Success is created in your mind. Defeat, as well.

He knows the mental code for success. For over 15 years, Markus Renevey has been supporting executives and athletes on their journey to mastering challenges. Those who want to be mentally strong, the coach sums up, have to be willing to leave their comfort zone.

Markus Renevey can look back at an unusual career. The business economist worked as a travel guide, banker, copywriter, editor-in-chief and ghostwriter, before he became a mediator, executive master coach and sports mental trainer. Since he founded The Talk Company in 2002, he has coached over a thousand senior managers and athletes on their way to mental strength and resilience – including the inner power and resistance.

It’s undisputed that mental strength is a deciding factor in either success or defeat in the world of sports. But why do managers have to be mentally strong? “The pressure on managers has increased massively,” says the coach and former martial artist. “Today’s world is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambivalent: VUCA in short.”

That’s why the leaders of today and tomorrow need a high level of self-knowledge and resilience as well as the innate capability to direct themselves. “Athletes train mentally to be more physically resilient and to call upon their own enthusiasm during a competition,”the executive coach explains. “Mental techniques work quickly and reliably, not just in sports, but also in the daily lives of managers, who deal with negotiations, presentations, media appearances or conflict resolution.”

“The path to strengthening mental power is identical for athletes and executives: at best, both need exercise to precisely control their thinking, acting and their emotions. I continue to be amazed,”he enthuses,“at how little effort is needed to change bad habits. If we really commit and are ready to apply mental techniques regularly.”

Coach Renevey sees himself as“sparring partner, jester, provocateur, one who asks uncomfortable questions, holds up the mirror, animates to change perspective and invites to radically get rid of obstructive beliefs.”He measures how effective a coaching is by evaluating the success of his clients.

The executive coach also strengthens the competitive capability of companies. He states that today, everyone wants to be agile but forgets “that they have to train their mindset first, before they can create an agile organisation.”

The rapid changes around us increase the number of challenges we face. Digital transformation, artificial intelligence and disruption are not just buzz words, but also reality. Reacting to change demands a clear mind. Especially in the boardroom. Renevey and his team will remain busy responding to change.