Cycling Reflections: Lessons Learned for Pacing Growth

Dear Reader,

I’m in the midst of training for a difficult bike ride to raise funds for the Children's Hospital of Colorado and I've been learning a lot while cycling. We all find meaning and learn lessons from different parts of our lives and through different experiences. Many of these lessons have applied to both my personal life and business – so I thought I’d share. If you enjoy cycling, are working on a large project or run a business, maybe some of this will resonate.

1. When riding uphill, slow and steady may be better than fast and hard.

I used to think powering through a hill at max effort was the way to get through it. I was focused on getting it done so I didn’t have to suffer anymore. I then rode a very steep gravel ride with one of my team members on a 16% grade hill (that’s REALLY steep on a bike). I powered halfway up, thought my heart was going to burst from my chest, so I stopped to catch my breath. As I heaved and gasped to recover, my team member came around the bend, rode past me, kept on going and beat me to the top. Slow and steady. We weren’t racing, just aiming for the top of this hill before looking to see what was next and tackling that in good time.

The lesson is obvious to some, but it was new to me. A hard grind isn’t always the best way to get things done, in fact, it might deplete you. Slow and steady may be what’s needed. ResultsLab has grown steadily over the last three years – we’ve been on a push and needed to be on that push to get through the start-up phase successfully. I believe we are now on a long, steady climb with lovely rolling hills coming our way. Our approach needs to vary given where we are as a company.

2. Riding at someone else’s pace will wear you out.

I consistently train with a number of bad-ass women. They are typically faster and stronger than I am, which is frustrating, but it is what it is. I reflected on a past ride I did with one of these strong women, and how going at her pace tapped my endurance in no time. I decided on the next ride that I’d go at my pace and see her at the top. I enjoyed the ride immensely (who couldn’t in the beautiful Colorado mountains). I felt successful, and since I communicated with my riding partner that I’d be going at a different pace, she was fine with it as well.

My team at ResultsLab may be relieved by my learning that not everyone can ride at the same pace and be successful. They may be irritated that I had to learn this lesson from riding my bike when they’ve been saying this more than once, in different ways, but hopefully they appreciate that I’m finally learning the lesson. Our pacing may need to be different to help everyone be successful, or we may need different supports to help us all finish in the end.

We’ve been reflecting on quality as we team. In our own root cause analysis, we’re finding that speed, workload and complexity can push against quality and wear us out. We are working to address these so our team can be more successful.

Have you had similar challenges? If so, please share any lessons learned with us too! We are on a journey and excited to continue learning, evolving and growing – together.

READING

An ode to slowness: the benefits of slowing down: How the intentionality of slowing down can help us better achieve our goals.
Slowing Down to Speed Up: Speeding up can complicate things and consume more energy, while slowing down can allow us to go deeper and more quickly achieve our objectives.
How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas: “…how analogies work and how you can best utilize them.”
Productivity Isn’t About Time Management. It’s About Attention Management: “Attention management is the art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places and at the right moments.”