Steve Backley, the former Olympic javelin competitor, delivered yesterday’s keynote address at the FSE Manchester event.

He urged attendees to develop a ‘growth mindset’ in order secure success in business.

Backley, the former World Record holder and the only GB field athlete to win medals at three separate Olympic Games, gave a wide-ranging talk on his career, the characteristics and traits of successful people and how advisers might utilise that information in their jobs.

He said: “Successful people look at everything in their world, and think how they can do it better – that’s a ‘Growth Mindset’. We all want to think we have such a mindset, but where’s the data and evidence to say you do.”

When Backley gave the audience an opportunity to say which quality they would like more of in their life, the most popular with 33% was an ‘ability to deliver’.

He also advised attendees to work like they were the second best in the world, and recounted how, after his first Olympic medal, he lost some of his drive and belief after quickly becoming number one in the world.

He added: “You need to know what your plan is when you reach a goal and there’s no-one else to chase. I ended up looking behind me and placed a target on my own back. Make sure you have that plan and begin with the end goal in mind.”