Get fight-ready for the boardroom

● Boxers pay special attention to mental attitude while training for a fight because the best fighters can end up on the canvas if they stop believing in themselves.

Someone who knows this is Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee, the CEO of DStv media sales in SA, and the first woman in SA to apply for a boxing referee’s licence.

She has the following advice:

● Athletes rely on muscle memory to perform well under pressure. In business, this means staying true to your principles, to make smart choices under pressure;

● Boxers do not think of one punch at a time but rather in terms of a series of strikes. “Planning your own strategy, and then keeping sight of what the opposition is doing so that you can anticipate their next move, is what’s going to win you the round, and the match,” she says;

● In the ring you have to keep your hands up to protect your head; at work you must be aware of what is going on around you;

● Just as a boxing match is made up of rounds with breaks in between, so too do you need to take regular breaks; and

● Most boxers know fights don’t always go their way. At work you need to be brave enough to act decisively even though you know you may fail.