Thirty-three years ago Heinz Ketchup lost their business with their biggest account, McDonalds. Since then they have been working to win it back. They lost McDonalds' business back in 1973 because there was a small tomato crop and, instead of shorting the supply of bottled ketchup, Heinz shipped less to the "Golden Arches." In the past few years they had some success when they won McDonald's business in parts of Europe and Asia, but they have yet to crack North America. Michael Hasco, the Heinz executive with the responsibility of capturing this significant business was quoted as saying, "I'm not giving up, it's a marathon, not a sprint."
I took that statement, "It's a marathon, not a sprint" as a lesson for myself and also for every businessperson.
In my practice I see business owners and executives that make one, two, three attempts at breaking into a new account, retrieving a lost account (like the Heinz / McDonalds story above), bringing out a successful new product, or creating a new process. They usually quit if the first few attempts don't bring the desired results. I hear all sorts of excuses, but I rarely see a long-term sustained effort. Everyone wants instant success, but if the target is big enough and the payoff worth the effort, think of business success in terms of a marathon event and, when that payoff comes it will have been worth the effort.
Sprints are exciting but ephemeral. They represent a tremendous amount of energy expended quickly. Marathons require a sustained effort over time so adrenaline needs to be budgeted so one can reach the finish line. Maybe we're all adrenaline junkies and go from sprint to sprint, chasing every opportunity, never looking at the long-term goal.
In business it is important to always keep one eye on the long-term goal to keep from being distracted by a short-lived opportunity. Every time an opportunity arises, as they inevitably will, always ask whether it will help attain your goal. If it doesn't, then don't go down that path towards an exciting sprint. Stay in the marathon.
Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" For a free coaching session, email Larry for an appointment - Larry@larrygaller.com. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com
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