It's true that I have been head over heels in love a couple of times, but in cycling and business, I have been head over heels many times.
Once, for example, it was an early morning ride, about 6 a.m. I was riding my road bike and doing hill repeats in an effort to get into shape to be able to keep up with the fast crowd.
As I was about to peak the hill, putting out lots of effort, my back wheel popped out of the frame and jammed. I knew something was wrong as my bike came to a complete stop and I was flying through the air towards the pavement.
I knew something was seriously wrong as I lay on the pavement after the accident, unable to move one of my arms. I didn't need any doctor or X-ray to tell me that my collar bone was broken.
Seeing that no one came to my aid, I got up, fixed my bike and rode home in considerable pain.
In business, we can go head over heels, too. This may happen when we are exerting tremendous effort. We feel great, we have our sales going straight up, every member of our team is contributing to the output, we think we are on top of the hill, and then suddenly, something becomes unhinged.
Perhaps it's a key team member that becomes sick or maybe it's a product or service hiccup, sometimes it's the economy that brings us to a crash.
What do we do?
Well, the truth is that we have to dust ourselves off, determine if we can fix the problem, and get back on our bikes.
When the economy crashes or simply shifts gears, like in 2008 or 2011, many businesses were unable to get back on their bikes. This often is a result of a lack of financial fitness before the crash.
If we are running a business in such a way that we are in great shape, crashes can be a setback, but they don't often finish us off.
But how do we ensure that our business can survive a crash?
Just as athletes rarely focus on developing only one or two muscles, the key here is to remember that as we are growing our business we can't just focus on one or two areas either. In order to have a healthy vibrant business, we need to ensure that all areas, our sales, our marketing, our finances, our management team, our vendors and our customers are constantly exercised and challenged, as often as needed to ensure that they are fit and ready for any competition.
This means that we cannot become lazy or unfocused in our desire for continuous improvement.
Having a strong, well-managed business means that we have to ensure that our team is diverse in its opinions and interests. We must be able to see challenges from a variety of different viewpoints and have systems in place that enable us to come up with strategies that will allow us to stay at the forefront.
A healthy business is one that is not stagnant but always looking to see where the next opportunity lies, one that knows its limitations and is able to focus on opportunities long enough to see them become successes.
A well-managed business is one where the owners or managers don't try to do everything themselves. They understand the dynamics of a team, and put the right people in the right places to ensure that the business has brilliant achievements in good times and bad.
Is this your business?
In bike races and business, the pace is rarely constant. There are times when you might be going along at a comfortable pace and suddenly one of your competitor's spurts ahead.
If our business is finely tuned and ready for the competition, you can change gears and keep up. If the fitness level of the organization is lagging, you are going to fall behind.
When there are crashes, the cycling teams, athletes and companies that have a plan, who can think on their feet, even while lying flat on their backs, can bandage themselves up and get back on their bikes, will enjoy success.
Life isn't just about winning, and while there can only be one winner in a bike race, there are many winners in business. This not only includes the shareholders, but if we create a business that gives back, it also includes our communities, employees, customers and vendors.
We can celebrate our successes in so many ways, but it's hard to be successful if we can't survive the crashes.
Dave Fuller aka Crash, has an MBA, is a certified professional business coach and author, who helps business leaders ensure that their companies are successful. Email [email protected].
