Run Faster

The second thing that amazed me during my couple of days in the bush of Africa was how fast the animals run. All of them.

Our guide pointed to the antelope: “They run up to 88 kilometers per hour,” he beamed.  As we explored, he continued to reel off animals, revealing that ostriches can sprint at 70 kilometers per hour, while lions, rhinos and warthogs all top fifty. Even more impressive was the fact that the tall and lanky giraffe could reach speeds of 60 kilometers per hour.

All this speed trivia got me thinking about how fast I was, and I was shocked to realize that they would all leave me standing in a race. Even the hefty elephant would present stiff competition, and I’m a runner. All of a sudden it made sense why I hadn’t been allowed to go for my morning jog in the bush. Despite my best efforts, I was told in no uncertain terms that “things that run are prey.” And I would be an easy catch.

This revelation made me consider why it was that so many members of the animal kingdom could run so fast. My musing didn’t last long—the answer was obviously survival: to avoid being eaten and to be able to eat.

This reminded me of the opening of Sheikh Mohammed’s book, My Vision, where he shares the following well-known poem:

“With each new day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing he must outrun the fastest lion or perish. At the same time, a lion stirs and stretches, knowing he must outrun the fastest gazelle or starve. It is no different for the human race. Whether you consider yourself a gazelle or a lion, you simply have to run faster than others to survive.”

Both the lion and gazelle know that speed matters, no matter what’s happening around them. 

I can’t verify where this poem originated from as it’s credited to several different sources. It potentially came from a 1985 article in The Economist, titled ‘Lions or Gazelles?’ where the words were credited to a securities analyst named Dan Montano. But, it has made its way into the most competitive environments, intended to inspire people to run, and fast.

Since then, I have encountered other such motivational lines in some of the most unlikely settings. On another of my adventures, I found an African proverb about the lion and the gazelle translated into Mandarin on the wall of a fuel pump factory in Beijing, as a reminder to workers of why speed matters.

I don’t know if you’re the lion or the gazelle, but I do know that for you to succeed, you need to run fast. In fact, I would argue that you may even need to run faster now than ever. Why? Because while the market may seem cautious, it’s not the time to retreat or be restrained. 

With increased competition, changing spending patterns and challenger business models, you need to be quicker than you ever have been before. No matter how successful you’ve been in the past, you’re not safe or immune today—some business or some leader is trying to run faster than you. They are the lions hot on your heels. The luxury to take your time just doesn’t exist anymore.

“I wish they would act faster,” a leading CEO told me over dinner recently. He was frustrated that his leaders were waiting on him to make decisions instead of taking action themselves. “I don’t want them to bring me decisions to be made, I want them to act on their own,” he continued. In many ways, his concerns were justified; speed comes from acting, not waiting. 

Be careful not to water this point down by cleverly thinking. Some may argue that it’s not the fastest lion that the gazelle as to beat, but the slowest gazelle in the pack. But those who think this way should ask themselves a question: “Is your ambition to be faster than the fastest lion, or just faster than the slowest, most feeble member of your gazelle pack? 

When you revise standards downward you make it easier for the lions. The gazelle who changes the game from running against the fastest lions, to competing against the slowest gazelle, is all but destined to become the prey.

Frankly, my advice is that it’s better to run for something like the lion does, than to spend your life running from something like the gazelle. But whatever the beast, the big question is this: are you running fast enough to survive? 

Printed originally in Gulf News (22 November 16).

About Dr. Tommy Weir

A thinker, speaker, and writer to the core, Dr. Tommy holds a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University, and is the founder of Emerging Markets Leadership Center (EMLC) where he is the region's leading CEO Coach. In addition to writing a number of books—including the Amazon #1 best-seller, Leadership Dubai Style and 10 Tips for Leading in the Middle East, Dr. Tommy is the editor-in-chief of Emerging Markets Business—The Authoritative Review.

Follow me on twitter @tommyweir or visit www.tommyweir.com for more of my thoughts on leadership.