If you want to be successful in business, take time to watch a kayak race. They have to go through gates, shoot the rapids, and turn around poles.

Five Lessons from a Kayak Race

• Anticipate the Current

A couple of years ago, when taking a white water raft trip, in Montana, there were several experienced kayakers on the river.  The water was tumbling over boulders, twisting, racing past in the narrows, and drawing boats in unexpected directions.  The kayakers especially had to anticipate the changes in the river current.

Sometimes, inexperienced business leaders underestimate the force of the business currents.  Veteran leaders don’t make those mistakes.  They respect the force of competition and the pace of business.

• Identify the Gates

In kayaking competition, the paddlers navigate a series of gates, turn against the current, and paddle upstream back through the gates.  Inexperienced competitors get swept past their gate and are penalized.

In every business there are gates that must be navigated.  Each gate requires skills, agility, and fortitude.

• Avoid Crashing

Skilled kayakers avoid crashing on rocks, getting trapped underwater, and know how to get out of trouble.  They maintain a healthy respect for the dangers.

Any business can die. Disaster can roll over a company, demolish decades of wealth, and destroy future opportunities.  Those that succeed look down stream, identify potential danger, and work to avoid disaster.

• Train to Endure

The things experienced kayakers do are amazing.  The answer of how they are able to do what they do is the kayakers have trained for years.

Those that don’t prepare for business are like the inexperienced kayaker.  The end up in the river, broken, bloodied, battered, or worse.  If a leader doesn’t train that leader won’t endure.

• Race and Repeat

Those that compete in kayaking know that their lives are a series of races. They race, improve, and race again. The courses are different but they are the same types of challenges.

In business every day is different.  However, it is also the same.  Problems come, problems require work, and solutions are found.  The next day a new problem is presented. That is the thrill of business, solving the new problem.

Those who thrive in business leadership show up every day, fully prepare, are proactive, yet can alter plans as required. Just like the kayaker that trains for hours, great leaders train to lead.

Question of the Week:  What are you doing to fully prepare for the next decade?

Quote of the Week:   “Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place.” – Marcus Aurelius