What can Olympians teach executives?

I want to be successful. That person is successful. So that person can teach me how to be successful. This syllogism helps explain the torrent of podcasts, books and speeches devoted to the secrets of high performance. It is one reason why executive-leadership courses draw on case studies from well beyond business: politics, the army and even the Roman empire. And it has been much in evidence before and during the Olympics, which end in Paris on August 11th.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Citius, altius, spurious”