The Endurance Challenge

Being in business is like being in a race. It’s a high-intensity endurance challenge that takes preparation, skill and determination to be successful. As entrepreneurs we spend a lot of our time fine tuning our businesses to make sure they run lean and mean. We fill them with the best people and processes to make sure that we maximize profits and eliminate waste. We all want that strategic edge that will get us out in front.

But starting out in business our “vehicles” aren’t the best. We get creative and tweak what we can to get started even if it isn’t perfect. We work long hours, go the extra mile and over deliver to take exceptional care of our customers. Then something happens. We land that big account or we get to the point where we start to get the hang of it and we achieve sustainability. Maybe we even jump out in front and start to lead the pack. You say to yourself, “we did it!” We are winning this race.

And that’s when it happens. You take one hand off of the steering wheel and press the “cruise control” button, and just like that you go from driving a racecar to a regular car. Businesses that are on cruise control don’t make the small adjustments needed to be competitive. They are more focused on being comfortable than they are going the “extra mile”. Comfortable is the enemy of great expectations.

We have to make ourselves uncomfortable to push ourselves to greatness.

Endurance is required for a business to be successful long term, but it is the byproduct of being uncomfortable. Furthermore, growth requires change and change is most commonly associated with discomfort. It’s time to look at change and discomfort differently in your business. Instead avoiding discomfort look for ways to embrace it. That discomfort that you are trying to avoid is actually leading you to be stronger. Endurance is the ability to remain active for a long period of time, as well as resist, withstand and have immunity to trauma, or fatigue. It is essential for business. If your company cannot stay perpetually active or withstand life’s inevitable challenges then your business will not survive.

The reality is that increased endurance only comes from increased discomfort. Your current pain points will ultimately be the thing that gets you through your next struggle. If necessity is the mother of all invention then discomfort is the father of innovation. Your discomfort will push you to create better solutions making you more effective. Just remember innovation is only fresh for so long. Keep pushing past your comfort zone to stay in front of the pack. We can all agree that change is inevitable. The next time you are facing change, view it as an opportunity to make your company better.

Don’t fall into the trap of your comfort zone. Instead of pushing the cruise control button push yourself to be the best.