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Three times a week, investment veteran Geoff Wilson goes for a bike ride of about 40 km or more. The health benefits of cycling are well-known, but the former stockbroker and chairman of Wilson Asset Management (WAM) is convinced there is another upside from the sport: it helps him make better business decisions.
In a world of seemingly endless distractions, Wilson compares going riding and concentrating on that one thing to a form of meditation, saying it provides “time to think” that can then help with creativity, problem-solving, or with assessing investment opportunities.
Geoff Wilson (left) and Dean Dalla Valle
“I’ll be cycling along and then all of a sudden I’ll say :‘Hey I think we should do this’. It removes all the noise, and gives you time for your brain to process,” he said in an interview.
“It just gives you time to think through, whether it’s investment opportunities, or business related opportunities, or problems. To me, it really helps your creativity,” he says.
Wilson, who is also the brains behind Future Generation - a listed investment company that donates one per cent of its assets to charities, initially took up cycling more than a decade ago on a doctor’s advice to help with arthritis. And he’s not the first business leader to believe that their exercise regime benefits their work.
But is there scientific evidence to support the idea that cycling or other exercise can help you make better strategic decisions?
Yes, says Dr James Broatch, a research fellow at Victoria University, who is conducting research on how exercise affects brain health. “In the past couple of decades, there’s been emerging evidence that exercise is good for the brain,” Broatch says.
Broatch adds past studies have shown that people who are fitter or healthier tend to have improved cognitive function, which refers to mental processes such as attention, memory and decision making. Fitter people also tend to have better “executive function” - mental skills that allow people to plan and focus.
While being fit is linked with good brain health generally, there is also evidence to suggest people can improve their focus while they are exercising because it improves their ability to block out other distractions. Aerobic exercise - such as cycling or running - also improves blood-flow to the brain. “It definitely improves that kind of concentration - there’s research to show that,” Broatch says.