As we traverse life, our lessons and increased knowledge can be acquired through caring parenting, traditional educational routes, mentorship, and on-the-job training, and often through life experiences that demand a fast solution unmet by all earlier training and education.
Every year on my 29th birthday on March 12th, I do my annual mountain top run, leaving my home nestled in the peak above Santa Barbara, and head out on my own along a deserted ridge line road to reach La Cumbre peak at 4100 ft, then down the long 14 miles to our office in downtown.
With 4+ hours alone, one can not only enjoy the beauty of the country, the sparkle of the Pacific down below, the sweet smell of the pines at the summit, but one can also ponder life and livingness, especially when the incline seems to have increased since last year. This year had an unexpected heat wave, while last year, what started as a cloudy day became torrential rain by mile 9. You are right, I could have just sat down and waited for a passing lone vehicle or the neighborhood mountain lion, whichever arrived first. But I’m not a quitter and realized this year that this annual adventure is 100% like running a company, and there were many lessons learned this year – likely because this was a big 29th birthday and one can wax philosophical looking back as well as looking forward.
Possibly, you too have experienced the marathon of business and had similar cognitions, like:
- Once you start, you know that this run can be grueling and challenging, but on your own volition. You start out with the excitement of the adventure ahead and possibly a slight consideration that you should just stay in bed and let some other crazy person take up the baton.
- But you are not the type to pass the baton, so the run begins. Like starting a business or new venture, your enthusiasm is high; the challenges seem small; you are prepared in advance to ensure the supply chain is in place, the route is mapped, the end goal is defined, and a team is in place to support the effort, or at least cheer on the accomplishment.
- But like a marathon, the challenges arise – the business, like the runner, can dehydrate due to increased and unexpected supply demand. One learns to pivot, either by having set in place alternative supplies (a water bottle along the way) or by turning to solutions at hand. Did you know that roadside wild fennel seeds, when chewed, help generate water! In business, always have back up, in all resources, human as well as the materials needed to produce.
- Then there is the long, somewhat tedious 10 miles of sun-parched route before one finds shade. In business, there will be times when the repetition of the management process can seem to induce boredom. When that happens, grab your vision, mission, and values statement and reinvigorate your purpose. (If you don’t have a current updated one, call us. You started this adventure with a sky-high goal- refresh, look around, appreciate how far you have come, and the boredom disappears like the mountain butterfly off to find its next nectar source.
- You made it to the finish, to the goals you set for yourself and for your business. Enjoy the accomplishment with your team. Take the wisdom gained and play it forward. As Albert Einstein said: “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of a lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
That attempt may be a marathon or a new phase of growth for your business. Both are strengthened by the challenges and how you overcame them.
Whatever the endeavor, you are a winner, and we are here to cheer you on across your finish line.
Gillian