Have you ever got de-motivated when implementing a project? Or stuck when pursuing a goal? Ben and the British Men’s Rowing crew were passionate believers in building momentum – building a force that would keep them going despite hiccups along the way. Their momentum took them from disaster in 1998, where they came 7^th in the World Championships, to Olympic Gold two years later at the Sydney Games. Here are 10 of their strategies which can be used to build momentum in people’s business lives and beyond.

1. Believe in Better: The crew believed there were better, easier ways of doing things and they looked for specific references to remind themselves they had huge untapped potential. For example, remember a time when you started a new job or acquired a new skill? You’ve learnt and developed before so surely you can do so again?   
2. Unskew the scales Recognise the costs of not doing anything.  We might weigh up the pros and cons of a possible course of action, but do we weigh up the pros and cons of things staying as they are? It can be incredibly motivating to fly forwards and imagine what you’ll miss out on in the coming weeks and years if you don’t take action now.
3. Make the journey enjoyable Yes of course we’ll feel great when we’ve achieved our dream weight or brought in the project on time and on budget, but what’s going to make the journey enjoyable? Whether it’s going for a run with a friend or holding project update meetings in a café, think of options which will liven things up.  And if you can’t make it fun, how can you make it bearable? Ben and the crew endured some painful weights sessions, but tactics such as counting down the reps, encouraging each other and daydreaming of standing on the podium helped them through.
4. Make yourself hungry We’re more likely to get off our backsides and put together the IKEA flat pack if we put it in the hall way and have to clamber over it to get from room to room.  When the status quo is a bit uncomfortable it can drive us to change. What can you do to make yourself hungry and increase the rewards of taking action?
5. Get curious about the recipe Sometimes we assume we need to make big, dramatic changes when in fact we can build unstoppable momentum by doing more of the things that are getting us great results already. Reflect on the recipes that are creating success for you right now. Ben and the crew regularly discussed what was working, what they were learning and what they needed to do differently another time. Some of the crew wrote a learning log so they could spot patterns and avoid making the same mistakes twice. What would the impact be if you took  a few minutes every day or week to capture your reflections?
6. Eat the elephant. Do you remember the play ground joke, Question: ‘how do you eat an elephant? Answer: One spoonful at a time.’ There’s intelligence buried in the daftness. Imagine you are a manager and your goal is to build a strong team. What might be some digestible ‘spoonfuls’ that would help you achieve this? It might be having regular conversations, agreeing clear targets, understanding everyone’s motivations or saying thank you. On their own they are small things that are easy to dismiss as trivial, but put together they make a huge difference.
7. Create daily habits. We can’t fool the dentist by flossing for eight hours the day before our appointment, but a couple of minutes on a daily basis will make a difference. Hook a new habit in to a particular time or existing activity. For example, if you want to increase your professional network you could book a specific timeslot into your diary each day to network on Linked in and Twitter, or decide to do this every time you get yourself a coffee.
8. ExperimentWe can tie ourselves up in knots trying to find the ‘right’ answer before we’ll allow ourselves to act. Thomas Edison on the other hand allegedly conducted over three thousand experiments when inventing the light bulb. He didn’t get lucky on day one, but by trying different approaches and identifying what worked and what didn’t work he got there. Edison’s story inspired the crew - they appreciated that if they tried something and it didn’t work it was still progress to be celebrated because they’d eliminated a dead end.
9. Flick the switch When Ben and the crew talked about ‘flicking the switch’ they meant focussing their attention on the task in hand.  For example, they allowed themselves to mess around at breakfast, but once they put their hands on their boat it was time to stop faffing, mentally flick the switch and focus on training. 
10. Ten minute rule Often the first step seems the hardest.  Get round this by allowing yourself to give up after ten minutes. So for example, if you need to tackle a mountain of admin, set your alarm and allow yourself to stop after ten minutes.  The chances are that once you’ve got into the activity you’ll realise it’s not so bad and be happy to continue for longer, but even if you do stop after ten minutes, the good news is you’ve at least eaten one elephant spoonful.

Ben Hunt-Davis has teamed up with leading executive coach Harriet Beveridge, to write Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? Olympic-Winning Strategies for Everyday Success.  Go to www.willitmaketheboatgofaster.com to download a sample chapter, sign up for the free e-course and buy the book. 10% of all profits will go to Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres (Charity Number SCO24414)