Journey or Destination?Process or Result?

“I don’t care how you get from A to B, as long as you get to B.”  Hard charging, goal oriented, results based, get it done.  In the context of building a business - WRONG!

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A week ago for me, A was Mount Crested Butte, Colorado, and B was Aspen.  40 miles away, traversing several mountain passes over 10,000 feet, with 7,500 feet of climbing between here and there.  I’ve run a lot of ultra marathons, and as I paced the starting line in the dark, I couldn’t wait for the experience.  In the past I’ve prepared by running 50 miles a week and dialing in various metrics leading up to the event.  This time was a bit different.  I’ve been weight training recently, and running less.  I’ve hiked a good bit, but only run around 15 miles a week for a few months.  Still, I’ve done this before, how hard can it be? 

By mile 10, my legs were cramping up.  The kind of cramp that starts by rotating through every muscle, then settles into all of them.  It was agony.  I pushed on.  By mile 20, the cramp had morphed into a constant pain, with intermittent piercing shocks in random spots – calfs, knees, hamstrings.  I tried to run, but it hurt too much.  So I ran 100 feet, then as I seized up, I’d walk 50.  I still had 20 miles to go.  By mile 30, running was over with.  I walked.  Sort of.  My right knee wouldn’t bend, so I hobbled and hopped.  The race ends with around 6 miles of steep downhill. Normally, I like the challenge of fast descents with tricky footwork.  Not today.  I couldn’t go forward because of the knee, so I went sideways.  It took forever.

On the way down, I got passed by around 100 people.  I finally got to “B”, and finished the race in serious pain, and exhausted.  Could I do it again?  Yes.  Would I want to?  Not like this.  Next time, I’ll train for the journey, not the destination.

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I’ve shared with clients that a turning point for me in the evolution of my business was the realization that taking the right actions Monday through Thursday is more important than winning the big deal on Friday.  It’s the journey – the process – that builds a scaleable operation.  A business has to get from A to B every day, every week, every month. 

We need to empower our teams, fill them with confidence, and show them that getting from A to B doesn’t need to be a painful, stressful struggle.  A business that relies on individual efforts to get from A to B at all costs can’t grow.  It’s the process we create that gives confidence to our team, consistent excellence for our customers, and allows our company to thrive.

In “The Slight Edge”, Jon Olsen shows how small consistent right actions pay bigger dividends in the long run than big leaps.  It’s these right actions and behaviors Monday through Thursday that ensures there will be another big deal on the table next Friday as well.

“How you get from A to B matters more to me than whether you get to B.”  I want to give you the tools to do it without me, confidently and consistently, time after time.  In the context of building a business – RIGHT!