Racing a sailboat is both art and science. It starts with the helmsperson’s sense of feel for the boat, wind, and waves. Getting the boat into rhythm. Minimizing the turn of the rudder to keep the boat moving. We call it getting into the groove.
When sailboat racing, the goal is clear — get to the next mark faster than your competitors. You can often see the next mark. As you look towards your the mark, you need to stay focused on the immediate moment as pressure builds on the sails and waves try to slow you down. The helmsperson adjusts from moment to moment.
In my post Create Momentum I wrote about how Jim Collin’s advises us in his book Good to Great to get all our teams moving in one direction, all pushing together. This is like the helmsperson reaching towards the next mark in a race.
In our daily work lives, we often get caught up in the issues of the moment. We look down. Lose sight of the goal. To help us, it is critical that we help groups pick their critical one of two numbers. If sales depend on making a certain number of calls every day, it is critical that this number be measured and published every day. Once you fall behind on your daily calls, you get out of the groove.
What activity do you measure to keep you in the groove?
