Joe Jacobi: Olympic Gold Medalist, Simple Slower and Less (#034)

Dealing with Goliath: Psychological Edge for Business Leaders

Jan 8 2021 • 57 mins

My guest today is Joe Jacobi. Joe was a member of the US canoe team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, competing in the C2 slalom event. He and his partner captured the gold medal, the first American team in Olympic history to capture a gold medal in white water slalom.

In 2000, Joe was named 'Paddler of the Century' by Paddler Magazine. In 2010, he became the Chief Executive Officer for USA Canoe/Kayak, the national governing body for Olympic level paddle sports in the United  States. Jacobi served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Joe is a performance coach, collaborating with leaders and teams to create and perform simple and clear plans that move them outside the noisy day to day rush of life and bring focus to what truly matters most.

Senior execs from Fortune 50 companies to business owners to world class athletes seek his help to improve performance and unleash their hidden talents and attributes.

If you're interested in more visit ▶ https://almcbride.com/minicourse
for a free email minicourse on how to gain the psychological edge in your negotiations and critical conversations along with a helpful negotiation prep cheat sheet.

If you enjoyed this episode of Dealing with Goliath Podcast, hit subscribe to hear about our latest episodes.

Topics Covered:


  • The importance of rest and recovery
  • Sleep as crucial as fitness and nutrition
  • Jim Loehr: High performance sport and the corporate athlete
  • Don't let the times you're 'on' run over and on top of one another
  • Change your disposition to perform when you need to
  • Zero or One
  • Everything can be a practice to get better at, even sleeping
  • What's the easiest way to exercise that muscle you'll use in a bigger more dramatic way in high pressure circumstances
  • Block out the space is the first step in doing Deep Work
  • Lessons as CEO of USA Canoe Kayak under the US Olympic Committee
  • The importance of the story you tell yourself
  • Small steps forward, no big jumps
  • Insights from the Pyrenees; Simple, slower and less
  • Hone your technique in flat water to perform in the rapids
  • Perfect your technique to be more efficient over time
  • In a time trial sport, I don't bring a stopwatch
  • If you aren't blinded by the targets and goals, what would you do differently?
  • Practice in less consequential situations
  • The river as a metaphor
  • Alignment and co-existence with the uncontrollables
  • The river as the best life coach
  • Focus on the start line, be fully present in yourself before the chaos

If you're interested in more visit ▶ https://almcbride.com/minicourse
for a free email minicourse on how to gain the psychological edge in your negotiations and critical conversations along with a helpful negotiation prep cheat sheet.

If you enjoyed this episode of Dealing with Goliath Podcast, hit subscribe to hear about our latest episodes.