A successful person is foolish enough to practice enough

Olympic champion Arsi Harju guided the participants in the Wharton Mortars tournament to a successful performance in summertime Suomenlinna.

The annual Wharton Mortars baseball tournament, organized by T-Media, also featured a matchup between the cybersecurity firm Silverskin and the marketing data startup Supermetrics, both of which were founded by former T-Media employees.

During the pesäpallo game, we heard Harju’s insights on achieving peak performance in sports. The Olympic champion’s lessons are also applicable to the business world. Sports involve moments of uncertainty, but based on Harju’s experience, “in a high-pressure situation, at the moment of performance, you shouldn’t hesitate or change your technique. There can be no adjustments while performing—you have to trust what you’ve learned before.”

Harju won the Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney with a throw of 21.29 meters. Harju’s personal best is 21.39 meters, set during the qualifying round at the Sydney Olympics. He was named Athlete of the Year in 2000. “A successful athlete is stupid enough to train enough,” Harju commented on his success with a twinkle in his eye.

SUCCESS REQUIRES AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH

The philosophy of sports sparked deep reflection among the T-Media team even as the tournament was winding down. Achieving peak performance requires an analytical approach and the ability to endure difficult times. Behind every success lies an endless amount of self-reflection.

“Humans are quite complex creatures, and exceptional results are the product of many factors. To improve, you have to break down a performance into its components and analyze the factors that lead to the result,” said Riku Ruokolahti, Head of Development at T-Media, echoing Harju’s teachings.

In addition to pesäpallo, company representatives also competed in a photography contest. This year, the tournament trophy was shared in good spirits between Supermetrics and T-Media.