I am working on a presentation about how lessons learned from racing or training translates into a more effective work life. I have about 15 concepts I learned over the years but want your opinions. I have ideas like When a pebble is in your shoe stop and fix it: Lesson learned in a race where I ignored it and had a huge hole in my foot later. Corporate lesson: when there is a problem or a problem performer do not let it grow until it is too big Never look over your shoulder: Lesson it does not matter if the people under you in corporate are doing well, do not be afraid of others success Dont skip needed breaks or aid sessions: A’ La Paul Newbie at Kona. Translation: take work breaks and vacations before you need them ETC ETC
What are some of the lessons you learned from training and racing that makes you successful at work and life?
Anything is Possible, duh.
Too bad Rapp isn’t chiming in, I’d like to see hear his insight, must be good with his accident and still not giving up/in due to it.
Consistent, directed effort toward achieving a goal is far superior to a last minute flurry of effort/training.
Shift gears before you need to.
There is more to life than training/racing/work.
A swim fin really doesn’t look that much like a dead fish if you think about it.
Corporate lesson: Get a really good story down before trying to sell it to the press or your stockholders.
you can wordsmith this however you want, but I am a strong believer in “visualizing success”. Visualize the perfect race/sales presentation/job interview before it happens.
If you spend the time to master your skill set, you’ll probably end up doing pretty good. aka it takes time to develop talent and corporations that cut training, cut investing in their people especially during a recession are probably going to end up position more poorly coming out of a recession then companies who made some investment. people after all are most companies biggest investment (and generate the revenue)
Hire someone smarter then you, it makes you look smarter then you are (plus makes delegation easier)
Having a plan is a good idea
Benchmarking yourself to where everyone else is isn’t going to allow you to rise above the competition. A benchmark is the starting point for where you need to grow from, unless of course you don’t want to be better then other companies. I mean who wants to be just as good as everyone else? F*ck that, I want to crush my competitors.
Sometimes you have just have to listen.
Work smarter, not harder. Applies in many areas of life.
also needs wordsmithing>>>
your race result never rises to the level that you want it to; it can only reflect the result of the work that you put into it, consistently over time. ie something about putting in a bit of work, every day, consistently over time, on a project, rather than procrastinating and trying to jam it all into the day before the due date/aka race.
Never try anything on race day that you have not tested in training.
Same goes for a presentation. Make sure you have practiced and that whatever technology you plan to use has been tested in that environment.
Also - If you have to poop, don’t hold it to long.
If you have bad news to deliver, the longer you wait to deliver it, the messier and more painful it will be.
I posted on my work blog about this some time ago. Apologize for the length, but maybe it will help you with some ideas for your preso…
When I’m not spending time with family or working, I enjoy training for endurance sports – running, biking and triathlons (swimming is a part of triathlon, but I won’t lie – I don’t like training to swim. Working on my attitude here…). Every once in awhile, I race. I’m writing this entry from a hotel in Austin the evening before running in the Austin Marathon (I’m running the half). I train and race with a group of about 10 guys; it’s an eclectic group – different ages, professions and ability levels – but we all share a common passion and it’s a lot of fun to get to know each other through a sport that we all love. Though we often train as a group on weekends, because of work/life issues my weekday training is usually done solo; which leads to many hours on the trails or roads with just my thoughts to keep me company. It’s during these times that I’m able to work through things that are bugging me or concept out new ideas or be creative about something fun with the family. I also think a lot about the training I do – it’s important to me and I want to do well, so I spend the time to figure out how to maximize the ability I have (which really isn’t much – I’m a “middle-of-the-pack” guy). Over time, it’s struck me that many of the habits I’ve formed while training “wash over” into other parts of my life; most notably my work life.
Here’s what I’ve learned while training for endurance events:
Anyone can do it – I’ve seen all ages and shapes at events. I’ve heard amazing stories of people overcoming difficult circumstances and I’ve seen, first hand, major improvements to health and personal satisfaction. It’s true that some people are more talented than others and no amount of work will make you an Olympic athlete unless you are extremely gifted; but with the right effort, anyone can compete.
Improvement is gradual and is only accomplished by consistent effort – Our bodies adapt to training stress very slowly. It’s critical that appropriate intensity, duration and frequency are applied. If we push too hard, injury is inevitable. To become a runner, you start by walking…then walking a bit farther and more quickly…then walking with a few running spurts intermixed…then running a short distance at an easy pace…and so on until you reach your goal whether it’s running a 5k or a marathon. During this training time, multiple systems in the body are adapting to the increasing stress. The body becomes stronger, more efficient at processing fuel and oxygen and more economical in the way it moves. Frequency is the most important component – it’s critical that the right work is done day after day after day after day….
To know how much you’ve improved, occasionally, you have to push yourself to the edge – Training is all well and good, but occasionally, you need to race to learn how much you’ve improved. The excitement of a race is palpable – the nervous energy in the air, the noise and the people all create a sense of anticipation that’s really fun. When the gun goes off, the adrenaline rush can make the training all worth while. Even if you don’t race at the front, the experience is really fun and is a valuable tool to measure what’s been accomplished.
Are you “training” for something in your work life? If not, I’d suggest you create a goal and begin making steady progress toward it. Invest in yourself and discipline yourself to maintain focus on where you want to go. Find people that can help you, develop resources that will provide information that can shape you, seek out experiences that will grow your skills. On occasion, “enter a race” - give a talk to a group, write a paper and try to get it published in a professional journal, lead a high profile project, serve on a committee for your professional association…Regardless of the outcome, you’ll be better than when you started the journey.
Anybody can do it.
Regards,
Tom
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Chip away at something a little at a time. Both in training…consistency over a long period is better than cramming in training the week before the race. And in the race…breaking down the bike and run of an Ironman into 3 ‘chunks’ and going, easy, moderate, then hard always makes it easier to think about than the whole distance as one.
Train for your weaknesses, race to your strengths.
‘Plenty of perfect practice’
The 7 P’s…
Prior
Preperation and
Planning
Prevents
Piss
Poor
Performance.
There’s only so much low hanging fruit (free speed); eventually, growth will necessitate hard work
.
What would you do if you knew you would not fail…
Sometimes sh*t happens, just deal with it and move on (no temper tantrums on the side of the road/in the boardroom)
Luck plays a big part- know how to recognize and take advantage of it
.
Lesson 1:
Structure your day
Get out of bed, eat something and drink coffee and then digest a little bit.
then you need to work hard for a little while, then you eat something, and then lay on the couch at least twice as long as you worked. Eat something.
then you do a little bit of work again, and you eat something, then you lay on the couch again for at least twice as long as you worked. Then you eat again.
Then you do little half hour cool down work, and then you eat a big meal and then you go to bed and sleep for as much as you want.
Lesson 2
never do more then one day/week with full time work load (over 6,5 hrs continuous working is too much)
Lesson 3
Never be bored while doing nothing. It is almost like the more you do nothing, the better. “Let’s just digest” is a good philosopy to get to the top.
Lesson 4
If you find obstacles on your way, find a way around it. Over the top is too much risk to get injured. Avoid injury/depression/set backs at all cost.
Lesson 5
Don’t expect to be paid for nothing, or to find respect from the posers if you lay on the couch digesting. People think the road to the top is an unpaved gravel road uphill you have to fight hard. You better do one step at a time, and get plenty of sleep and food in between.