On Tuesday 10th September, Eton was fortunate to welcome global bestselling author James Kerr to talk to boys about his experiences with the All Blacks. He offered insights into leadership and how to maximise performance in a team, having worked with what he describes as ‘the most successful sporting side in history’.
During the talk, Mr Kerr touched on many key themes, the first of which was ‘leaving the shirt in a better place’. The audience were shown a moving clip of a Haka performed in tribute to a teacher in New Zealand, highlighting the importance of leaving a positive, personal legacy for those to come. Mr Kerr then went on to explain a formula for how to maximise success, which is 'capability x attitude = performance'. A team can have all the talent in the world, he said, but if their attitude is not correct then they are bound to fail.
Mr Kerr advocated a team spending time agreeing their core values. For the All Blacks these were humility, excellence and respect. A phrase which resonated deeply with the audience during this section of the talk was that ‘better people make better all blacks’, a notion which is relevant for almost any team in the world.
The Sports, Vikings and Psychological Societies would like to thank Mr Kerr for a thought-provoking lecture and a very worthwhile evening.
Max Graham EJNR
