Endurance in the Saddle

Every day, I look at a photograph on my desk of my daughter, lined up at the starting line of a cyclocross race. She’s fourteen years old and in her first season racing Chicago’s ChiCrossCup series. I keep it there as a testament to raw determination because her story isn’t about winning; it’s about showing up and pushing through, a narrative that should resonate with many a business journey.

Cyclocross is a tough sport where riders race on a mixed-terrain course of grass, dirt, mud, and obstacles, demanding quick dismounts and remounts, testing both endurance and bike-handling skills. In some ways it mirrors the unpredictable and often unforgiving nature of the business world. There are times when the market throws you into the mud, and sometimes, despite your best strategies, you finish last. My daughter faced these conditions head-on, and though she never won a single race, she didn't quit either. She showed up for every race, through every kind of weather Chicago can throw from October through December and finished what she started. That’s grit.

In business, we're often judged by our successes, by the times we cross the finish line ahead of others. But there's immeasurable value in the races we don't win, the ones that leave us with what my friend Paul Schaut often calls "scar tissue." Like the physical scars that show where we've been wounded and healed, 'scar tissue' in a professional context marks our past challenges and the resilience we've built from overcoming them. These experiences can be some of our greatest teachers. They make us more resilient, more creative, and more connected to our mission.

My daughter’s cyclocross season gave her plenty of scar tissue, some of it real. Not only did she never win a race, she also mostly came in last place. Having never raced before she had to learn to ride off-camber, running mounts and dismounts, how to steer through sand and mud, how to handle a flyover. ?Each race came with a new challenge and many of those challenges left a mark. Some of the more challenging moments came not from the race itself but from overcoming the sideline skepticism of those who didn't understand her resolve.

In our professional lives, we too collect these marks—challenges that test us, setbacks that push us to innovate, and failures that teach us more than success ever could. This is the essence of business endurance. It's as much about the journey, not just the destination. There will be people who take shots at you along the way. Who jeer you behind your back. It's about what we learn from each fall, each barrier, and each lap. The real victory is not just in the accolades we receive but in the wisdom we gain through perseverance.

Take a moment to recognize not the trophies collected but the lessons learned, the determination shown, and the spirit of never giving up. These are the true indicators of future success. As leaders, as teams, as individuals, we need to celebrate the unseen medals earned from the races that test our limits.

Remember, the next time you face a setback, it’s just another lap in the race. It’s an opportunity to build that "scar tissue," to learn, and to come back stronger. It's this resilience that transforms good companies into great ones, forging paths of success through the wisdom of perseverance.

I invite you to share your own 'laps' and 'scar tissue'—the challenges that have shaped you—because every story of perseverance enriches our collective understanding of resilience

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