Challenging business environment
Business is a marathon – so often, people say, “Oh that’s well known”.
Running a business is not like running a marathon. It’s a long race but it is filled with all sorts of problems, like taking part in a race with hurdles, water jumps, the occasional pause to throw the javelin or discus and sprinting to the next challenge! That’s the competitive challenge.
Is your business fit?
In the world of business, you need to make sure that yours is fit enough to overcome the obstacles. You need a continuous improvement process, up, down and across your business. That is a competitive advantage.
When do you think it best to start this performance improvement process? When you hear the starting pistol? I should think not. Just like Olympic athletes, you need to put constant improvement as the number one goal of your business.
The Data
This data explains why.
These results are from the Men’s Marathon at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
| Name | Country | Time | Percentage greater time |
| Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya | 2:08:44 | 0.0% |
| Feyisa Lilesa | Ethiopia | 2:09:54 | 0.9% |
| Galen Rump | USA | 2:10:05 | 1.0% |
| Ghirmay Ghebreslassie | Eritrea | 2:11:04 | 1.8% |
| Alphonce Simbu | Tanzania | 2:11:15 | 2.0% |
| Jared Ward | USA | 2:11:30 | 2.1% |
| Tadesse Abraham | Switzerland | 2:11:42 | 2.3% |
| Munyo Mutai | Uganda | 2:11:49 | 2.4% |
| Callum Hawkins | GB | 2:11:52 | 2.4% |
| Eric Gillis | Canada | 2:12:29 | 2.9% |
| Abdi Nageeye | Netherlands | 2:13:01 | 3.3% |
| Mumin Gala | Djibouti | 2:13:04 | 3.4% |
| Lemi Berhanu | Ethiopia | 2:13:29 | 3.7% |
| Stephen Kiprotich | Uganda | 2:13:32 | 3.7% |
| Paulo Roberto Paula | Brazil | 2:13:56 | 4.0% |
Source: The International Olympic Committee website
4%!
The first fifteen athletes to finish were all within 4% of the winner’s time.
Business is a global game now. You are no longer just competing with the business down the road. Are you more competitive than your French, German American, Indian or Chinese competitors? Don’t forget all the athletes in the marathon are hard-working, constantly improving and absolutely dedicated to improvement.
You missed the starting pistol
Don’t wait till you hear the starting pistol to begin improvement. In any case, you missed it, the race has begun.
Start now and raise performance, competitive advantage every day!