In It to Win It

Posted on by Scott

The 2018 Tour de France concluded yesterday. The multi-stage race, first held in 1903, always promises tons of drama and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. From tear-gassing by police to fisticuffs between riders, there were enough headlines to interest even non-race fans. But in the midst of so much news, there’s one story you might have missed. It involved cyclist Lawson Craddock.

No, he wasn’t the winner of this year’s Tour. That was Geraint Thomas. The first Welshman to win the tour, Thomas has typically been a support player – holding off competitors so a teammate could build up a lead. After Saturday’s individual time trial, he’d managed to pull almost two minutes ahead of the pack and essentially cruised to victory on Sunday.

And no, Craddock wasn’t the rider at the center of this year’s doping scandal. That was Thomas’ teammate Chris Froome. Cleared by officials just prior to the start of the tour, Froome was jeered (and even assaulted) throughout the duration of his run. He was aiming for a fourth straight win, but crashed early on and lost too much time.

Craddock was the last cyclist to cross the finish line. The American’s 145th place finish came four and a half hours after Geraint Thomas. In fact, he finished dead last in all but one of the Tour’s 21 stages. Lawson was never expected to win – his job was to support his team’s leader – but finishing at all became his unexpected mission.

On day one, early in the first stage of the tour, Craddock ran over a stray water bottle, crashed, and gashed his forehead. The cut required stitches to close. Along with other scrapes and bruises, he also broke his scapula. That’s the shoulder blade, a bone that’s difficult and very painful to break. Recovery takes around six weeks and requires the shoulder to be immobilized.

But rather than bow out of the race, Craddock got back on his bike and finished stage one. Then he finished stage two, and three, and four. While other racers walked away from the competition having suffered far less serious injuries, Craddock kept going. And he kept finishing; in last place mind you, but he kept finishing.

After his crash, Craddock pledged to donate $100 to the Alkek Velodrome in Houston if he finished the stage. The velodrome is where he started racing and the venue was damaged badly during Hurricane Harvey. He invited fans to match his contribution, adding another $100 for each stage he completed. Craddock’s father set up a GoFundMe page with a target of $1,000 as way for people to show  support for his son’s new mission. As of this morning, the page had surpassed $225,000 in pledges.

I write a lot about success and achieving your goals. After all, that’s why we set goals, right? To reach them. To crush them. We aim for a target and work like crazy to win. In the world of business, as in the world of sports competition, the expectation is to stand on top of the podium. But what happens when that expectation is obliterated? What happens when the dream of finishing first is dashed? What are we to do when the goal is so far out of reach that success” becomes impossible?

I guess we could quit. That’s what most people do, and it’s perfectly understandable. Nurse your wounds, heal, rest up, regroup – watch from the sidelines and wait for the clock to reset so we can (maybe) give it a shot next year.

Or, we can do what Lawson Craddock did. Fight through the pain. Find victory in giving everything we have just to finish the race. We could redefine success and rally those around us to join in the pursuit of a different, more meaningful, goal. And in doing so, discover this is the race we were meant to win all along.

What’s Wrong with Your Face?

Posted on by Scott

Cyclists 1895Writing about the Tour de France last week got me thinking about the history of the bicycle. Here are a few of the facts I found interesting:

* Bicycles were introduced in Europe during the 19th century.

* The modern bicycle design evolved from that of the dandy-horse.

* The first pedaled bicycle was developed in 1839 by Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith. He is also associated with the first recorded bicycle-related traffic offense.

* The most popular model of bicycle in the world (and the most popular vehicle of any kind) is the Chinese Flying Pigeon.

* There are more than twice as many bicycles in the world as there are automobiles.

But by far the most interesting thing I uncovered was a mysterious bicycle-related illness known as “bicycle face.”

It seems that bicycle-riding enjoyed a huge surge during the late 1800’s, around the time chain-driven models were introduced. And as bicycling became more popular, it drew its share of detractors as well. Some didn’t like the congestion on the streets. Some didn’t like the impact bicycling had on fashion (women began to shun long dresses for clothing that allowed greater freedom of movement). Some bemoaned the lost art of one-on-one communication allowed by walking or taking the carriage to your destination. Thanks to a growing number of bicyclists who would opt for a Sunday morning ride over attending church, some even argued that cycling led to spiritual damnation.

