JUSTIN LANGER: Jimmy Barnes, John Williamson, John Howard some of the special guests at Steve Waugh party

“And I’m happy just to sit here, at a table with old friends, and see which one of us can tell the biggest lies.”

These lyrics, from a song called “Flame Trees” by iconic Australian rock band Cold Chisel, resonate deeply with me.

So deeply, they even helped me overcome one of my greatest fears in life - singing in public. I’ve played cricket in front of 120,000 cricket-mad Indian supporters at Eden Gardens in Calcutta and would be happy to speak in front of any sized crowd. But sing – no way.

At former cricketer Damien Martyn’s wedding, I conjured up the nerve to holler out those couple of lines during my speech for him. A lot of our mates from all around Australia had flown in for the event in the south of WA, and we’d all spent a couple of days together.

The memory is sweet, as are so many in my life where I have been able to step off the treadmill for a short time and enjoy the company of my closest friends.

“And I’m happy just to sit here, at a table with old friends, and see which one of us can tell the biggest lies”.

Last Friday, I sat at one of those tables with some of my closest friends. We laughed, we sang, we told lies, and we might have even danced a bit later in the night. Talk about fun. Once a year, the four of us get together for lunch. Each one has been memorable. Last week’s may have taken over as the number one in our history.

Rather than just the four of us, this year, we invited a few “special guests”, old cricket mates and a couple of their adult sons. By the end of the night, wives, girlfriends and more of the kids had joined us for the festivities.

Stealing a line from Joshua Kadison’s song, Beautiful in My Eyes: “And there are lines upon my face from a lifetime of smiles” - well, the lines on my face have grown deeper after last Friday, not only from the day itself, but also from smiling about it all this week.

On Sunday morning (I was admittedly happily dusty throughout Saturday) I wrote up on my wall: “It is good to let your hair down every now and then – laugh, dance, be silly. Life is already serious enough.”

What I have learned is that life often feels like we are on a treadmill of stress, pressure, and being busy. Happy and bitter experiences have taught me that unless we jump off now and then, physically, or mentally we will be penalised. It’s just how it works.

There would be very few sportspeople who wouldn’t tell you that their favourite memories come from the celebrations after a victory. It is in these moments that the pressure valve is often released.

In the Australian cricket team, the culmination of these celebrations would be the team song. After a Test match victory, family and friends would come into the changing rooms for.

After a while, the families would retreat to the team hotel and we would sit around the changing rooms enjoying a couple of cold beers, listening to music, telling a few lies, and just having fun.

On some occasions, this would last a couple of hours, on others, we go late into the night. But the truth was, for those hours, the changing room was our private sanctuary away from the pressure of the spotlight and the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

When the team’s “song master” sensed the right moment, he would call the team into a circle, encourage us to grab a final cold beer, pull on our baggy green caps and we would sing together True Blue by John Williamson and Khe Sanh by Cold Chisel. Then, we would belt out the Australian team song, “Underneath the Southern Cross I Stand”. There would be no holding back as we rejoiced in a job well done.

After the song, we high-fived, hugged, packed up our things, jumped in the team bus and understood that tomorrow we would be back to the grindstone of excellence.

Life has taught me that in pursuing excellence, you must release the pressure valve from time to time. This is something I talk to athletes, companies, and teams about regularly. This doesn’t always entail parties, but it does mean escaping from the grind when the opportunity permits.

When I coached Western Australia and the Scorchers our values were simple - work hard, speak honestly, respect the past, look after our mates and celebrate success. On a stubby holder the CELEBRATE SUCCESS was in capital letters because I knew we couldn’t demand excellence from our players and staff without enjoying and recognizing the good times.

If we don’t revel in the wins, big and small, what’s the point of it all?

A former prime minister and our mates Johnny Williamson and Jimmy Barnes reinforced this to me. If prime ministers can have fun amidst the suffocating pressure they are under, then we could all take a leaf out of their book.

When Steve Waugh retired from Test cricket his manager Robert Joske threw a party for him and the team at his house. What a night. Amongst the guest list were John Howard, a cricket tragic and all-around good person, John Williamson, and Jimmy Barnes.

During the night Barnes sat at the grand piano and belted out Khe Sanh, Flame Trees and a few other classics. Then, Williamson played a few tunes, culminating in an arm-in-arm rendition of True Blue. Before he started, Matty Hayden, as only he could do _ the boy from Kingaroy, the peanut capital of Australia _ looked behind to see Mr Howard sitting at the bar enjoying the festivities.

“John, come and join us,” Matty yelled out.

With that, the PM jumped off his seat and stood between Haydos and I, linked arm-in-arm and belted out True Blue with the team.

At one stage, Mr Howard’s glasses were falling off his face, but I am sure it was his wide smile that was keeping them attached to his ears. Between choruses, we all laughed and sang and revelled in the moment. Another cherished memory for us all.

These memories aren’t confined to sports circles. Times when I have been able to catch up with my family, where we can all let go and enjoy the moment are happily etched in my memories.

Old school friends at reunions or co-workers outside of the workplace have provided opportunities to strengthen our ties as friends, not just teammates, co-workers or contemporaries.

From a business point of view, it has always made sense to me, to spend time together outside of work hours. They may be rare, but they are important because I have always thought that camaraderie is the glue that keeps things together when the pressure comes on. As it always will.

Organisations don’t necessarily need a team song or famous rock stars to make life special, but the impact of a collection of people enjoying one another’s company can have a powerful and positive affect on everyone involved.

Individual and collective releases of the pressure valves are an important component of high performance and strong culture.

There are many ways to achieve this but remember, ‘It is good to let your hair down every now and then – laugh, dance, be silly. Life is already serious enough’.