Wherever I look these days, sportspeople are talking about how they learn from other disciplines to help raise their own standards. In 'Tackling Life', rugby star Jonny Wilkinson's co-author, Steve Black, writes:

"Ideally there would be a forum, or better again, it would be part of the team culture, to share ideas and information from which everyone can benefit. I believe at the senior professional clubs there should be a new position created for a knowledge / ideas coach; someone who accesses information and inspirational stories from a wide variety of outlets – other clubs, in other countries, other sports, business, academia, conferences etc. The list of sources is endless. And each seed gathered has the potential to add something new and exciting to the team. The better the knowledge of the team then the better the foundations on which the team can achieve great success."

Meanwhile, over at Fulham Football Club, coach Roy Hodgson has been modeling his team's effective defensive on U.S. basketball tactics.

You don't have to be an athlete to take inspiration and practical advice from other spheres. We can all become our own ideas coach. I've been inspired to develop and enhance my public speaking by the creativity and professionalism of artistes like Jérôme Le Baut and Anna Vicente in Cirque do Soleil's 'Quidam'. Earlier this year, I had the privilege of giving a talk to the students and some of the performers whilst this show was in residence at the Royal Albert Hall. Afterwards, I chatted to Jérôme about his craft. I'm not planning to do handstands at the podium anytime soon, but Jérôme's dedication to giving honestly of himself to his audience during every performance, and of working hard to remain 'in the moment' on stage rather than simply going through the motions, really resonated with me.