Making A Graceful Exit (Part 3/3)

‘The first generation makes the money.

The second generation fights over it.

The third generations squanders it all.’ ~ Asian business saying

When participants of a race decide to stop, they would earn a abbreviations against their published results such disqualification (DQ), Did Not Finish (DNF) or Did Not Show (DNS). There are ramifications for such outcomes if you are a professional athlete, and certainly less if you a weekend warrior. Living with your eventual decision is imperative to your sustained or future success. It has been said, almost as a truism, that you quit once too often, it may become a destructive pattern.

When competitors fall out of a race, it could be due to a myriad of reasons including injury, accident, fatigue, safety, physical risk, or crippling medical conditions. Surely, no sporting event is worth sacrificing your life for? Were they eliminated because they failed to meet the cutoff time? Did they pose a hazard to other competitors? Were they unfit for the race?

When being interviewed for a job internally or externally, how do you turn down a job offer respectfully? Have you ever opted not to participate in a tender? Why? When do you turn down an offer for assistance? What were the implications when you refused help from a kind person?

When you start a business, you will need to consider your exit strategy. When will you sell off your business? What will be your legacy? Will you grow your business through a merger or alliance? When you pass your business on? Many small businesses die a natural (or unnatural) death when the founder passes on. It could have been passed on and over to a worthy successor, yet it languished and, subsequently, perished due to neglect. How could that have been prevented if a family member did not wished to receive the baton? How do you build continuity and sustainability?

Are you employed in your company for the long haul? How truthful are you when pursued about your interests and career plans? A staff leaves a company for many reasons, and what would yours be? Every staff is a worthwhile addition and costly loss upon their departure. What was your reason for leaving your last employ? Why did you end your business partnership? Was it a healthy dissolve of your company and relationship?

Leadership Lessons: What are your exit strategies in business? How do you bow down gracefully when you know that persistence may not secure you your results? How do you respond to failure? When do you know when to call it quits?

My 25th Marathon Checked

It was a tough marathon for me this morning. What started as a decent pace soon degraded into a race to finish it! I met the 21K mark at 1:43 and 30K at 2:25. At the 32K mark, my pacer Melvin How said that our chance for a 3:24:59 BQ was fading, so that was that. By then, my pace has slowed down appreciably with some short walks thrown in to clear my nasal passages of phlegm, re-fuel and re-hydrate. My strong ego, mental programming and my desire to complete what I started were my driving forces of my achievement. As I wrote earlier this year, DNF is not in my DNA (unless it is due to a serious injury).

On hindsight, it would have been useful to skip the race altogether. A bout of stomach flu, cough and cold in the last three weeks with negligible training mileage, is not a proper way to do well in a race. However, I wanted to complete it regardless of my convalescing condition. I just did the right thing – slow down my pace and plod on. I would not recommend that you adopt this competitive mindset, as there is a risk of incurring further disease.

My final gun-time of 3:41:09 was one of my personal worst in three years. I had wanted to crack my best Singapore Marathon time of 3:36 set in 2009, however the course was different and conditions were more challenging. A persistent, overnight rain provided initially cool conditions, yet the heightened humidity made it harder to finish in fine form around 8.00am when it was sunny. The only consolation is that I matched my timing with two of our top-10 local elite female runners. May of the veteran male runners lapped me at the final quarter, but they were awesome. I hope to be as good as them in the coming year; they trained hard and are committed.

I posted on the Facebook forum that my score-line for today was: Flu bug: Me = 1:0. As my friend, Caroline stated: If there's anyone who can take this ‘loss to bugs’ in his stride and use it as a positive learning experience it would be me. I agree with her for I will bounce back, be fitter and healthier, and achieve better results the next time. I am sure I will.

Photo-credit: Adeline Tan & Clifford Lee

DNF: Down But Not Finished!

Things go wrong sometimes. That is life! There is, however, much we can possibly do to salvage things before they go sour or go south.

In sports competitions, a DNF is a ‘Did Not Finish’ – an unappreciated designation to participants who drop out of race due to mechanical failure or physical fatigue. When a DNF is attached to a participant’s name in the results list, it may be hard to swallow. It is, after all, a blemish on one’s ego – however healthy it may be. It is akin to ‘giving up’ despite the conditions under which one is forced to submit to pain, discomfort or imminent danger to one’s health.

In an earlier piece, I wrote that I did not have a DNF in my DNA; it was meant in a positive, and not arrogant way. If I know I have a bad day, and I can still complete the race, I will. I would not thrown in the towel, as I have nothing to lose, and I still have a tail to drag between my legs. I have been provoked by my ‘demons’ during an endurance event, and considered taking the shortcut to comfort but reversed my decision, as I would regret my moment of weakness.

My good friends had a tough weekend doing the Desaru Long Distance 116K Triathlon. Kevin Siah had to call it quits as mechanical issues from his bike tore into his fierce-some fitness, and Reeves decided to complete it while walking most of the 21K. I recalled suffering cramps (because I failed to consume electrolytes) on my first race there, and had to walk a sub-3 hour half-marathon. It was humbling, yet educational for I learnt to value proper and regular nutrition during a long course event. I have internalized these painful lessons and converted them into gratifying progress.

A DNF can be a humbling but grateful exercise in appreciating our physical and mental limitations.

Leadership Lessons: When do you let things go because it cannot be improved? How do you feel when you have to make compromises? What were the lessons you learnt when you did not achieve your targets? How do you respond to failure?

Lessons Learnt Crossing The Finisher Chute

IMWA 2010 was one of my significant milestones in my personal sporting history. Despite timing-chip issues, I did finish legally and with videotaped evidence this race. My timing-chip stopped registering my running pace after the 20^th mile, which led to many text messages about my racing status. THANK YOU my friends for checking on my health!

Although I did not secure the PBs I wanted, I earned the following lessons:

1)    This being my 10^th Ironman finisher, it was no easier than my first of fifth. I look forward to my next two Ironman races in 2011 (number 11 and 12 sounds very good on the scorecard).

2)    I enjoyed and remembered most details of my run down the finishing chute. I was giving the lovely spectators high-fives and applauding them.

3)    I had a good, strong run equally my best in 2006 (same race).

4)    Immersing myself in the energy of first-time finishers of Ironman. There were more than 400 making their attempt at the 226K-format. Well done, Ironman finishers!

5)    The event is run mostly by volunteers, so thank them whenever we can. It is a shared experience for a very long day, and days of preparation.

6)    I hate to quit; DNF is not computed in my DNA. I’d rather do damage control than take my allotted time, or give up and give in.

7)    This is only a result; we have our good days and better days. This was my good day. I will apply my lessons to my next race, and hopefully, earn my next PB.

Photo-credit: FinisherPix (which reminds me to make my order from them)