Fast Company Article - Melinda Re "This Ain't No Ordinary Race", by Todd Balf, March : February 1999, pg. 213.

Racing In The World Of Business

I was delighted to read this story about an "adventure race", as I trained for a marathon last summer and now like to pass myself off as an athlete. The race is run by a 3-person team, so when reading it, I thought about how this team-oriented experience relates to team work in a business.

But first, a little about adventure racing. Adventure racing is a new concept from France in which teams must use their combined wits and stamina to traverse the wilderness. They are similar to traditional triathalons in that they require athletes to perform core events of mountain-biking, trail running and kayaking. They differ from more traditional races in that the "adventure" in adventure racing involves the unexpected. No two races are the same. The race distance changes, the order of events changes and the terrain changes. The course is also booby-trapped with 5 to 10 "unannounced tests". Some challenge intelligence, some brute strength.

The race in the article had 270 teams from 20 states competing in a four-hour endurance race in Connecticut. Many of the teams had corporate sponsors. There was even a team of Navy Seals (eat your heart out Jesse!). I don't know what the winners "won", but I sure hope it was worth it because it sounds like pure torture to me!

Three team members are highlighted in the article, which stresses that many teams have these archetype members (as do teams in an organization): the newbie, the all-star and the tactician. The newbie is the new guy. He's never done this before. The all-star is one of the top performers and is a natural leader. The tactician has a flair for logistics and attention to detail. It's the good combination of team members that wins the race. The team has to work together to meet the common goal - winning.

I see similarities in these successful race teams and successful work teams. Like a race team, a successful work team should know what the specific, attainable goal of the team is and have an agreement that they will work together to reach that goal.

According to The Supervisor's Handbook from National Press Publications, a productive work team is one that capitalizes on the individual member's abilities. Building a team made up of people with different talents and skills increases success. In an organization, just like in the race, there will very likely be someone who is new to the project and someone who has proven themselves a very knowledgeable employee and a leader by nature. And for those who like to dream up the ideas and leave the details to others, it's helpful to have a "detail man" at the table too.

Like the race, there are always "unannounced tests" or roadblocks to success, that stand between the team and the finished project. And like the race teams, a team that is groomed to expect the unexpected and to participate in determining ways to remove or work around the obstacles, has a better chance of meeting their goal.

The race teams have to have a one-for-all spirit. These are good qualities in a business team also. A "winning" team is one where members have mutual trust for one another. Where they understand and accept the rewards, discipline and work sharing that makes up a successful team.

I think the basic "Rules of the Race" apply in a business sense too: don't split from the group and don't panic. And one last thing to keep in mind when "running the race" in business: never start running if you don't know your route.

I discussed my team analogy with 2 people. The first is an extension colleague who, like myself, saw an immediate connection between successful sports teams and work teams. She cited working together, supporting each other and using individual strengths as conditions that are needed for both types of teams. The other person is not in extension. When I asked him about teams, he immediately said he saw no similarity at all. I prodded him a bit, with, "What about working together toward a common goal?" No. He saw no connection. We went on to discuss something else. About 3 minutes later, he said out of the blue, "But boards of directors are just like coaches. They call the plays."

-- Anonymous, March 07, 1999