Soon doctors were writing to medical journals describing the impact of cycling on one’s physical health. In addition to appendicitis, dysentery, and infertility; excessive riding, they argued, could lead to “bicycle face.” This disease was caused by the constant need to focus on balancing yourself on the bicycle while also scanning your surroundings to avoid collision with something or someone else. The anxiety produced by this level of concentration would lead to bulging eyes, flushed skin, and tense jaws. If not corrected in time, they warned, the effects of bicycle face would become permanent.

Over one hundred years later we can laugh about this obviously fictitious disease. But take a look around. How many people do you know who walk around every day with “bicycle face?”

Employees today are stressed. They’re stressed about the demands on their job. They’re stressed about the future of the company. They’re stressed about the future of the industry. They’re stressed about the next customer interaction. They’re stressed about meeting your expectations. And they’re stressed about balancing all of this with all of the other stuff that stresses them out at home. According to the American Psychological Association, the number one stressor for people 18-33 is work. And twenty percent of this group has been diagnosed with clinical depression. Now before you go thinking “Wow. I’m glad that doesn’t happen here. My employees aren’t stressed,” think again. They are.

It’s up to us as managers to address this problem. It’s up to us to address the issues causing stress amongst our employees. As work-related stress goes up, job satisfaction and productivity obviously go down. In addition, all that stress gets transferred to your customers, leaving a negative impression and impacting future business. Nobody wants to conduct business with a company full of stressed out, anxiety-ridden employees. The only ones who can make an immediate, positive impact on the organization are the leaders – and you are part of that group.

So come on fellow leaders, let’s fix this. Let’s talk to our employees and find out what’s causing all this stress. Then let’s do something about it.

After all, who wants to work all day next to Mr. Bicycle Face?

What it Takes to Win

Posted on by Scott

Tour de FranceHenri had a problem.

Sales of L’Auto, his daily newspaper devoted to sports, were slow. He’d started the paper in 1900 to compete with France’s largest sports paper, Le Vélo. But after almost three years, circulation hovered around 25,000, far lowered than desired. Henri wanted to not only compete with his rival, but dominate them. So he called an emergency meeting of the paper’s staff. They needed an idea – something big that would cement their legacy as the country’s premier sports authority.

The answer, suggested by a young writer focused on rugby and cycling, was a race. The paper would sponsor a six day, multi-stage bicycle race around France; creating an event grander than anything seen before. The proposal was quickly adopted. As plans for the race progressed, it grew to 19 days. Six just wasn’t enough to attract the kind of attention L’Auto needed. Unfortunately though, this put the race at out of the reach of many would-be participants. By the time it started on July 1, 1903, there were less than 100 registered racers.

However, while the field of competitors was small, the race attracted hoards of avid cycling fans. L’Auto’s circulation immediately jumped to over 65,000. The race became an annual event and circulation continued to grow. By 1923 over 500,000 copies were being sold each day. As luck would have it, the paper was eventually shut down in 1946, having been associated with Nazi influences during the Second World War.

But the race continued.

Today, the Tour de France consists of 21 day-long segments covering approximately 2,200 miles over 23 days. It is generally considered the most prestigious multi-stage bicycle race despite the grueling schedule (there are only two scheduled rest days). While the route changes each year, participants are guaranteed to encounter steep uphill climbs, unpredictable weather and a variety of road hazards. Every day, veterans and rookies compete to be the first overcome the physical demands of the race and don the yellow jersey (a nod to the yellow paper L’Auto was printed on).

Winning the Tour de France is complicated. It’s more like a game of chess than a race. In addition to physical performance and high tech gear, it involves strategy, teamwork and a great deal of patience. There are times when you give it your all and times when you sit back and let others lead. It involves sacrifice for the sake of the team and a steady stream of communication between teammates and even other riders.

In many ways, winning the Tour de France is like winning in business. There are periods of preparation and planning followed by periods of intense activity. There are times when the best strategy is to lay low and times when those who want to win leave everything they have on the road in pursuit of the goal.

Winning is hard. It isn’t for the weak of mind or spirit. It isn’t for those who take the easy way out. Winning is for those who are willing to sacrifice in order to stand on the podium. That’s why so few ever do.

What does it take to win your particular race?