Strengthening Your Relationships

Sports medicine specialists have long touted the importance of strengthening muscles around a weak joint. For instance, stronger quadriceps help stabilize a weak knee-joint. Developed strength on the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint, lowers its risk of being re-injured or compromised by high intensity movement.

Being aerobically fit is one aspect of developing fitness as an endurance athlete. A strong musculature provides the body with better posture (gait) both during activity, and when resting. Developing core strength has been central to keeping athletes strong enough for sustained physical activity. Weakened muscles due to under-use can lead to muscle imbalance, which exacerbates the lop-sided condition.

Include strengthening exercises at least twice a weak. Swimmers could incorporate pedal/pool-buoy, and sprint workouts. Runners could run up hills, or off-road. Working with weights can help runners balance out their relatively weaker upper-bodies, which enhances their torso posture (avoiding the collapse of their core). Riders can increase the gear-resistance and do time trials, or interval sets at lower cadence. Core strength allows them to stay in the 'aero-position' for longer. Adding resistance encourages the body to adapt to the new workload by becoming stronger, which recruits more power during races. Challenge yourself with at least one speed or strength workout for each discipline each week.

Leadership Lessons: How often do you strengthen your relationships? When did you last audit yourself for weaknesses? How do you address your shortcomings? How critical are you with your prevailing compromised condition and situation? 

How To Start A New Business

I have heard this script before from retiring members of the working community: ‘I’ll probably start a business with the small amount of money I have.’ Is that a good idea? Could there be a better or best idea other than starting a new business – a high-risk proposition? When pursued further on which business they had thought of, the vague reply I get includes ‘I will probably go into the food business!’ or ‘Something similar to what I have been doing!’

There are also cases where a staff feels that they have had enough experience working with/for somebody that they decide to start a similar business with a team of partners. Some resourceful ones bank on their track record of competencies and leverage on it in their new venture. That sounds like a good start, yet is there more than meets the eye?

Is it clever or optimistic to start a business, when you have not had the experience? Can you harness the power of pure passion and channel it towards business? Doing business is also starting a new lifestyle on renewed focus, purpose, and sense of relevance.

Whatever your dreams and motivations are, here are some considerations before plunging into the deep waters of small business:

1)    What are your reasons for going into business?

2)    What is your passion?

3)    How ready are you to convert passion into a business? Your passion for a sport or hobby may cease to be that when you focus on the business side of things.

4)    Which are your core competencies related to business?

5)    How extensive is your network of connections in your business?

6)    How do you plan to leverage on the competencies and resourcefulness of your business partners?

7)    How savvy are you in sales, marketing and promotions?

8)    Who are your mentors in business, and how do you tap on their expertise?

9)    What are your entry and exit strategies?

10) How will manage the differing expectations of partners once you develop your business past its infancy?

11) How willing will you be to give this business up?

12) Which are your operating core values? How will you show fairness, integrity, trust, honesty and respect to customers, clients, contractors and colleagues?

These are questions that small and medium-sized business owners have to contend and grapple with, throughout their company’s existence. I wish you every success in your decision.

*****

Looking forward to my track session (at 6.15am) with 14-time Ironman winner, Belinda Granger and her husband-training partner, Justin. Then, it is off to attend a Train-The-Trainer workshop. In spite of the predictions and predilections of a sliding global economy, it will be business as usual. We have to keep moving on order to engage the gears of the economy.

Tomorrow: Book Review on Innovation.