Finding and achieving personal and professional success has long been the focus of countless self-help books, CD’s and is the veritable base of the entire “motivational speaking” profession. And we have all heard the clichéd saying, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” whether that applies to life, business, education or whatever.
Runners or not, we all generally understand what the implications of staying focused, being steady, pacing yourself and planning for the duration all have on success over time, much like they do with running a successful marathon. But what about TODAY? WHAT ABOUT THE PRESENT? Or at least- what does success look like over the next 5 days?
Are you gaining ground if you are always aiming for some ending that you can’t quite see, or future date in time as a reason to do more planning, or to pontificate, without the correct amount of urgency for results today? AND, let’s not forget that a marathon just isn’t healthy; it basically breaks your body down and causes you lose focus – Well at least that’s what the average marathon runner tells me.
But is business success a sprint, in which you are highly focused for a short periods of time versus partially focused of long period of time – again, for the “average Joe” runner; or rather, is success in executing a Strategic Plan a sprint or a marathon? And the answer is… IT’S BOTH! Booo.
I know you probably hate the “sit on both sides of the fence” political answer! I bring the ole clichéd saying up for a reason. I say that it is a marathon, because every company must establish a longer-term vision of what their aspirational goals are; it creates a feeling of inclusion and excitement.
These emotions and feelings can create true urgency to execute now. This true urgency allows us to make decisions quickly. We need to focus on present results that are consistent with our Vision! It is important that we continue to adjust, adapt, fail – And do it all quickly. And, we must keep it practical.
As we reflect back to the aforementioned debate, this is where a sprint comes into play. This is where a sprinter is focused with true urgency to get out of the blocks, heads down, and go! Afterwards, there is a short time to reflect… react/adjust- and off to the next race!
So, if it’s true that focus can be lost in a marathon, then we must protect it. Being focused and present requires us to be consistently mindful of where we are going and why! Maintaining this focus will also help us further vet what matters most, what drives us, what motivates us, what excites us and what scares us. This will help you and your team to seize every moment and act with true urgency.
Each week ask:
• What worked well this week?
• What didn’t work well?
• What do we need to work on moving forward?
The notion of living each moment, truly seizing each moment, has really impacted me this quarter. It is absolutely one of influences I feel while typing this blog. A few weeks ago, two members of our team got into a very serious car accident: both were taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma. That terrible event made me think about living every moment to its fullest potential and not being too consumed with the future, but excelling today. Please note, I’m not saying not to have a long term vision and plan. I simply reevaluated the importance of BEING PRESENT, whether it be professionally or personally, seizing every moment, operating with great intention and having no fear as we have no total control of the results; it will be what it will be after we give it our all!
Frank Belen is a Senior Business Consultant for entreQuest. He helps to develop and grow business and C-level leadership and assists small to medium sized businesses Grow Regardless.
