Entrepreneurial Agility: A Mountain Biker’s Guide to Business Resilience
What you might not know about me is that I love biking and now that I live in Arizona, I have the luxury of mountain biking in the most beautiful surroundings.
One of my favorite areas is the McDowell Mountain Regional Park because it offers a varied landscape and a great mixture of trails. I’m no daredevil but still love to constantly challenge myself and my preferred option is a 16-mile route with a mixture of gravel paths, minor rocky areas, and a reasonable elevation change of about 600 feet.
This past Sunday was the picture-perfect day for a ride, so my husband and I loaded up the bikes and headed out. I was excited to go but also a little hesitant. You see, I crashed on our last ride. Nothing serious, just minor cuts, scrapes, and bruising, but thinking about it still left me a little apprehensive.
I’m happy to report that this time all went smoothly, and I can’t wait to go again. However, as I reflect on this experience, I realize the way I worked through this setback is equal to the process that we help our clients establish.
Let me explain:
As business owners, we all know that setting big goals and challenging ourselves comes with a certain level of risk. While success is undoubtedly exhilarating, it’s just as crucial to be resilient in the face of setbacks, such as losing out on a big contract, unhappy clients, or staffing problems. In my experience, there are three key points to consider:
- Preparation:
Success is not just a stroke of luck but as the adage reminds us: “a good start is half the battle…” Before every ride, we consider the weather, check the bikes and equipment, agree on the route depending on the season, etc.
It’s no different in our businesses; rather than relying solely on luck, we need to invest time and resources into crafting strategic plans, acquiring the necessary skills, and developing robust strategies to minimize the impact of unforeseen roadblocks.
- Trust:
I know before every ride that my bike is 100% in working order because my husband checks the chain, tire pressure, and brakes, and makes sure we have a few tools for any minor repairs. He also knows I’ve filled our Camelbacks with water, snacks, sunscreen, etc.
Entrepreneurial success isn’t a solo endeavor either. We need to trust that everybody is delivering on their promise to achieve the desired outcome. This is often one of the area that our growth community members have found the hardest to master because they haven’t had the right systems and processes in place to vet potential employees, suppliers, collaboration partners, opportunities, etc. It is so rewarding to see a client’s relief when we guide them through the Business Mastery Deep Dive. They not only gain trust in their abilities to lead but also understand how to build strong relationships that contribute to their continued success and provide a support system during challenging times.
- Evaluate and Adjust:
There are often two distinct attitudes about recovering from setbacks; get back on the horse or sulk and abandon the goal. However, there is a much more effective approach.
When I crashed on my bike, I instantaneously felt a little embarrassed. You see it was just a few hundred yards from the finish line and in full view of the packed parking lot. I had for a brief second, stopped paying attention to the path when I hit an area with loose gravel and sand. I immediately felt my bike wobbling and instead of trusting myself and the bike, I did the worst thing possible: I slammed the brakes and went down.
As mentioned, I love biking, so abandoning future rides was out of the question, and even though I can be quite stubborn, I didn’t just ignore the event and carried on. I took some time to evaluate what went wrong and identified that my instinct to brake heavily was counterproductive and I should have paid more attention to the path the entire ride.
In business, it is equally valuable to continuously evaluate how we conduct our business, especially when we encounter challenges. The strategic growth plan we create with each of our clients has a built-in progress matrix to examine what went well, what could be done better, and what to do differently in the future. We also help our clients go through these processes objectively and without judgment because as Brené Brown reminds us “Where there is embarrassment, there is no growth.”
At Legacy Leadership Institute, we believe that the ability to be agile is a hallmark of successful entrepreneurs. By prioritizing preparation, building trust in collaboration, reviewing procedures, and embracing a culture of continuous improvement, you will not only achieve your goals faster, but also recover more swiftly from setbacks.
So, remember the next time you feel like hitting the brakes – take a moment to breathe and evaluate your next best step or schedule a call with one of our coaches who can steer you in the right direction.