1. From Gold Medals to
Golden Rules:
Lessons from Dain Blanton,
Beach Volleyball Gold
Medalist
2. From Gold Medals to Golden Rules
Dain Blanton is an American beach volleyball player who,
with Eric Fonoimoana, won the gold medal in the 2000
Sydney Olympics. He also participated in the 2004 Athens
Olympics with Jeff Nygaard, becoming the first two-time
U.S. male beach volleyball Olympian. His new career in
sports broadcasting has involved stints with ABC, NBC,
ESPN, Fox Sports Net, and Universal Sports Network. Dain
Dain Blanton
gets invited to many motivational speaking events each year
to inspire and be a role model to many.
Forum: As an Olympic gold medalist you have achieved in your profession what many
only dream of: the summit. Congratulations! What are the words of encouragement
you have for others who strive to reach the peaks of their professions?
Dain: Believe in yourself and always play to your potential. When Eric and I went to
the Olympics people doubted us: no one really gave us a chance. And yet we knew we
could win it. We set ourselves a goal: “Bring home some jewelry.” We didn’t care what
color medal but we knew we had prepared ourselves, and we believed we could win.
When it came to the gold/silver medal game, I knew I was ready, and all I had to do was
everything I could. That’s all. Eric and I played to our potential and executed. We beat the
Brazilians and won gold, because we believed in ourselves and in each other.
Forum: As a spectator of beach volleyball in the Olympics in London, I was glued to
the screen because every single play on every single point was fought for by every
player. The pairs who were able to sustain that level of focus and intensity went on to
win. How do you see that intensity translate for leaders in business?
Dain: I am always nervous when I perform in front of big crowds. It’s nerve wracking.
At the same time I use those nerves. I can and do push my limits—I know my strengths
and weaknesses and I exploit them. For some, the big games and big points are
overwhelming. For me, I enjoy the challenges of competitive play, and I think I’ve learned
to adapt to big situations. I think it’s the same in business: each of us can rise to the
occasion. Or be overwhelmed by it. If we’re prepared and we believe in ourselves, we rise
to the challenge.
Forum: Back to beach volleyball, the partnership that Misty May-Treanor and Kerry
Walsh Jennings demonstrated for 12 years is undoubtedly part of their secret to
success as “three-peat” gold medalists. You had your own great chemistry with
Eric Fonoimoana. What features of beach volleyball team relationships should be
demonstrated by business leaders?
“When we didn’t play
Dain: In beach volleyball, just like in business, you need well or failed to execute,
chemistry and you need a shared goal. Eric and I were
we never pointed
both self-disciplined, and we were both selfless in pursuit
of our goal. There were times I remember where he would fingers at each other.
be on fire and I wasn’t … and the other way round. But Instead, we both took
neither of us were the star of the team. When we didn’t responsibility.”
2
3. play well or failed to execute, we never pointed fingers at each other. Instead we both
took responsibility. At no time did I ever have to worry about whether Eric would bring
his game. When the rules changed after Sydney and the court size changed, we both
had to go in search of new partners who would be big “Shared goals and
blockers. It was relatively easy to find people with the
chemistry are vital in
physical characteristics and skills (6 foot 7 to 6 foot
9, proven track record as a blocker), but it was harder business too. Leaders need
for us to find people with the right attitude and mental to look for and develop
capacity. I think that shared goals and chemistry are people with the right
vital in business too. And leaders need to look for and attitudes, self–discipline,
develop people with the right attitudes, self–discipline,
and team mindedness.”
and team mindedness.
Forum: Arguably we all get better by failing, so we all need to fail to get better. But
we only get better from failure if we can learn from it. How did you get better through
failure? What’s the most counter-intuitive thing you have to do to learn from adversity?
Dain: I was taught as a kid to learn from my errors. If anything breaks down or goes
wrong I analyze it. In the lead up to Sydney, we were often in close games, especially
against the Brazilians, but losing. They were beating us, but what was more important
was we were making changes and preparing for the day when we would beat them. So
we were preparing, and they were getting a little bit stagnant, a little bit complacent. I
said earlier that people doubted we could beat the Brazilians in the Olympic Games that
year. We kept our focus on learning, on analyzing any loss and making corrections. And
that’s how we won gold. The counter-intuitive part is that people often tell you it’s not
possible right up until it is possible. You’ve got to keep believing in yourself, even when
you’re failing—maybe especially when you are failing.
Forum: There’s a path for every professional athlete: a rise and fall. Great sportsmen
and women wax and wane. All the greats (you, Misty May-Treanor, Mo Farah, Usain
Bolt) have moved or will move on. But in business there’s a perception that leaders
should just “keep going” and “keep getting better.” How can/should leaders be
realistic about their career prospects? What do organizations need to do to manage
the inevitable rise and decline of individual performance?
Dain: It’s so rare to know that you are the best in your profession. I had that moment in
the Olympics. Today, I often ask friends and colleagues in business what their number
is: what are they striving for, what keeps them pushing forward. Few people are satisfied
with the answers they give. I think often people lose sight of any goal they might have
had. They get locked in.
Recently I was chatting with a member of the audience after I had made a presentation
to his corporation. He said, “You are so lucky to have followed your dream and to have
pushed it to the limit. I’ve been with this organization for 20 years. In another 7 years I
can retire. But I’ve never really enjoyed it. It was never my dream.”
It’s sad and tragic if others share that individual’s sentiment. They are missing out on
their lives. If you want to be different, you have to do something different. I believe I was
different, because I looked for and found the right thing. I knew what my dream was, I
set my goal, I loved what I did, and I kept believing in myself. That was true when I was
playing beach volleyball. It’s now true in my career as a sports broadcaster.
3
4. From Gold Medals to Golden Rules
Forum: How do you deal with obstacles: the things that potentially could derail you
from winning?
Dain: I remember the semifinal game in the Olympics. We were in the final set and it was
10 all. We then lost a point and at 10-11 we took a time out. As we came back on court
the referee said we had taken too long; he docked a point and suddenly it was 10-12.
That might have been the end, and I would have come “How you react (to
away saying, “The ref stole it from us!” But I didn’t want
obstacles) will determine
that to be my story. You cannot control the obstacles but
you can control what you do about them. How you react your fate both in the
will determine your fate both in the short term and the short term and the long
long term. We won the next 5 points in succession, won term.”
the game, and ultimately won gold.
4
