Are You Building Your Business As A Marathoner Or Sprinter?

Posted on Jul 2, 2010 | 0 comments

I do not consider running to be fun and have always asked, “Is someone chasing you?” That is the question that I’ll whisper under my breath or ask my wife as we drive by someone running alongside the road or sidewalk. I run only because I know it is good for my heart and I feel that running is one tactic within an overall strategy of optimizing health.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for the Disney Marathon in next January. Lee walked into my office the next day pushing me to get started on my training plan. Before she even finished voicing her suggestion I was on Google looking for a marathon-training regimen. “See honey, training is only sixteen weeks long”, I quipped. Smiling proudly I continued, “I don’t need to start training yet” I replied as I clicked on the next Google search result. “Oh wait, here’s one for only twelve weeks. That’s me.” She shook her head and laughed.

In hindsight, I am laughing at myself. I made a commitment to run a marathon yet immediately look for a sprinter-like training plan. Not a training plan to run fast but instead a training plan to train fast. The least effort and the shorter the time it takes to train is better, right?

My actions draw similar parallels to what I often see in business owners and entrepreneurs. We routinely receive emails and phone calls asking, “How can I make $10,000 by next Monday?” Are you kidding me? I laugh at the requests the same way that Lee laughed at me.

Our society carries the mindset of a sprinter. Let’s get from here to there as fast as possible. Yet what makes this approach even worse is that most people want to sprint but they do not want to put in the practice time or work that is required. “I want it now with no effort on my part.” That’s actually a motto that fits our society at large. A sad motto in my opinion.

So what about your business? Are you building a business with the right foundational building blocks, systems, and value-laden products and services to provide sustainable growth, revenue, and profitability? Or are you looking for a shortcut to fast money?

Not sure? Come join me next January at Disney. I’d love to meet you and we’ll have 26.2 miles to chat about it.