The Day My Face Slid Across 2x4's

Have you ever moved forward rapidly without fully preparing?

Have you ever made quick decisions that left you wishing you hadn’t?

It was a beautiful day in Northwest Arkansas and we were riding all over Slaughter Pen Trails for the first time with no need to pay attention to the time. I finally felt like I was ready to jump again. It had been years, but I finally felt ready. I mean - I had jumped 6 inches that day so what’s 4-6 feet?

My buddy said, “do you want me to video tape you?”. How can I say no to an epic video that would show my wife that I still have athletic abilities?

Then it happened. My face slid across 2 x 4’s for the first time and prayerfully the last …

When you think you are ready and then you painfully realize you are not!

There are many leadership and life lessons to share from this crash …

Here’s the lesson of the day: If I would have looked down the trail a bit further I could have prepared for what was coming. I would have realized the “ramp” wasn’t really a ramp … I would have had a better chance to execute well or could have chosen a different path.

Sometimes we get excited, we think we are ready, and we aren’t. The problem is that we are leaders not just mountain bikers. We have teams relying on us to lead well. While we can get up and shake it off - our teams might not get up as easily. Mistakes are more costly and painful. They cost us at our jobs and they cost us at home.

This time - there is too much at stake. Everyone has already felt the pain and anxiety from COVID 19 - they don’t need more.

How are you going to continue to develop your leadership and management to help yourself and your teams avoid sliding across the 2x4’s. at work?

A few tips:

• Slow down before you start going fast. Give yourself the time to prepare.

• Don’t rely on what you used to know to navigate every decision. Keep learning and pay attention to the new challenges you have not been through yet.

• Gain clarity on where you are going and how you plan to get there. A good plan gives you a solid shot to execute it.

If you need help finding clarity or improving your leadership and management to avoid the pitfalls give us a call.