Courtesy of Mark A. Metz, Founder and CEO of Relus Technologies
A blog post about five reasons employers should hire tennis players recently grabbed my attention and thoughts. While I agree (and like to hire athletes in general), I feel the qualities possessed by a competitive swimmer are even greater. So, given the choice, hire both. But, if you can only hire one – pick the swimmer!
ONE
Swimming requires zero natural ability or hand-eye coordination. A college-level swimmer became a great at the sport by outworking the hundreds of other kids in the pool. A great tennis player had to work hard, but being naturally gifted is a more important component. In swimming more than any other sport, sheer will and determination outweigh skill. Hire a swimmer if you want someone who will give 100% every single day. In tennis, I will agree that you have to practice hitting a ball into a court thousands of times. But the determination of a swimmer who can log 10,000 painful yards in one day alone is unmatched. That’s who I want to hire.
TWO
Swimmers understand what it takes to win. In tennis you can blame your racket, bad line calls, or an off day of playing. On the other hand, in swimming, every single lap of every single practice is measured. Swimmers are used to getting measured and judged based on their performance. You never hear a swimmer blame the judges or tools such as their goggles. As a swimmer, it is you against the clock. In business, I want employees who are unafraid of being measured, and who know that they control their own destiny. Swimmers know that they succeed or fail based on how hard they have worked – how much effort they put into every single practice.
THREE
Swimmers have goals based on their own efforts. In tennis, most goals are based on beating someone else. You have no control over how the other player performs. Swimmers have goals that are detailed, under their own control and down to the hundredth of a second. I love employees that are goal-oriented – and you won’t find a more goal-oriented person than a swimmer.
FOUR
Swimmers are a little crazy. They are not the conformists who signed up for typical sports like tennis, baseball or soccer. They get up early in the morning when all their friends are still asleep, jump in cold water and swim exhausting laps. Swimmers aren’t in it for the glory or the fans (nobody likes to watch a swim meet!). So – why do they do it? I still don’t know. Sometimes work situations require someone who is also a little crazy. To explain, I think of the expression, “thinking outside the box.” If tennis players think “outside the box” they lose every match. On the contrary, they have learned to always hit the ball into the little box on the court. Hire a crazy swimmer, however, and you will have a passionate employee who will jump eagerly into everything with both feet.
FIVE
Swimmers know how to party! In college did you ever go to a party thrown by the tennis team? I didn’t think so. Swimmers were always ready to cut loose, maybe because they spent so many hours in the pool. They bring the same energy, excitement and life to the workplace. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want someone throwing a keg party in my boardroom at noon. But, I do want people that are engaging, fun, and talented at entertaining customers.
ABOUT MARK – THE SWIMMER
Mark is a life-long swimmer. In his college days at Furman University he was twice named Southern Conference Swimmer of the Year, and he was an Olympic Trials Qualifier in breaststroke. Mark currently coaches a masters swim team and competes sporadically. He also plays tennis (loves the game), and as the Founder and CEO of Relus Technologies, he hires tennis players and swimmers!
ABOUT MARK – THE ENTREPRENEUR
Mark is a serial entrepreneur that has founded three (3) $100 million technology companies in the Atlanta area. Currently, Mark is the CEO and co-founder of Relus Technologies, a company focused on driving value for its customers in the areas of Cloud Enablement, Datacenter Hardware, and IT Staffing. In 2014, Relus was voted one of Atlanta’s Best Places to Work by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and one of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Most Promising Solution Providers by CIO Review Magazine. He continues to be a leader in the Atlanta business community and is a long-standing supporter of the Technology Association of Georgia.
FOLLOW MARK METZ ON TWITTER HERE.
Thanks to Coach David Marsh for introducing us to Mark Metz and his blog.
Just to add to the backlash of comments about #1. My coaches often say that it doesn’t have to do with natural ability, and that if you really work hard you can be amazing. They do admit I’m an exception though. I’m 16 years old, I work as hard as I can, I do 7 practices a week, and I have the best coaches in the world. Still one of the worst on the team. My team is extremely fast, so I’m not all that bad, but if you look at my little sister, 14 years old and practicing 3 times a week, swimming the same times as me…there’s no way natural ability doesn’t have anything to do with that.… Read more »
#1 is spot on…
For what it’s worth, I thought #1 was hilarious. As an adult striving Master swimmer who taught myself how to swim in college all too many years ago, I was encouraged and tickled. I also just learned tonight at master’s practice that the lack of coordination of swimmer’s on dry land is a running joke, and the inverse is made about people who are good at dry land sports (they are spastic in the water). I loved the article; thanks for writing it. Swimmers, whether skilled or not, have a great sense of humor!
I guess when I was reading this I wasn’t thinking “great” meant that you had to win all the medals–just that you were completely committed to your personal best. You really are racing against the clock. The comment that most of the mediocre are gone by 14 might be true, but as someone who started swimming at age 18, with no natural talent, because our small college needed an 8th female for the relays, I have to say that I feel I meet all the criteria above. It’s a decades later and I’m still in the water and I’m still trying to lower my times. I don’t swim 10,000 yards, but I swim a mile and that’s more than most… Read more »
Hey everyone, just acknowledge that “swimmers” possess the attributes required to succeed in business and life. That companies seek “our kind” to be a part of their team is a testament that swimmers can accomplish anything we set our minds and efforts to. I grew up swimming with future doctors, business owners, engineers, swim coaches, financial advisors, accountants, and a host of other people that went on to successful college and professional careers and are great people to be around.
Swimming instilled the value of hard work, time management, and fortitude to be the very best in and out of the pool! I wouldn’t have traded any of it because I grew up with outstanding women, men, and swim coaches… Read more »
There’s this narrative in swimming that hard work is much more important than talent in our sport. What most swimmers don’t realize is that almost anyone who is still swimming over age 14 outside their high school team has a lot of natural talent. By that age most of the less gifted kids have quit USA swimming because spending 20 hours a week for mediocre results gets very discouraging. It’s no fun to be one of the hardest workers on the team but never get the reward of qualifying for Zones or Jr. Nationals or making the podium at a championship meet.
I was one of those rare less talented kids who stuck with it and I learned a lot… Read more »
Swimmers to hire (in order): backstrokers, distance freestylers, butterfliers. The end.
Jiggs must be a foreign word for “internet troll” because we all know the modern workplace demands flexibility, the ability to constantly switch from one task to another, endurance, adaptability and the will to do what others deem “too hard.” Clearly, 400 IMers should be the top of your hiring list.
That’s right, I completely neglected to point out that boss 400IM you threw down last year. I still wouldn’t hire you though. It’s you who should be doing the hiring. Get it, chief?
#6: swimmers will never show up late to work because they are used to getting up at four or five a.m.
Corollary to this is they may need a nap in the middle of the day, though. 🙂