You are the limit…
I think there are many similarities between riding motorcycles and entrepreneurship.
Both require courage to take risks and can provide amazing rewards. Both require preparation, focus…and punish lack of it. Both eventually test you and get you close to your limit.
On two wheels, I would define it as some sort of a boundary between crashing and not crashing. There is no single limit related to mechanics of the bike. Rather there is a possibility of a crash, a probability based on countless, ever-changing conditions within the rider, the bike and the road, and which grow exponentially with more speed and diminish with less.
Not only is there no such thing as an absolute limit, I also believe it’s dangerous for riders to think in terms of a limit because it surrenders responsibility for the consequence of our actions to mechanics, physics, fate, whatever — anything but our own riding ability.
For example, as a rider, you might do a highsider because you open the throttle too soon while the rear tire grips “unexpectedly”.
It’s always our limitations as riders we exceed, not the tires or brakes or chassis or anything else. It’s because we aren’t good enough. For every single crash we’ve had there are countless riders who, under identical circumstances, wouldn’t have.
The smartest, safest thing we can do when we ride is to accept that we are the limit. No the bike, the tires, the road or anyone or anything else. No matter how many miles you have under your belt. No matter how fast you can take the next bend. No matter if you can get your knee down every Sunday at track. It is us. We are never as good as we think we are.
The same applies for entrepreneurs. They too reach their limits. They too run out of talent as they try to perform beyond their abilities. Some are more talented, some are more creative. For example, as an entrepreneur, you might run out of talent and think raising money alone will lead to success. For every single failed start up, there are countless entrepreneurs who, under identical circumstances, wouldn’t have.
The main difference between the riders and the entrepreneurs are the feedback cycle. When you do a highside, the feedback is instant. It hurts right away. Your body remains sore for weeks…you never forget it. You immediately become wiser. However, when an entrepreneur makes a similar mistake, the feedback is not instant. It takes months, sometimes years to arrive. For example, it might take 6–9 months to figure out that you’ve hired the wrong VP of Sales. You don’t get a broken femur that a highsider might get but you end up losing valuable time, money and momentum which maybe fatal for your business.
In order to catch these hidden highsiders and to make sure they are not trying to accelerate out of the corner too soon, entrepreneurs must constantly measure themselves and their businesses in an open, quantifiable and constructive manner. Some tools and tactics for this could be setting up a great board who provides you “expert and experienced” feedback. Or picking a great, trustworthy investor who partners up with you to enable you to get the best out of yourself. Or selecting a co-founder who is not afraid to tell you, you are off course, flying too high or going too fast. Or hiring a great COO that sets up a brilliant dashboard / OKR system and makes sure you follow it.
It is inevitable. Riders and entrepreneurs will constantly reach their limits and always try to perform beyond their own abilities. It is in their nature and it is what the chosen path requires of them. They cannot see it but it is never the bike, tires or the chassis nor is it the market, the size of the round or the VP they hired. The limit is always themselves.
Valentino Rossi’s amazing save at 2015 Italian GP.
