26 June 2011

Senna

Sam told me to watch Senna. So I did. Its a truly inspiring documentary.

And it struck me that F1 has so many parallels to business. Senna was so successful because he was a great driver. With a great team. Which had a great car. And this great driver, team and car could adapt well to different tracks and different conditions on each of these tracks. In fact they came into their own when the conditions turned rainy and slippery.


And on the odd occassion that they failed, it was because one of the key parts failed. Or they didnt know how to play politics that Prost could. Or they didnt keep up with technology that Benneton pioneered.

Its all about getting everything right. Every day. Every year.

19 June 2011

Finding Mr Miyagi

Business is hard. Yes, you will learn on the job, but sometimes you need the wise counsel of someone who has done it before. Someone who is truly independent and isnt a shareholder or a business partner.

Find yourself a Mr Miyagi.




Happy Fathers Day foks. Give your dad a hug, and seek his counsel.

14 June 2011

Running uphill

When you go for a run, what music do you listen to?

I tend to do most of my running in the hilly terrain of Highgate, so I tend to put together playlists really carefully. I try to mix it up, steady grinders from Chicane and Chemical Brothers help me on the gradual climbs.....




But when I get to really steep climbs, I call on the heavy artillery and forward to real uplifting tracks....infectious energy from the likes of Scooter.

Starting up your own business is like hill running. Some will run straight up the steepest path. They might get to the top in good time, but end up bushed and breathless. And some will speed up and tire themselves out each time they hear a really upbeat song, or each time someone whizzes past them. Some will run along the contours and get there much slower with a bit of gas in the tank, pause for a breath and then take on the next hill.

I dont think there is a right way. To each his own. Just make sure you are armed with the full range of songs so that you can change gears when you need to. And definitely have a great bunch of pacemakers in your team.

Scooter baby.