Stay fit to stay ahead

By ADAM GIFFORD

When John Quirk from IT consulting firm Mi Services read Liz Ryan's CV, there wasn't much about IT.

There was her degree in science and food technology from Otago University, her time as a graduate trainee for meat company Affco, and her previous brief stint with a consulting company.

But what stood out for Quirk was Ryan trumpeting her sporting achievement.

"She had a good degree and stunning work experience, but her CV was all about being in the New Zealand rowing team. We hired her based on that," says Quirk, who has represented New Zealand in kayaking.

Two years later and Ryan works in Los Angeles, selling and implementing Mi Services' ScorWizard supply chain optimisation product in organisations such as Amway, Americold Logistics, Boeing and the US Navy.

Ryan represented New Zealand for five years, starting in her final year at high school.

"Through university, I was training 12 times a week for nine months. At the end of uni, I had to decide whether I should follow sport or follow a career," Ryan says.

She opted for a career, doing triathlons, half marathons, swimming, volleyball and similar energy-burning activities on the side.

"Training at such a high level required a lot of determination, so I wanted a job that really challenged me," says Ryan.

"When you leave the sporting environment you create so many opportunities for yourself. Because you have achieved in sport you are seen as a high achiever."

She retains a competitive instinct.

"When I try to go for a run, I can't just jog, I have to try to beat yesterday's time. That is why I have done well in my career."

Ryan rates the highlight of her sporting career as beating Australia in a transtasman regatta when she was part of the New Zealand junior team.

"It was so much sweeter because it was Australia."

Her business peak so far is closing a deal with Boeing earlier this year.

"I realised it was the big time. Here was I, a 25-year-old New Zealand female, doing business with some of the world's largest companies, just myself going into the room," she says.

Quirk says Ryan's transition from sports to IT is not unusual, and many of his team participate at a high level in triathlons, marathons and ironman events.

He also brings in consultants such as Craig Steel, who applies the principles of performance sports coaching to business.

"High performance is about skills, experience and knowledge, but that is only part of the story," Quirk says.

"Tiger Woods and Michael Campbell are good golfers. Every day, Tiger plays good golf. Not so Campbell, and the difference is state of mind."

He says sportspeople can bring a "can do" attitude and wider experience of the world to the workplace.

They know about focus and hard work, essential for solving tough intellectual and technical problems.

"The IT industry is addictive, and if you are addicted to other stuff such as multisport or adventure sport, you have two addictions so you have a bit of balance.

"It is a real fight for people who come into the industry and get addicted to work. They lose balance and spend the rest of their career getting the balance back," Quirk says.

"Another thing about sportspeople is they are no respecters of hierarchy. To succeed in the IT industry, you must disrespect corporate hierarchy."

That is because successful IT projects usually involve disruption of the existing order as processes are automated and new processes found.

It is not just small firms such as Mi Services which notice the sporty IT effect.

Hewlett Packard New Zealand has a corporate subsidy programme for employees who want to take part in sporting or arts activities.

Strategic marketing manager Darryn Keiller says 95 per cent of the uptake has been from staff doing competitive sports such as triathlons and marathons, with men and women fairly equally represented.

"The most active is the Christchurch office, where most of our software developers are based. They take part in any and all manner of high-performance events," Keiller says.

While some of the events involve teamwork, there is little take-up of team sports.

"The kind of hours people can work in IT, in the company environment or off site, means individual training gives them more flexibility," he says.

"We encourage people to maintain their fitness. We also encourage people to have a work-life balance.

"We are in a very competitive industry, so if our people can maintain the competitive mindset they have in sport, it helps our success."