Iress : The Lance Armstrong guide to wealth management operations

When the race heats up and nears the competitive stages the cordial collaboration of the peloton is replaced by each team's specific race strategy which generally focuses on putting their lead rider in the optimal position for success. Until that point each teams lead rider has had an 'armchair ride' especially when compared to the domestiques who spend time and energy ferrying water and food, taking time at the front of the pack, and riding themselves to exhaustion as per the team orders and so it's no surprise that when the moment comes the lead rider is expected to be ready to excel because they are the ultimate beneficiary of selfish efficiency.

When racing it may have seemed that Lance Armstrong regularly 'paid back' his US Postal/Discover colleagues with multiple victories but in reality the toxic environment, rapid turnover of riders and meagre thanks for the effort made the strategy - unparalleled selfish efficiency - unsustainable.

Armstrong first retired in 2005 and made a couple of comebacks until his past actions caught up with him in 2012 and he finally admitted to the institutionalised doping that led him to seven consecutive Tour de France titles. It takes a lot of effort and a helpful dose (excuse the pun) of luck for any enterprise to recover from the dark position professional cycling found itself in.

This story draws parallels with the global financial crisis of 2008 - a financial services system that was outwardly enormously successful and able to make money hand over fist whatever market conditions were. Obviously the reality was somewhat different. Artificially enhanced synthetic instruments formed the shaky foundations of a system that came crumbling down and took many ordinary people with it.

Making the 0.5% count

Cycling made efforts to clean up the sport that came in the form of WADA and USADA prosecutions alongside the sports governing bodies' determination to clean house. The financial services industry did the same, with straitjacket-like regulations and their own set of prosecutions. Cycling's aforementioned dose of luck came in the shape of Team Sky (now Team Ineos).

Team Sky was formed off the back of Team GB's cycling success in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Emboldened by a record haul of 14 medals including 8 Gold, Team Sky set out with the incredible ambition of winning the Tour de France within 5yrs but to achieve success in the new era of cycling required fresh thinking.

The leader of Team Sky, Sir Dave Brailsford, often referred to seeking marginal gains, the little improvements that can be made that when added to all the other improvements make a significant difference. These gains came in many forms, better bike technology, better kit, better training and nutrition or the best hotels, this focus on detail is the epitome of operational excellence.

The team was ahead of its competition in other ways too, culturally it was poles apart from the 'cult of Armstrong' and strategically the depth of planning was unparalleled as highlighted in this article by Tom Fordyce the BBCs Chief Sports Writer highlights the lengths the teams go to create an opportunity for their lead rider to succeed

Similarly, the financial services has made huge efforts to distance itself from the sins of the past. Wealth management had its darkest days around the crisis, but has roared back to strength, and is probably now in better shape than at any time in history. Whilst it has eschewed some of the more egregious monetary synthetics that led to the events of 2008, the growth in the sector is somewhat reliant on the fuel of M&A war chests, to the detriment of other strategies and operational excellence.