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Chapter 2
Becoming Effective is All About Your Habits!

Having a solid foundation is critical to the success of your life and business. When I made the decision to complete an Ultra Endurance Triathlon I realized from my experience in business and from business school that I needed a plan. I also realized that I needed a simple plan, one that I could follow. I wanted to set myself up to succeed. Many people start a business without giving enough attention to the foundation upon which it is built. I'm sure you've heard of the phrase ‘built on shifting sand'. Come on, be honest, there's just you and me; how much time have you given to your business foundation?

The Eiffel Tower in Paris is a beautiful site. Standing at the bottom and looking up at its 1063-foot structure is awe inspiring. If you haven't had a meal in its high level restaurant, I would certainly recommend it.

The tower was built by the engineer Gustave Eiffel, and one French mathematics professor thought it would collapse at a height of 748 feet. It was thought also that it would only last 20 years; it's still standing strong over 100 years later.

One of the main reasons the tower is still a beacon of French pride is because of how Eiffel designed its foundation. Gustave intricately designed the tower's foundation, which is composed of cement and stone placed at an exact angle so that each of the four curved piers of the tower with an inward tilt of 54 degrees would maximize wind resistance and exert a perpendicular thrust to its foundation. In addition, the legs of the tower rested on sand boxes and hydraulic jacks during construction so that the metal beams at the tower's first platform could be levelled within one millimetre of the horizontal plane. (Yale Scientific, 12 May 2011, www.yalescientific.org)

So, it is fair to say that the level of focus and detail that Gustave Eiffel displayed in designing the tower is the key reason why it is still standing today. What can we learn from this?

What I am suggesting is that you look at your business and your life and build a similar style solid foundation. If you have a large business that has departments, what are the foundations like within those departments? The physical training you do when preparing for an Endurance Triathlon is all part of building a foundation so that you are able to move at pace consistently for up to 17 hours. I know for certain that when you do build that solid foundation your business will be more stable, more profitable and far more successful.

But most people don't do that. Most people have a notion of what they want to achieve, a vague idea of what success looks like and just start the process of delivering. I'm not saying taking action isn't vital; it is and I always look to execute my ideas – plus I'm constantly working on getting better at this. What I am saying is that most business owners come in on a Monday morning and just start doing what they have always done largely in the same way and expect a different result. That is not going to happen. This way of approaching your business is opportunistic. If you want to be successful in your business or even in general life, you need to get strategic! If you want a nice weekend away, you have to plan it. If you want your child to have a lovely birthday party, you have to plan it. If you want to achieve double-digit growth this year in your business, you have to plan it. It's a fact that most people spend more time planning their annual 2-week family holiday than their business or role within a business.

Key Question

What is the number one goal you are currently working towards?

Completing an Ultra Endurance Triathlon was a really big achievement for me. It was the hardest physical thing I've ever undertaken, and the training is also very hard. In fact, getting to the start line in one piece is a challenge in itself. During my training plan I had to remain focused, and with Ultra Endurance training you have to be consistent.

During the first week I did 8 hours of training, which is quite substantial but it was only the start. By the time I reached the peak week, which was 5 weeks before the race, I would be training 18 hours a week! On my peak week I swam 4000 metres on Monday, rode 6 hours and 100 miles on Wednesday and then ran for 3 hours covering 18 miles on Friday! This was in addition to another five tough sessions.

Yes, other people have completed them more often and do them in a faster time. The point I want to make is that doing an Ultra Endurance Triathlon was me pushing myself and testing my limits. For you it may be a 10k run, a double Triathlon or learning a challenging new skill or language. The key is that you push yourself to shift out of your comfort zone. That's where the development comes. All too often we get comfortable in our lives and our businesses. When we get comfortable we can start to coast. That's the absolute worst thing that can happen to a high performance person like you and me. We need to be pushed and we need to be challenged. Have a look around you now and see if you are comfortable. If you are, set a challenge, sign up for an event, a course or commit to a new level of performance.

Key Development Point

The last thing you want to do is flick your cruise control switch.

Stretch goals are a great way to make sure you don't flick your cruise control switch. What stretch goal could you set right now that you will complete in the next 90 days? A stretch goal is something that when you achieve it, it will deliver a quantum shift in performance for you or your business. It might be launching a new product, writing a book, learning an instrument or acquiring a new strategically significant client (someone who is ideal and really gets what you do and will pay you the correct fee). Email your stretch goal to pete@petewilkinson.com with the subject title ‘My 90-day stretch' and let me know what you're going to achieve. When you set a 90-day stretch goal that engages you and means you really have to commit, you'll feel alive. That is what we need to continually push ourselves and raise our limits.

Key Development Point

Begin the habit of setting 90-day stretch goals. You'll love the progress you'll make. We're often overambitious about what we can achieve in a day or a week and underambitious about what we can achieve in 3 months or a year.

There were times during the run in my Triathlon that I asked myself ‘why am I doing this?’ and the answer was always the same ‘because you can, because you need to'. Towards the end of the race I had a beautiful, clear vision of me reaching the finish line by 7.30pm, once again being back in the grounds of Sherborne Castle. The same castle that stood high on the hill at 6am in the morning when the race started and everything became a frantic rush of activity. I'd see my wife when I reached the finish chute and that euphoric feeling would make all the training and all the effort seem worthwhile. I'd cross the finishing line and hear ‘Pete Wilkinson, you are an Ultra Endurance Triathlete.’ I'd then have the medal placed around my neck. Then the pain would stop and I could eat some proper food! That is why my focus wasn't on the pain I was experiencing during the race; it was on the way I would feel at the end.

All too often when we're doing something difficult or when we consider doing something difficult, we often focus on the feeling while immersed in the task instead of the great feeling we'll experience when we've completed the task.

If instead you aim to build the habit of connecting to the outcome rather than to the task, you will take more action on what you need to take action on and achieve more. You have to develop the strength to control what thoughts occupy your mind if you want to be successful. Sometimes you have to take emotion out of the equation.

When running a business there are things that are going to be fun. Setting up a new office, business premises or launching a new product can be fun. Building a fantastic team and seeing it gel and grow can be fun; I've recently experienced this myself. Smashing your year one sales target can be fun. But there are things that absolutely have to be done that aren't fun. Sometimes you just have to write that report, sometimes you just have to follow up with those notes after the meeting and sometimes you have to get to the office sharp and get stuck in to that difficult task!