Run The 100m Sprint Instead of the 42km Marathon

What I’ve learned from Verne Harnish – Business is a series of sprints.

In his teachings, Verne Harnish talks about how businesses and business leaders run their companies in a series of sprints. Businesses grow in bursts. This is important for anyone business owner to realize and keep in mind. Successful companies go through hard pushes and high growth, then they’ll tend to relax a bit, before pushing hard again. This is the natural way for leaders to lead and business teams to operate.

Anyone that I’ve met who has tried to run their business in one long marathon (lasting months or even years) has either ended up hitting a plateau and stopped growing, or the owner/leader became burnt out and the company lost ground as a result.

The most successful companies will rally the troops for concentrated periods of time and accomplish great advancements. Then they take a breather review what they have done prior to taking on a new challenge and opportunity.

This is important to realize and remember as a business owner. You cannot run your company like a marathon. It is not healthy for you, it is not healthy for your staff and it is not healthy for your company. Tackle your business in a series of sprints and you’ll grow faster and become more successful as a result.