Anyone who knows me will know I struggle with cycling – as much as I love sport and the great outdoors the ability to develop the specific leg muscles required to power the pedals, the desire to wear luminescent shades of lycra and the will power to venture further than a couple of miles along the local river paths still eludes me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my bike – it has earned a special place in my home (alongside my unicycle!), has been enhanced with some highly desirable technological gadgets and accessories, has been perfectly maintained and tuned by my mountain-biking enthusiast son but, despite all this, its shiny paintwork and lack of scratches and obvious signs of wear and tear is perfect testimony to its distinct lack of use!
I was very fortunate in the past week to meet with a group of very aspiring people, many of whom have worked closely alongside senior executives in blue chip companies and/or athletes working in the highest levels of sport. But I was also privileged to meet an aspiring cyclist who, whilst working as a senior manager for a very well-known company, is working passionately hard as an athlete to hone his skills and experience to achieve his goal of winning a professional race whilst also becoming a fully qualified scuba diving instructor and skiing instructor. The passion he exudes for his sport will drive his ability to succeed.
So what is a bike? Well as everyone knows, bike is an abbreviation for bicycle. In simple terms, Wikipedia defines a bicycle as follows – A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist or bicyclist.
But a bike is, in reality, so much more than this – it is potentially a very powerful machine made up of many component parts, all finely tuned and, when powered by the rider, is propelled forward in a specific direction and at a speed determined by the rider. There are of course many varieties of bike and varying qualities of component parts – for example the decision to buy a Truvativ Hammerschmidt FR chainset as opposed to a simple Elektra Classic crank will be determined by the type of bike and its purpose, the particular desire and attitude of the rider and also the disposable budget available. However, ultimately the performance of the bike depends on the synergy between all the component parts, the rider and the support team around.
When thinking about a bike, the first thing that comes to mind for me is the wheel – a strong hub surrounded by a myriad of spokes emanating from the hub outwards towards the rim and tyre. One hub but lots of spokes. So what is more important – the hub, the spokes or the rim/tyre? In reality they are all equally important and the wheel ceases to be functional in the absence of one of these elements. The hub is the strongest component in terms of inherent strength but the wheel cannot exist without the spokes, each of which must be accurately positioned – one damaged or missing spoke weakens the structure of the whole wheel and hence increases the risk of damaging the rim and reducing the overall performance and ride of the bike.
A bike is synonymous with a business. Everyone has an important part to play within an organisation. A visionary leader or CEO sets the course – like a cyclist, he will determine the direction he wants the business to go in and the speed he wants the business to attain its targets. In consultation with his management team, he will determine the race and pedal his team towards the finish line. Powerful nurturing, continual review and investment in his team (maintaining and oiling all the component parts of his bicycle and enhancing the performance with technological advancements as they become available) will develop the core strengths and overall performance of the entire business. Success starts from within – the desire and passion coupled with the ability to set realistic goals and the determination to achieve them.
Bev James (author of Do It or Ditch It) stated recently that “Life is like a 10-speed bike – most of us have gears we never use”. Bicycle gears or gear ratio refers to the rate at which a cyclist’s legs need to turn compared to the rate at which the wheel turns. Generally lower gears require the rider to pedal at a faster speed or cadence but with less force whereas higher gears conversely provide a higher speed for a given cadence but the rider will need to exert a greater force. Different terrain and rider preferences will most likely determine the selection of gear, but unless you are a seasoned cyclist, it is highly probable you (like me) will select just a very small selection of gears which enable you to continue to ride within your comfort zone and if you are really like me, when a hill comes along, you may even be tempted to get off the bike all together!
The same is true in every business, whether a new start-up or a well-established corporate enterprise. There are many ascents to climb, tour stages to attain, competition for the inside track, periods when we can freewheel and take advantage of the slipstream in the peloton and even times when the temptation to backpedal is overwhelming. With coaching, support and training we improve our knowledge and fitness and may just experiment using a different gear and working at a different level….
Sound familiar? Yes, because life in general is the same too!
Each one of us experiences success, frustration and disappointment in both our personal lives and business but at all times we continue to have choices. We choose to lead or we choose who it is we want to follow. Everyone is important and together we become stronger by playing a part in a bigger picture – each cog interacts with another to increase/decrease the torque to overcome obstacles along the way and hence allow us all to move forward with greater power, speed and energy to cross the finish line.
A bike (group, family, business) needs a competent rider (leader, parent, CEO) for direction and a solid support team (coach, friends, suppliers) to achieve its goal – the energy of the collective sparks the dynamo and illuminates the finish line.
We cross the finish line together and congratulate the team mindful that, although one race is now behind us, in life and work there will always be another race to run!
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