this summer, he doesn’t even know the names of the other riders in the peloton, but will say things like “Then the guy from Liguigas came up.”
The kid just wants to ride his bike. There’s a purity in that.
It was just a long race--Edvald Boasson Hagen, on the Giro
For me it's not so much the "psychobabble".
I actually think, beyond the corny language, Steve Peters talks a lot of sense & is several notches above the run of the mill twenty three year old BSc sports psychologist that every third division football side has on the staff these days.
Plus one completely
I thought that the whole point of a team manager was that they went off quietly from time to time and dealt with all this management crap by themselves and didn’t even let on to anyone else that it had to be done. Isn’t half the skill of management being able to read and make judgements about people? If you want jolly, happy bus drivers then pick the guys that look jolly and happy at interview, not the ones who tick the right boxes on your damned questionnaire (I wonder if it’s anything like the ones the ones that scientologists hand out). And as for looking for mechanics who “adapt” to a “rider-centred programme” well what do all the other teams run. “Sorry Fabian, you’ll have to use your road bike for today’s TT because today’s the mechanic’s day off.”
Quite.
In a lot of (especially large) organizations Brailsford’s kind of management seems to be de rigueur because it’s seen as out in the open, even-handed, participatory & so on, which – in a way – I guess it is. Lots of people seem to like it. My problem is that I suspect this “rider-centredness”, this chucking people in a room & getting them to make rules etc.becomes management by peer pressure & you can see why they lose people by the wayside. But British Cycling has always had its faces that wouldn’t fit & I see no reason why Sky will be any different. It works for them. Wouldn’t work for me.
I can see why they insist on English as a job requirement. It’s my native language and I’m still not sure I know what they’re talking about. Crown bedecked chimps? I guess as management gobbeldygook goes it’s at least a little livelier than ’the important thing is to keep in mind that important things are important" or whatever.
Can someone explain to me what this means?
(about the Scandinavians)
“In other words, they will understand their chimps and want to be ants.”
I think the "chimp" is fairly self-explanatory (though perhaps not in those terms...)
if you’ve ever had a mental block about anything (maybe you haven’t!) but god knows why Brailsford should think Scandinavians are any less prone to this than say Sicilians. Makes you wonder if the Nibali thing fell through not because he preferred to stay at Liquigas or because of Fanini tittle-tattling about Ferrari but because Brailsford realized he was from Messina! Equal opps, anyone?
Hi Bruce ... read it twice and decided that 'ants' represent conforming to a work ethic...
diligence and loyalty above all things.
On another note, are you able to access the front page? I sent in the report but it appears to be to no avail.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Thanks, makes a little more sense now.
The front page is loading most of the time properly now, did you get an email from SBN?
After I received the email the site got much smoother.
Yes, I got an email, but it's still not great.
It loads about half the time, which is an improvement, but I must admit I still find it annoying.
I’ve been thinking that Brailsford uses ants instead of bees because then there would be not only a queen in each team, but also drones. Makes being called a domestique look good.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Brailsford in charge of ants and chimps?
What a load of crap. If one reads between the lines, it’s clear Dave Brailsford only knows one way and that is his way. Brailsford is the school book example of a dictator hiding behind a self-promoted image of a “big leader”. He says he wants his staff and riders to be proactive and have input in how the team is managed but simultaneously says “get off the ship” if you don’t like my management methods, to the ants and chimps he claims he has to lead. Very ambiguous. I can’t help but picture Dr “Evil” Brailsford and his mini-me Dr. Peters.
Brailsford meets Kimmage
The Sunday Times article in full that CN are now quoting from
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/cycling/article6926944.ece
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