Success: Hold Back to Achieve Big Goals
Aggressive growth and performance can spell disaster. Here's an alternative.
I felt indomitable. I was 10 minutes into a marathon. Charged with excitement, I deftly dodged slower runners. I ran with confidence and poise. My determination grew as I listened to my carefully curated playlist.1
The moment was a culmination of a years long effort. I had faithfully prepared for race day. I felt stronger than ever.
I could see my friend, whom I had started out with together, felt the same energy. Her pace quickened and she pulled ahead.
I thought to myself,
“I feel great. I can pick up the pace. I think I can beat my target time.”
I surged ahead.
When our personal states feel great, when our businesses are flourishing, our instinct is to push harder. We strive to achieve and to grow more. In common business-speak we “double down” when things are well.
However, this is not how the largest success is obtained.
Researcher Jim Collins, in his book “Great by Choice,” examined the behaviors of a set of companies that performed 10x better than their industry benchmark.
A key component of 10x success came from a behavior he termed a “20 Mile March.” Companies that followed a 20 Mile March over an extended period of time had drastically more success than their competitors.
I love the concept of the 20 Mile March. It’s not only applicable in business, but also in our personal lives. It’s a fairly simple concept. Yet it’s a bit counter-intuitive. It’s rarely followed.
As a follow up to my prior post on success through long term thinking, I thought I’d revisit a favorite tactic towards long term action and success.2
What is a 20 Mile March?
The 20 Mile March name comes from the idea of marching 20 miles a day, as if on a cross country hike. Imagine a hike across America. Certain portions, such as the temperate coast or flat plains make for pleasant hiking conditions. Other portions, such as mountainous regions or those with unpredictable weather patterns are much more challenging.
We could adapt our progress based on the conditions. We could expend more when conditions are well, pushing to perhaps 40 miles. And we conserve more when conditions are difficult, hunkering down and waiting for conditions to improve.
Alternatively, we could march 20 miles consistently. Day in and day out, no matter the conditions. If faced with a storm, we still trek 20 miles. If faced with perfect sunshine, we still trek 20 miles.
The 20 Mile March entails consistent progress, no matter the external conditions. It’s about hitting performance markers with consistency over a long period of time.
But there’s nuance to setting and achieving the goals.
How to set a 20 Mile March
At a broad level, a 20 Mile March consists of two components:
Setting the appropriate performance markers
Adhering to the performance markers
1. Set appropriate performance markers
Ambitious yet achievable
Intel, for decades has upheld technological progress according to “Moore’s Law,” which states the complexity of integrated circuits double every two years. Southwest Airlines has sought profitability for its yearly performance marker. At a tiny personal scale, I set the goal to start my day at 6:00 am (which for a non-morning person, is definitely a challenge).
Performance markers should be ambitious. Doable, yet challenging to achieve in tough times. An important aspect of performance markers is both a minimum and maximum bound for performance is in place (discussed further on).
Controllable
Performance markers have to be largely within our control to achieve. We often choose performance markers we don’t directly control or are inaccurate towards our goal (see this post on how we use metrics incorrectly).
Southwest sought profitability rather than an external marker such earnings per share. For my writing, I focus on publishing regularly, rather than on the number of views.
2. Adhere to performance markers
Adherence to performance markers is the essence of the 20 Mile March.
Consistency counts. Intentions don’t.
On our imaginary trek across the country, the consistency to march 20 miles per day is what counts. We don’t make excuses nor rely on good intentions. Consistent achievement is what matters. Bad habits win when our consistency falters.
Commitment to achieve in difficult times
Unlike most other airlines, Southwest still turned a profit in the aftermath of 9/11. A commitment to reach a minimum lower bound performance marker, even in the face of difficulty, is necessary.
Discipline to hold back in good times
With the wind behind our backs, we’re easily tempted to increase our progress. In 1996, Southwest had more than a hundred cities requesting service. Southwest expanded by four cities that year. Rather than expand as fast as possible, Southwest employed discipline to a maximum upper bound performance marker.
Why a 20 Mile March is powerful
A 20 Mile March provides the following benefits:
Builds confidence to perform well in adverse circumstances
Consistent performance builds confidence. If I run at least 2 miles per day, my confidence as a runner increases. I increasingly see myself as a capable runner.
If we perform consistently no matter the circumstances, we reinforce the idea that we’re ultimately responsible for performance.
Reduces likelihood of catastrophe when disruption occurs
If we overextend ourselves, for example if we reach for more when times are good, we deplete resources and can be in a precarious position when disruption occurs. We see this behavior in business consistently - businesses scale up when economic conditions are well, only to suffer catastrophically when an unexpected shock occurs.
There’s an inverse correlation between pursuit of maximum growth and 10x success. The expenditure of resources towards maximum growth exposes businesses in the event of unexpected downturns.
Helps exert self-control in a chaotic environment
With stable performance markers, the mind can stay true to a goal no matter the circumstances. Chaos and uncertainty abounds in the world. Focus on what we can control enables us to avoid distraction and temptation.
…So What?
A takeaway is to apply this thinking to existing or new goals:
Are there goals we work on that can benefit from increased discipline?
We can look at our progress on our goals and re-visit with an eye towards a 20 mile march approach.
Is our progress hampered by inconsistent bouts of inspiration and deflation? Do we miss workouts during the week, only to tell ourselves we’ll “make up for it” by doing double workouts on the weekends?
What goals do we aspire to achieve?
With a new tool available to us, we can imagine personal or business goals and view them less as ambiguous lofty goals, and more as a march with consistent challenging, yet achievable progress.
At the initial stage of my marathon, I ultimately decided against increasing my pace.
I had hours of running to go and had no idea how I’d fare later on. I checked my GPS and slowed back to my target pace. I watched my friend disappear into the distance.
Four hours and some minutes later, I crossed the finish line. Exhausted and in excruciating pain.
My friend and I had expected to finish the race in roughly the same time. She appeared a while after I had. Grimacing and exhausted, she was unable to find a rhythm and gave up on finishing the race within her target time. She’d take the learning and try again another time.
The motto for the space exploration company Blue Origin is “Gradatim Ferociter.” Translated from Latin, the motto means “Step by Step, Ferociously.” While running a marathon is nowhere near the scale of space travel, both are goals suited to the 20 mile march.
Ambitious, ferocious, stepwise progress towards our biggest dreams.
My opening track was “50 Cent - Disco Inferno.” Still is for any race I run. No, I’m not embarrassed. OK, maybe a bit. Other playlist gems include “Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’” and “DJ Khaled - All I Do is Win.”
All 20 Mile March concepts and business related examples and facts are from Jim Collin’s book “Great by Choice.”
DJ Khaled’s, “All I Do is Win,” is also my “walk up song”! Great choice to include within your play list.