Don’t you find it interesting when people don’t do the work and then are surprised / annoyed they didn’t get the result?
Earlier in the week, I decided to duck out for a lunchtime walk.
It’s a nice way to break up the day, and I often have my best ideas while out walking.
As usual, I headed out my front door and turned left at the end of my driveway towards a long hill.
It’s the middle of a Melbourne winter.
The sun is out, and it is incredibly still.
Though it is so cold, you can see your breath in the air.
In the distance, I notice a family of 5 coming up the hill towards me.
A mother, a father and 3 kids around the ages 8-13
The father and 2 of children were 1st to pass me on bikes pedalling with ease and having a great time.
They were laughing and screaming in joy.
The mother came past next on foot, running up the hill.
Even though she wasn’t moving as fast as those on bikes, she was having a great time.
I think she enjoyed the challenge of keeping up with the bikes.
By the look of her, she is a well-seasoned athlete.
In last place was one of the children walking the bike up the hill.
The look in the eyes said it all.
Defeated and hating every minute of it.
He was working much harder than everyone else and clearly wished he was not on this outing.
It made me think about business and team.
It’s kind of like you are the athlete and your team is the bike.
If you are the rider pedalling the bike well you can get up the hill with ease.
Sure, a good bike costs some money but, the leverage is worth it.
You can go much further than the runner can alone.
Alternatively, you can go it alone without the bike you can still do reasonably well.
All the work is on you, and you will be slower than the bike riders but, you don’t carry the costs of the bike and are highly agile.
A runner can take some paths that a bike can not.
However…
The worst place to be in is the rider carrying the bike up the hill.
(the business owner that carries the team)
-It’s slower
-It costs more
-It’s not agile
All the downside with very little of the upside.
(Maybe they get to feel good when they tell people they have a team)
Here is the message.
Most business owners run their business like the kid in last place.
They are dragging their team up the hill with very little leverage.
They put little to no effort into recruitment or training and are surprised that they are not flying up the hill with ease.
At the end of each day, they are exhausted.
(I would be too if I were dragging a bike up a hill all day)
If you are going to be a cyclist, then get a good bike, maintain it and train yourself to use it well.
Otherwise, you are better off being a runner.