Blue Earth Summit

In this conversation with Chris Boardman, an Olympic, Triple World Champion and World Record holder, the conversation quickly turns to how we go about solving problems. 

For Chris, elite sport was just the start of what continues to be a phenomenal career. In sport, results matter, outcomes are visible and excuses don’t survive long. According to Chris, that mindset is exactly what’s missing from much of the conversation about change.

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Listen on Spotify here

Make me go faster

“The world of sport is a brutally and wonderfully honest place.”

Everything is measured and the question is simple “does what I am doing make the boat go faster? Yes or no.”

There’s no hiding in that question. If something doesn’t work, you measure it, learn from it, and try again. Failure isn’t personal. You reflect, act and reinvent.

That approach shaped British Cycling in the late 90s and early 2000s, where progress came not from one big breakthrough, but from breaking complexity into small, testable improvements. 

According to Chris,  “this isn’t just a sporting philosophy, it’s a human one.”

 

Problem. Prize. Pathway.

One of the most powerful frameworks Chris shares is brilliantly simple:

• The Problem: Clearly understood

• The Prize: Personal, not abstract.

• The Pathway: Builds belief.

We’re good at talking about the problem, Chris explains. Climate change, health outcomes, inequality. People get it. “We loose people when we forget to focus on the prize.”

Chris draws on his work in transport and public policy to demonstrate his point.

Talking about cycling and walking didn’t move politicians. Talking about fewer GP visits, fewer sick days, lower insurance costs and more independence for children did. 

Same outcome. Totally different framing. Now Rachel Reeves and Wes Streeting are not just listening, they become empowered to act.

 

First Minimise. Then Optimise.

Chris also challenges a common trap problem-solvers fall into: optimising the wrong thing.

Borrowing a phrase he credits to Elon Musk, he puts it plainly: “First minimise. Then optimise.”

Before improving a system, ask:

• Is this the right problem?

• What must be true for success?

• Who ultimately needs to say yes?

If a policy must be affordable, politically viable and deliverable, pretending otherwise doesn’t make it so. Competitive edge comes from designing better solutions for people’s everyday reality, not resisting it.

 

Mobilising Systems, Not Just Ideas

One of the most hopeful parts of the conversation is Chris’s belief in scale, not through grand gestures, but through existing networks.

Sport, he points out, already has:

• Tens of thousands of local clubs

• Millions of volunteers

• Deep emotional roots in communities

By enabling small, practical changes, shared transport, solar roofs, smarter energy use, you unlock system-level impact without asking people to give something up.

The pattern repeats: Clear incentives, visible benefits, practical support.

Chris concludes by saying. That we don't need to face every challenge head-on. By focusing on prize with a realistic pathway that builds momentum through collective buy in. This way, change becomes the by-product of progress.

 

The Blue Earth Takeaway

Our conversation with Chris Boardman reinforces why outside inputs within the context of sport can well and truly give us a competitive edge.

Problems get solved when we focus on the prize. As part of this, we need to give people the tools and pathways in order for them to believe that what they are working for is possible.