How to Hit the Mark Under Pressure
Reading time: 6 min
How can you stay clear-headed and capable of taking action when under pressure? Rainer Kiefer explains what biathlon has to do with healthy pressure to perform at work.
"When you have to hit the target with absolute precision while under pressure and with a high heart rate."
Interview with Rainer Kiefer
Rainer, you describe yourself as a “multidisciplinary context connector.” You’ll have to explain that! What exactly does that mean?
This simply describes how I work: I take a multidisciplinary approach and connect content and personal experiences from very different worlds—from competitive sports, sports psychology, outdoor sports, creativity, and management. Like snowflakes, which are beautiful on their own but only form a stable, supportive blanket of snow when they come into contact with one another at the right “altitude.” The point is: I create connections between these contexts so that these insights don’t remain as isolated theories, but truly find their way into your everyday life and take effect there. It’s about a cross-context exchange that benefits both your professional and personal life equally.
“Biathlon is the perfect metaphor for modern everyday work life.”
Rainer Kiefer
You Haufe Akademie your training program at the Haufe Akademie “Business Meets Biathlon.” How can professionals and executives use methods from competitive sports to learn how to cope with the pressures of their daily work?
The focus is on long-term, healthy performance and its foundations. In this workshop, participants will learn to consciously shape their perception of stress. Using methods from elite sports, I’ll show you how to cope with pressure and chronic stress, and how to remain clear-headed and precise under pressure. These aren’t just theories—they’re proven strategies you can apply directly on the job—in meetings, projects, or difficult conversations.
Why is biathlon particularly well-suited for this?
Because biathlon is the perfect metaphor for modern work life: long periods of endurance (persevering under sustained stress), combined with moments when you have to shoot with absolute precision while under pressure and with a high heart rate. This combination of endurance and precision under stress is rarely found so clearly in any other sport.
What does a "Re-Think" workshop actually involve?
It’s a very hands-on, experience-based workshop. It includes brief insights from my work with various national teams, practical exercises in nature, simulations of high-pressure situations at the laser shooting range, relaxation techniques, reflection sessions, and in-depth application of what’s learned through group discussions in your own daily business life. Lots of movement, little sitting.
"It's all about long-term, healthy performance."
Is your program only for very athletic people?
No, not at all. The program is specifically designed for regular professionals and managers in office and knowledge-based fields—regardless of their fitness level. The physical exercises are moderate and serve primarily as a way to get the mental processes started and provide inspiration.
What will I take away for my day-to-day business life after spending two days with you in nature?
After two days, you’ll come away with, above all, a greater ability to consciously recognize, assess, and manage your own perception of stress—both in specific situations and over the long term. You’ll learn practical ways to work more efficiently under pressure, switch more quickly between tension and relaxation, and build mental flexibility. In particular, you’ll often retain techniques, imagery, and models that you can immediately apply in meetings, when making decisions, or during stressful periods. The goal is to approach everyday life actively rather than passively.
