As shown by the rugby champs, rituals matter not because they are dramatic, but because they reinforce values, regulate emotion and connect people to something bigger than themselves.

The Neuroscience of Leadership Performance with Dr. Marcia Goddard

Professional fighting and business leadership couldn’t seem further apart. One happens in boardrooms and earnings calls. The other takes place in a cage under bright lights, where two people try to break each other. And yet, after spending time with Dr. Duncan French, I’m convinced that the UFC might be one of the most revealing high‑performance environments there is. Not the violence, but because of the raw pressure.

With the recent 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo having just wrapped up, it felt like an opportune moment to sit down with Chandra Crawford. Few athletes embody high‑performance mastery the way she does. Arriving at the 2006 Turin Olympic Games as a relative underdog, Chandra stunned the world in the cross‑country ski sprint, delivering a gold‑medal performance defined by composure, emotional control, and relentless discipline. Beyond that iconic victory, her career offers a powerful lens for business leaders seeking to understand pressure, preparation, and sustained excellence.

In a world where business increasingly resembles the pit wall—fast, visible and unforgiving—Claire Williams' lessons resonate far beyond motorsport.

The world is plagued by the disruptive forces of geopolitical uncertaintly, climate change, artificial intelligence (AI), pandemics, the war in Ukraine and Iran, and rising inflation, causing political, social and economic upheaval at a scale we have not seen in decades. The United Nations chief recently warned world leaders of ‘an age of reckless disruption and relentless human suffering’.