In the C-Suite: Feel the burn

On a recent trip to Oslo I learnt a little bit about Nordic (ie cross country) skiing. Well as much as one can learn over lunch at an airport hotel. At the top level, these athletes are tested both physically and mentally to the extreme. And it’s the mental discipline where the lessons lie.

Their approach, when the going gets tough is to look up periodically to ensure they are heading in the right direction, but in between they just focus on the next 10 metres. Nothing else matters. Pure 'in the moment’ focus. Keep driving forward. Allowing the mind to wander would be disastrous.  Thinking about the tasks that lie beyond the next 10 metres would puncture this focus. Reflecting on the enormity of the overall challenge ahead would no doubt create performance-draining anxiety.

It is popular to talk about agile organisations, ie those that adapt quickly to the market conditions. Given market volatility, some feel that perhaps going forward strategy and tactics are becoming one and the same thing.

My concern is that this thinking leads to short term and long term focus merging and blurring, leading to organisations being in a constant state of corporate anxiety. This low performing state in turn starts to wear away tactical resolve. Thus agile becomes an excuse for discomfort-avoidance.

“That market is too tough, let’s find a new one”. Whereas those with the Nordic skiing mindset know where they are heading and don’t change direction simply because it looks difficult. Those that ‘feel the burn’ so to speak are the one’s most likely to succeed.