Riding in the rain

As most of you know I am an ironman level triathlete. This means that in my free time usually before 7am I swim a mile, bike a few hours or run 10 miles. I have dedicated a substantial amount of my free time over the past few years to these endourence events and feel that they help me in running my business. The following is one lesson I have learned in Ironman that equates to success in business or life.

The one thing I have learned and I think the most appropriate for todays economic environment is that an ironman is a long race (2.4 mile swim, 112 bike ride, 26.2 mile run) taking anywhere from 10 to 17 hours to complete. During that long day you will be faced with all kinds of challenges both expected and unexpected, kicked in the face by other swimmers, flat tires, rain, etc. The key to surviving an Ironman is not giving up. It really is that simple.

Business is really the same way. Everyday we are thrown new challenges; unemployment, credit freeze, loan calls, lenders taken over by feds, etc, etc. What makes a company sucessfull in these times is the persistence to keep going. Hit a problem, find a solution, implement, if it doesn't work try another.

When you are running the marathon section of an Ironman you are very tired, incorherent and in a lot of pain. The only thing that keeps you going is small goals. Sometime the most courage you can build up is the ability to get to the next aid station or even the light post 100 feet in front of you. You make that agreement with yourself that you will keep running till you make it there. You make it and then you focus on the next milestone. You do this for 4 hours striaght and somehow you get to the finish line. If you start thinking about the finish line too soon you will not make it. The feat is just too hard to comprehend in that state of mind and pain.

In business today I see the same things. There are so many macro problems with this country, the economy, and the real estate market that if we focus on them we are never going to get to the finish line. So we focus on the milestones (goals) we can visualize and reach quickly ( 90 days out). We set aggressive yet reachable quarterly goals and repeat them to ourselves (the organization) every moment possible. In an Ironman I can often be heard shouting at myself; "Make it to the light post. You can make it happen!" The organization is no different than a delussional runner at mile 135 in an Ironman. It needs to be heard over and over what the goal is and that it can make it.

At Signature Community we are thinking like Ironman competitors. We know we can't control the weather but we can make goals and make it to them. We then set reachable goals the next quarter and accomplish them. Our interim goal us continue this process until we are out of this economic mess. The long term goal of growing our brand will come in time when the opportuties are right but the short and interim goals we are hitting now will set us up well for these growth opportunities that are going to be available.

Thanks for making it happen at Signature Community.
-Nick