Winning in special times: Never change the goal. Always refine your way to get there.

July 1st our new fiscal year started. The past year was ‘special’. Winning in crisis is clearly no sprint – it is a marathon. It reminded me of running 42.8 kilometers for the first time. I took out some good lessons for business.

I ran nine marathons in my life. For me, every race has three phases. The first 20-or-so kilometers need to be like a breeze. Like walking in fresh air. They need to be simple, easy, a non-event. This is where training brings you to, and I believe almost anyone can get there.  

Then comes the second phase. It is when you hit the wall. When your body starts to let you down. Nine times I hit it. When you see the wall, you only have one dream. You want to stop. Lay down. Worry about nothing. Sleep.

But - your race is not over. Usually you have 12 or 13 kilometers left when you hit the wall. Now it becomes a question of mental strength, phase 3:  Your body wants to stop, your mind keeps you going. The big question you must overcome: Why all this? Why not stopping when it starts to hurt? Why not giving up? Let me offer you 3 tricks to win against yourself.

Trick one: Winning is all about the clarity of the goal. For my first marathon I wanted to arrive. The 2nd I wanted to do under four hours. The third I wanted to do under 3 hours 30 minutes. While I was training for the third, I realized I could not get there. Did I change my goal? No. I changed my activity system. I trained more, I trained longer, I trained differently. This way I got faster.

Trick 2: Winning is about overcoming the wall. You cannot overcome the wall through physical training. You must cultivate the Power of Mind. This is the difference between athletes and champions. The trick is to learn to enjoy every tiny little success along the way to your big goal. Any friendly face you see, any wave you get, any supply station you pass, any road mark you see. Now, when you can smile at the wall, you can overcome it.

Trick 3: Winning is about loving the finishing line. I am not very emotional. But when I crossed my first finishing line I wept. The joy of the finishing line is so overwhelming. Every time after, the memory of this feeling enables you to run from the wall to the finish. The first time I finished I looked at my kids, and for a moment I saw that they are proud of their dad. That’s worth all the effort, that is where the love for the finishing line comes from.

Marathon is like business. You need a goal, resilience, and passion. In business there are problems, there are bad days, but you can’t be let down by these disappointments. You accept the difficulty, the stress, the negative emotions – because once you felt the taste of victory, the pride, the energy - it becomes a positive addiction.

I run to win, setting my own goals. I believe that success is when you set goals, when you do everything to achieve them, no matter what the context is. What matters is: a setback, a crisis is never a reason to stop. It is a reason to work harder, change the system, adapt the training - and come back better.

Long distance running and business are both about defining who you want to be. To be really you, you cannot deviate from your goal. This applies for normal years, but especially for difficult times. We as business leaders have a responsibility: We must look ahead courageously, positively, and set achievable targets. This way we win in business, this way we enable others, and this way we create value that makes our communities thrive. In this spirit, I wish all of you out there a great year 20-21.