Marathons and Exit Planning

When we named our consulting business, a number of years ago, we decided to call it “Trek Consulting”, because building a business can be an arduous journey. This is something our many clients can attest to. It’s a journey, not unlike a 26-mile marathon.

As noted at the bottom of last month’s Trekking, I completed the Baltimore Marathon on October 10.  Finishing the marathon achieved a personal goal, after a few months of long training runs (three over twenty miles) and overcoming a little nervousness. My time of 4:37 means I ran an average of about 10:30 per mile, which isn’t really that fast, but with the hills and the humidity, I’m satisfied.  I’m proud to have completed the run and have the pictures to prove it.

The easy thing to do here would be to compare the building of a business to the running of a marathon. So let’s do it.

For both, they start with an idea or a spark. Maybe the idea for your business came out of nowhere or maybe you prepared for it for what seems like ages. For me, the idea of running a marathon arose after a challenge in a watering hole after a short 5-K race in Somerville, MA last December. But that’s another story for another time. I’m sure you can just as easily remember when the idea, or spark, for your business first came to you.

For both, you need a plan. Everybody recommends that business owners should have a business plan as a way to address financing needs, management depth, market analysis, required resources and the production and distribution process. For a marathon, your plan will call for you to start months ahead of the race so you can build up mileage to get in a few long runs of 20 plus miles and not get hurt. Let me tell you, my running plan looked daunting at the outset as I’m sure your business plan seemed when you first outlined it.

For both, you need to execute the plan. The running of the business is a demanding, all-consuming process. The running of the marathon is all-consuming for the time you are on the roads in training as well as during the race. And for both, even though you have a well thought out plan, you’ll need to be flexible and willing to adjust your plan as you move forward with it. Even the best laid plans need to be tweaked.

For both, the performance and outcome will be a direct result of how well you trained and executed the plan. Your success will mirror your ability to deal with the bumps in the road, in the economy, and in your life (and hopefully the issues of dehydration and cramping will only relate to running a marathon). At the completion of both, hopefully, you can look back with pride on your accomplishments.

Mike Oleksak  2009