Four Life and Business Principles I’ve Learned from Mountain Biking

I live at the base of the mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah and in close proximity to some of the world’s most amazing mountain biking trails. I enjoy mountain biking for the exhilaration of the downhills, the fitness that comes from peddling up hills, and the inspiration that comes from being outdoors and enjoying the wonders of nature. I’ve also learned some valuable life and leadership lessons over the years while biking in the beautiful mountains of northern Utah and in the stunning desert trails of southern Utah. Here are four of the lessons I’ve learned.

Lesson 1 – You Go Where You Look

Unfortunately, I’ve had to learn this lesson over and over again. When riding down technical sections of a trail, I have found that if I focus on avoiding an obstacle like a sharp rock in the middle of the trail, 9 times out of 10 I will hit that obstacle! Too often I’ve found myself riding off the trail into steep underbrush or worse because I was worried about riding off the trail! If I can stay focused on where I need to go rather than what I need to avoid, my ride is always more enjoyable and less painful. If I focus my attention on that path between or around sharp rocks rather than on the rocks themselves, my bike and body will usually make it through that difficult section without issue.

In business we need to be aware of the risks and competitive threats while also remembering lessons learned over time. But if we want to make the best progress and have the greatest likelihood of success, we have to stay focused and pay attention to where we are going, what we’ve committed to achieve, and the behaviors we bet will ensure we deliver what’s expected. Some call it “keeping our eyes on the prize!”

Lesson 2 – The Trail is Cut for a Reason

Many of the trails I have ridden over the years seem to meander through scenic fields, desert, or forests, often tracing the outlines of rivers, streams, and various bodies of water. While they can seem somewhat random, they often reflect a path that was originally forged by animals and hikers and represents the easiest (not necessarily the most direct) path from point to point. Sometimes these trails are altered or redirected to stop or prevent dangerous erosion or when they become impassable due to a fallen tree or rock slide. Mountain biking trails in the mountains are often cut on the side of steep slopes in a way that allows riders a gradual ascent and as much speed and challenge as we can handle on the way down. It is rare to find a great mountain biking trail that was cut on a steep slope over time by people riding willy-nilly through the woods following faint deer trails from open space to precipice and back again.

Mountain biking trails are cut with a purpose. They make progress, site-seeing, or travel for riders easier in some cases and possible in others. The lesson here is that organizational systems, when forged over time or deliberately “cut” help us move forward with as little effort as possible, accelerate progress, and achieve outcomes that are exciting and meaningful. Systems that impact our work include: how we attract, retain, develop, position, and reward people; how we make decisions; how our teams and organizations are structured; our workflows and work processes; and how we allocate resources.

If we don’t like the results we’re getting, we might want to take a look at the “systems trail” we’re on. Is the old process now obstructed with needless bureaucracy, causing people to ride around that bureaucracy in order to keep moving? Has the system eroded over time as our organization has grown and added new “riders?” Are the work steps too difficult or time-consuming for “normal” people to “ride?” Are the trail markers too confusing? Did we give people tricycles or unicycles or beach cruisers instead of mountain bikes? Are our best riders leaving the team? Getting our systems right makes our effort at work as efficient as possible and sometimes makes the impossible a reality.

Lesson 3 – You Gotta Go Up to Come Down

There is a trail near my home called “Rush.” The rush comes from riding down it and navigating the tight switchbacks, jumps, and drop-offs as fast as you can stand without riding off a cliff, wiping out, or hitting a tree. To get the rush you have to go up first. Sometimes you can get friends or family members to shuttle you to the top, but usually, if you want to ride Rush, you have to pedal to the top of the trailhead before starting the thrilling descent. The same is true in life and in business. The rush of success, the thrill of winning, the joy of overcoming obstacles and opposition come after the hard work required to create and allow momentum.

Lesson 4 – Outdoors Is Better Than Indoors

While I love the exhilaration of a thrilling ride, one of the reasons I ride is to get exercise. If the weather or my travels (without a bike) make an outdoor ride impossible, I still need to get the heart rate up and burn some calories, so in situations like this I turn to a stationary bike and I ride indoors. Obviously, there is a huge difference between actually riding a real mountain or desert trail and pedaling a stationary bike while watching a screen in a gym. Indoors there is no risk, no wind through my hair (okay, I’m actually bald, but…), no balance required, no anticipation of the next corner or drop off or technical section, no leaning or braking or jumping – yeah, it’s just not that fun! It’s not fun because indoor riding presents less of a challenge. Sure, you still get to push through the lactic acid build up in the legs as the resistance increases or as you put in more time and you still have the challenge of beating a previous best time, but it’s just not the same.

What I’ve learned from outdoors vs. indoors connects to what I’ve learned about leading teams and parenting. This lesson is about delegating and learning by doing. Our team members and our children can only ride “indoors” for so long. Eventually they have to get out on the trail and ride for real. The fact of the matter is, if we push ourselves, family members, and the people on our teams, there will be wrecks. On the trail we occasionally clip trees, endo off jumps, follow the wrong trail, wash out on gravel, or get a flat tire. In business and in life, we and members of our teams and families will occasionally run into obstacles, underestimate the need for resources, make a poor decision, over-promise and then under-deliver, create too much waste, and demonstrate a lack of EQ when working with others. While people can practice the basics of riding indoors, and we can augment that experience with the latest video enhancements showing them the greatest trails in the world, at some point we need to get them outdoors, riding on their own and learning how to navigate the real stuff. This is how people develop capacity, reach maturity, learn to innovate, and then help improve trails for others.

As you ride your own mountain bike trails at work and in life, keep looking where you want to go, cut your trails with a purpose, put in the necessary time and effort required to get up hill so you can enjoy the rush of success, and help those you can influence get outdoors riding on their own. And remember, as we always say in my family, “If you don’t need a helmet and eye protection, you’re not going fast enough,” (and there’s no way you’re having fun)!

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