EA Sports CEO Andrew Wilson is a BJJ black belt and he recently revealed the lessons that he took from that achievement into his business life. Wilson is one of the biggest figures in the sports gaming world, as he controls the direction of the biggest publisher in that niche. EA Sports have yearly releases covering pretty much every sport, from football and NFL all the way to baseball and the NBA. Although celebrity BJJ black belts are increasingly common over the last few years, there’s still not that many people involved in the highest level of major businesses who practice the sport.
Although many entrepreneurs and CEOs might not have enough time to dedicate to a tough grappling sport, Wilson explained that they might be able to take some lessons from it:
“Jiu-Jitsu tells you that with the right technique and preparation, you don’t have to fear the big person. But at the same time, if you are the bigger person, you should absolutely fear the smaller person if they’re effectively trained.”
That’s a valuable life lesson in general of course, but Wilson went into a little more detail about how that lesson can be applied to the business he works in:
“For EA, we sit in this space where we’re also bigger than a lot of smaller companies. We can’t be so arrogant to think that because we’re bigger, they can’t unseat us. But we’re also looking at the bigger competitors and saying: ‘I don’t necessarily have to be scared.’”
That’s a great way to apply that lesson to the outside world, but that isn’t the only thing that someone can take from BJJ. Wilson also made a point of outlining one of the biggest benefits of training in the sport that resonates with everyone:
“Nothing keeps you real like people choking you unconscious.”
The full interview with EA Sports CEO Andrew Wilson where he reveals the lessons he learned from becoming a BJJ black belt was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the Rapid Response podcast:
