So much of the realities of life as an entrepreneur can be found in a 26.2 mile run … on one leg(ish).
NOTE: A warning letter to my future self and to you – my fellow entrepreneurs. ⚠️
You’ve seen it on the walls at the local school, mall or place of worship – “Break glass in case of emergency.” It’s there on the wall. A glass-encased ax, fire extinguisher and alarm. There’s even a little mallet to break the glass with.
This is for emergencies only.
As entrepreneurs, we need a “Break glass in case of emergency” plan.
You know what I’m talking about – a plan for that situation we don’t want to think about, and certainly don’t want to spend any time preparing for.
But when the you-know-what hits the fan:
- What are we prepared to do?
- What are we willing to accept?
- What are we willing to risk?
- What are we willing not to do?
- What is our minimum acceptable outcome?
Stay with me.
This past Sunday I ran the 50th Anniversary Marine Corps Marathon.
It did not go as planned. 🫣
And through it all, I couldn’t help but think about the realities of entrepreneurship.
Because so much of the realities of life as an entrepreneur can be found in a 26.2 mile run. <– especially the one that doesn’t go as planned!
Stay with me.
My plan: run the marathon in 3:25, and qualify for the Boston Marathon.
My alternative plan? I don’t do plan B’s. It was qualify for Boston or BUST.
I had trained for this. I was ready. What possibly could go wrong?
I got out just as planned: 30 seconds slower than my goal pace, for the first 4 miles. And I would open it up from there.
And then it happened. On a downhill stretch. On mile 3!
First, my left calf. Then the back of my left knee. Then my left hamstring.
All in one excruciating step, my left leg, top to bottom, became host to a lightening storm of sharp, jolting, burning pains.
I had to stop.
“Holy shit, this is not happening to me right now.”, I thought to myself.
This was going to be the race I would DNF (did not finish). Fuck!
Break glass in case of emergency!
I skipped off the course to a tree, propped myself up, stretched my leg, and contemplated “Plan B.”
I don’t do Plan B’s.
I needed to confront my new reality: I would not be qualifying for Boston. Not today.
After a few deep breaths and a mental reset, with no time to spare and no time for a pity-party (trust me, I wanted one!), I embraced my only 2 options:
1. Get to the nearest medical station (and quit).
2. Keep going, with a new goal.
Insert Plan B: keep going, with a new goal … JUST FINISH.
After all, how does one quit in front of Marines who have been shouting, “All grit. No quit!” all morning?
Just one major issue: I would need to keep a pace ahead of “The Gauntlets” (two points on the course that I’d have to get to before the Marines cut runners off) and I’d have to do so running predominantly on my right leg, which was already taped up to support my strained right calf and a tear in my patellar tendon. 😨
If I was serious about continuing on, I would need specifics about this new found “break glass in case of emergency,” “Plan B” …
Step 1: mentally and emotionally commit to my new goal –> to just finish, come hell or high water.
Step 2: adapt my running form –> this was going to hurt. I needed to run with as little pain as possible, and not cause further injury.
Step 3: break up the next 23 miles into achievable goals –> from mile 4 to mile 26, just get to the next water stop. Refuel. Walk. Restart. And then get to the next water stop. Rinse and repeat. For 23 miles.
And so it was. I got back on the road, with my new plan and my new goal. All in!🎯
And after 23 miles and 11 water stops, I would climb the final 2/10 of a mile straight up hill, in a form that surely resembled that of a new born calf, to the Iwo Jima Memorial and received my medal from a Marine. 🫡
Only Marines would have the final 2/10 of mile of a marathon STRAIGHT UP HILL!
And then it hit me: I missed all of my goals.
❌ Run the first 13.1 miles in 1:40 –> ran in 1:58
❌ Run the second 13.1 miles in 1:45 –> ran in 2:04
❌ Qualify for the Boston Marathon –> missed it by 37 minutes
Yes, I finished. But at a cost. A cost, however, I was fully prepared to accept.
[At the time of this writing, my left foot is in a boot, I’m missing a couple of toenails, and I go up stairs on all fours and down stairs sideways. It’s difficult to get through my days without a steady dose of Advil and Tylenol. Suffice it to say, I won’t be running for while.]
So, what does all this have to do with entrepreneurship?
Context being what it is, the questions keeping me up at night are applicable personally and in entrepreneurship:
- Was this a failure? I may have finished (and survived), but I didn’t accomplish what I set out to do.
- If this were business, would this be a failure? Numbers be damned? What would my Board of Directors say, and think?
- Did I take my training for granted? Did I overestimate my readiness?
- What did I take for granted?
- Had I had a “break glass in case of emergency” plan in place ahead of time, would I have done anything differently? Beforehand in my training? During the race?
- Did I do the right thing, putting my long-term health at risk for such a short-term gain?
- This won’t be my last marathon, so knowing what I know now, what will I do differently next time?
Play it out: in our entrepreneurial businesses, what is our “Break glass in case of emergency” scenario?
- Losing a key employee or partner?
- Losing a key customer that accounts for the majority of our revenue?
- Being forced into a different physical environment (i.e. COVID)?
- An economic downturn or policy changes (i.e. tariffs)?
Consider and commit to the options:
- what we’re willing to do and not willing to do.
- what we’re willing to risk and not risk.
- what we’re willing to accept and not accept.
Still struggling? A great place to start is what’s on our S.W.O.T. analysis, specifically our “Threats” list.
PS no matter what shape you think you’re in, never pass a water stop!
NOTE TO MY FUTURE SELF AND TO YOU, MY FELLOW ENTREPRENEURS: Please don’t wait to have your “break glass in case of emergency” plan in place until you’re forced to the side of the road and under duress, while time (and your competitors) pass you by.
You’ll thank your past self for doing so!
Because so much of the realities of life as an entrepreneur can be found in a 26.2 mile run. <– especially the one that doesn’t go as planned!