I’m an avid cyclist. I follow a route on my biweekly rides that takes me up a gradual, 12 -mile climb. Then I turn around and go home the same way.
It’s not steep enough to coast, but if I peddle hard, I can average better than 35 mph coming back. For a wanna-be cyclist like me, that’s what it’s all about.
As I started my ride this afternoon, I noticed that I was making great time. Within 15 minutes, I passed a land-mark that usually takes me 20 minutes to reach. I gave myself a psychological pat on the back and told myself that my daily workouts were paying off. I reached the turnaround point a full 15 minutes ahead of my normal time. Yay for me.
As I turned to go home, I remember why I had made such good time. The wind, which was now in my face, had been at my back on the way up. Despite going down hill, the ride home was painfully slow. I ended up completing the trip 17 minutes slower than usual.
In retrospect, I realized that when the wind was at my back, I never felt it. I assumed my improved performance was due to my skills and abilities.
it was only when I changed direction that I felt it. But that’s typical of change isn’t it? When times are good, we assume it’s because we are talented, we are good workers, or we’re just lucky. We don’t feel the wind on our backs so we take credit for our good fortune.
It’s when things change, when the market shifts, when demand for our products goes down, or when the economy craters, that we realize the wind had been at our backs and we never knew it.
In his compelling book, Only The Paranoid Survive, ex-Intel CEO Andy Grove pointed out that it pays to be a little paranoid in business, because you never know when your market is going to shift.
He called these changes “strategic inflection points.” I call them “shifts in the wind.” Whatever the term, the lesson is clear. Don’t get too comfy with the way things are, because we never know when the wind at our backs will become the wind in our faces.
BTW, I wrote about this phenom several years ago when my rides were shorter but the effect hasn’t changed. Seems like I have to be reminded of the same principles regularly. Duh.)
Larry Johnson, CSP
Johnson Training Group, LLC
Tel: 602-943-0985
Cel: 480-650-9034
Email: larry@larry-johnson.com