A few years ago the Kenyan Bronze Medalist Abel Mutai was running a cross-country race in Burlada, and just before crossing the finishing line he became confused with the signage and stopped running, thinking he had already won.The athlete behind him, Ivan Fernandez Anaya realised what had happened and began to shout at Mutai to continue running but Mutai didn’t know spanish. Catching up to him, Fernández Anaya helped to guide Mutai to the finish line, letting him cross first.
Fernández Anaya came second and when he was asked by a journalist “why did you let him win?” he replied, “I didn’t let him win, he was going to win”. The journalist replied “but you could have won!” and his response was “But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honour of that medal?”
“What would my Mother think of that?”
Later, Ivan was asked what his mother’s response was and he told us:
“My mother was very happy with the decision I made. My parents always told me, before making a decision, put yourself in the place of the other party”.
“My advice to the next generations is to try to help and be great people. Remember to be remembered for the kind of person we were … not just for our titles or professional achievements.”
At NorthBailey we have a wealth of experience leading retail marketing teams. We bring fresh perspective and critical thinking along with that wealth of experience. We are provocative, challenge convention, ask the difficult questions and allow clients to see their business with renewed clarity and from a different perspective.
We solve business problems, but experience tells us to always ask what would my mother think as we solve them?