Your Business is a Road Trip – Who Do You Want in Your Van?

Every April, I do a 200-mile relay race with 11 other people.

It’s a logistical challenge: run from Gettysburg to Washington, DC; 30 hours of continuous running; two vans with sweaty runners; lots of winding roads and bad convenience store food.

It’s great fun and exhausting at the same time.

At 3 a.m. (when I’m running in the dark somewhere in rural Maryland) I always ask myself, "Why am I doing this again?"

Then the sun comes up and I'm almost finished. I forget those doubts and my aching hamstrings.

Every business owner knows this feeling, even if they haven’t run a 200-mile race.

One of the most critical aspects of ensuring a successful race, happens before the first mile has even been run. It comes down to who you ask to join you – the 11 other people you will spend 30 hours with in a van.

It goes without saying you need team players, people who will pull together when it gets tough ... because it will get tough.

You also select people with special skills and abilities – he can run up the mountain; she doesn’t need much sleep and will run strong in the middle of the night; she has a great sense of direction and will make sure we don’t get lost; he has a great sense of humor; and he keeps his cool under pressure. And the list goes on.

Sometimes you find one person with a few of these skills – that’s a real bonus. Again, for you organizational leaders, does this sound familiar?

Your organization, its strategy, stage and goals are like the 200-mile relay race, so:

Who do you want in your van?

YOUR ACTION STEPS

Look at the team you've assembled. Chances are you already have a van full of people.

Determine what skills, experiences and personalities you have on your current team. At a minimum, is everyone a team player? Is everyone engaged in the trip? Is there trust among everyone in the van?

If you’re continuing to hold a seat for someone who keeps saying, "When are we getting there? I don’t want to sit in the middle!" and other pesky road-trip behaviors – ask yourself: Is it time to let them out at the next corner?

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