„Tout est très beau aujourd’hui“

„Everything is very beautiful today“ - Stan Wawrinka after winning the Australian Open –  a wonderfully genuine, pure and simple expression of deeply felt joy. It comes from a man who, in the middle of hard battles looked very calm and at ease between points; a man who always accepted his role, always looking for improvement in a relative dimension which finally lead to a stunning performance on an absolute level.

I was very impressed and reminded of snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan: undisputedly one of the greatest snooker talents ever, but in relation to that underachieving for years, until he won back to back world titles 2012 and 2013 with that same calmness in appearence as Wawrinka now. In an Interview after winning his fourth title he talked about working with a psychologist and how intimate and tough this was for him – holding his son in his arms.

Two men who are at ease with themselves and the world, as it seems to me. I find it particularly interesting that this personal and mental maturity for both finally made the difference from good to great.

And I think that this holds a lesson to learn for business leaders: being at ease with yourself will make it easier for you to make wise decisions and not be seduced by short term benefits. It will make it easier to be a trusted and followed leader, and finally it will help to cope with setbacks and defeats.

And very probably it will increase the occasions when you will be able to say „Tout est très beau aujourd’hui“.