DNF And Organizational Excellence

The last desert race I competed in was in February of 1997. I had come to a point in my life where it was no longer practical due to a career change and a move to the American Midwest, which famously, has no desert. But I learned a phrase that is common in all sorts of racing: "Death before DNF." DNF is an acronym for "did not finish."

Desert racing is a grueling endurance sport. The unschooled often think it an organized and competitive trail ride. However, it is miles of open throttle concentration over terrain that must be read for hazards, as there are no trails to navigate. The shortest race I ever competed in was 24 miles. The longest 110 miles. Riders rarely sit on the seats of their machines, be it ATVs or motorcycles. They are crouched the entire time, using their legs as shock absorbers as they trundle across uneven terrain. They endure muscle cramps, muscle pump in the forearms and digits, and the risk of dehydration. Races are organized into loops that take the riders, either through, or adjacent to, the pit area for obvious reasons. Once the race starts, the goal is to make it through the first loop, then the second, and so on. As competitors pass through the "gate" at the end of each loop, a small crowd of family, friends and ardent enthusiasts - desert racing, by its very definition, is not a spectator sport - cheer and celebrate the progress of the rider, who all the while is reciting the "death before DNF" mantra in his or her head. Finishing, as much as winning, is a mind game.

Some things I've learned from desert racing apply to organizational excellence. The Shingo Institute defines this as how well everyone in the organization engages in improvement to fulfill the organization’s purpose, which should be aligned to the enterprise strategy. This can be successfully deployed using the Shingo Model.

It's a journey

Desert racing requires competitors to think in the long term. A competition is a journey, albeit a difficult one. Executives and some managers have a tendency to think in the short term. This is because they are rewarded on results that are short term and not truly sustainable. Until the criteria for sustainable results are part of the compensation package, this will remain the case. This short-term mentality fosters program, after initiative, after mandate, which fosters the "flavor of the month" mentality and its associated cynicism throughout the organization. Organizational excellence, in its truest form, lasts beyond a new manager, director or CEO. They become stewards of a journey, and the other executives, managers and team members that are on that journey with them. If viewed as a journey, then the groundwork for organizational excellence as a cultural paradigm, rather than a buzz word, has been established. I really like the example of Unilever as an organization that has eschewed providing quarterly guidance to investors on stock price. Their focus is on the long term. This is the journey mentality of organizational excellence.

Plan for hazards

In desert racing, the course is marked with brightly colored strips tied to sagebrush and other flora at specified intervals. Hazards are marked by "pie plates" attached to 4x4 posts marked with 1 to 3 red X's indicating the severity of each hazard. Most important of all, competitors need to become adept at "reading the terrain" for unmarked hazards. This comes only from developing skill through practice and experience. The same is true for organizational excellence. Leaders in organizations on a journey of excellence need to expect that hazards will arise. We call this risk assessment. Some hazards are well marked. Others we have to learn to "read the terrain" for - the landscape of our journey of excellence. And yet other hazards may be a complete surprise. Accept and embrace hazards. Navigating them helps the organization and the people within it learn and grow. It fosters agility and the ability to be creative, when necessary, but only when we expect hazards will occur, plan for them appropriately and embrace them for the opportunity they represent.

Each finished loop proves you can do hard things

The longest race I was in was two 40-mile loops and then one 30-mile loop in the open desert. It was bone jarring and mentally grueling. However, as I approached the first pass through the gate, I was elated. Family and friends cheered me on. I think there were seven spectators there as well. That first 40-mile loop was one of the hardest things I had done. But completing that loop gave me confidence I could do one of the hardest things I had done again. And a third time as well.

The journey to organizational excellence may not be bone jarring, but it can be mentally challenging. Once you complete a kaizen, kata, 5S or some other hard thing on your journey, take time to recognize that you got through it. Perhaps it was tough and painful but celebrate that you got through it. Learn from it what you will improve on the next time and then start the next time right now. Desert racing does not allow for a rest between each loop, nor does a journey of organizational excellence.

Keep moving

When things on the race course got mentally challenging I would recite "death before DNF" over in my mind. Sometimes to break a funk, I would literally shout it to the sagebrush, rabbit grass and rattlesnakes. The purpose of the phrase was an encouragement to keep moving. I love history and in nearly every war epic I've read about or seen dramatized on film, the mantra in the heat of battle is always, "keep moving." If you stop you die. Whatever you need to say to yourself - and those within your organization - to keep moving and stay the course, showing both respect and humility while doing so, is critically important. Encouragement of other executives, managers and team members is crucial. This may be evidenced by coaching, mentoring, formal or informal recognition, or just acknowledgement that "we're all in this together," fortified by a kind word or two. You can't get there, if you don't keep moving.

You get points for sportsmanship

Sometimes when desert racing, a competitor doesn't negotiate a hazard well. Because you are out in the desert, if you get hurt, there may be no one to help you. To prevent the abandonment of racers injured in the bush, most organizers award sportsmanship points for stopping to help. The intent is to help maintain the samaritan's current position in the points standings and not penalize them for helping a fellow competitor until emergency medical services arrive.

The 2021 Leave No Trace Leadership Report we published last year laid the groundwork for sportsmanship as it relates to organizational excellence. The idea is that you will gain far more by exhibiting good organizational "sportsmanship," than you will by "leaving dead bodies in your wake." You may not have a ranking in any points standing, but you will have significant stock in those who observe and benefit by your organizational sportsmanship. This is a critical aspect of any organizational journey of excellence.

Keep those who matter close

By the way, everyone in the organization matters. I can never overstate the power of family, friends and the seven spectators at a desert race, as they cheer you on to the next grueling loop. It's an essential part of the sport. Likewise, you cannot overstate the power of the executives, managers and team members in your organization. They are an essential part of your journey of excellence. All of them. No exceptions. Will some challenge the journey. Yes. Remember what I said about expecting and planning for hazards? That is a hazard. How will you gain their trust and support? How will you encourage them to keep moving? Will some within the organization self-select and leave because they feel they no longer fit? Yes. Is it possible this too could be a hazard? How will you treat it?

I know of one company that when they really began to show organizational discipline - read as "staying power" or not flavor of the month - they actually assisted those that self-selected to find new employment and to skill them up for a new job if necessary. Think of the power of that in terms of how those employees leaving, because of a strategic decision to pursue a journey of excellence, actually felt about the company they voluntarily left. Think of how this was communicated within their circle of influence and in the community. Everyone matters. Keep them close to you as you travel your journey of excellence.

The truth of the matter is that organizational excellence is really hard at first. It's a mind game that is played incrementally, one step at a time. But so is desert racing. Right after every race, with the grit of the landscape on my teeth, aching and often too sore to dismount without some assistance, I would swear that was the last race I would compete in. Yet the next day, after some rest, some hydration and a good meal or two, I was thinking about my entry fee for the next one. I found I reveled in the moment of being there, of reaching down inside myself and finding something I didn't think or know was there. Organizational excellence offers the same opportunity along its unique journey. Time and time again.

Death before DNF!