Integrity Matters Everywhere

‘Honesty is the best policy, until you are married.’ ~ Anonymous

Do honesty, truthfulness and trust matter to you? How much so?

Can we be too honest? Honesty is an analogous process: it is measured from 0-100 percent. ‘Darling, what do you think of my new hair-style?’ Lest you venture a response, think through thoroughly your response. She may not be expecting your total honesty. This is not Simon Cowell at his controversial and critical best. The truth may hurt, but at what expense? Even if it is not intended to be malicious, the damage criticism creates can be psychologically and emotionally permanent.

Trust is digital: all or nothing. If you have been betrayed before, how willing are you to trust that person again. Integrity combines trust and honesty, yet it is also about the amalgam and structural stability of these values combined.

Here, on this blog we aim to report on what is accurate as possible. Although the truth is out there, we are responsible for sourcing it out. Seeking our resources is part of being resourceful*.

I just completed reading the biography ‘Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell’, who is the producer of ‘X-Factor’ and was the lead-judge in ‘American Idol’. An investigative reporter wrote the book that proposes penetrating insight and frankness. Cowell’s rise from failed recording company executive to television celebrity and media icon, is fodder for tabloids and mainstream news. There is more than meets the eye on television. I leave you to be judge over his style and approach to business.

*Once I gain copyright permission from a few photographers, I will post some pictures from Sunday's TRI-Factor Cycling race.

Working It Out As A Partner

Macca, in his book ‘I’m Here To Win’ described how he used to make deals while riding with his adversaries. Instead of being adversarial, he elected to play the role of a partner, working out how they could stay in the lead while making it more challenging for some competitors. Their actions were legal, meaning no drafting during a draft-illegal race, but creating physical and psychological advantages for themselves during the race. He is one who has failed countless number of times, yet picked up, dusted off, and pursued his next goal. This article describes lessons we can learn from Macca’s failures.

Making deals are a common thing. We call them by many names like ‘negotiate’, ‘make a deal’, ‘work out something’, or ‘make it worth your while’. It is about creating winning formulae for success. It involves collaboration, cooperation, and synergistic partnering. Given time, most issues and problems can be worked out and resolved. It may involve work and effort, yet these are the ingredients for success to brew and come true.

As written some time ago, leaders can choose to ‘pull the rest along’ or ‘sit behind in the pack’ as a ‘sweeper’. The latter means taking care of the slow ones or stragglers. In cycling, this are the common approaches of working within a team. Yesterday, at the TRI-Factor Cycling race I witnessed ‘pack behavior’. Together with fellow riders, I was able to identify the various personality types during competition. There were sportsman-like as well as un-sportsman-like behaviors. While most played it ‘safe’, some were unaware of their reckless behaviors and how it could impact others, in dangerous ways. Roadies, triathletes and recreational riders have different and differing mindsets, attitudes and skillsets. We have to contend ourselves with respecting these differences and ‘share the road’.

My results for yesterday's race (my first riding race: 16th out of about 66 participants). My assessment leads to me conclude that my strength-riding sessions are translating into higher power and speed. Plus, I worked within my lactate threshold speed. I am encouraged by my progress for Ironman Switzerland.

It is during moments like this, that you are called upon to assert your authority as a fellow competitor. Do you caution them? Do you educate them afterwards? Do you give corrective feedback that you consider useful? Do you play pedestrian, play deaf or play dumb? Or, do you place a sticker on the road that screams ‘My Grandfather’s Road’?

Leadership Lessons: What is your leadership stance within your team? How do you work with pack mentality? How do you deal with the Alpha-Leaders? How do you maintain your pace and composure when working with adversarial people? How do you apply your patience and work through differences and conflict?

Five Weeks Out & Sticking To The Plan

It is less than five weeks to Ironman Zurich – my next A-race in my endurance assessment. I have decided to aim for better times, and the results of this 226K triathlon will be a useful assessment of my overall multi-disciplinary fitness.

This evening, while running on my minimalist Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) with my friend Kenneth Tan, we chatted about the Masters-category athletes (since we fall within this bandwidth). I was glad that despite our deliberate, slower pace (Ken was apologetic about his relative lack of speed of 6 min/K), we did achieve 11.5K (in an easy 75 minutes). It was my longest ‘barefoot’ road-run, although I have done barefoot pool-running for up to 75 minutes. I am pleased to announce that after running a total of 2X21K runs (at 1:54 & 1:48 respectively on Tuesday and Thursday) within 48 hours, this completes my 53 hours of consecutive runs within a week. For my body, this mileage is adequate as I can focus on a weekend of consecutive rides and swims.

Tomorrow, I will do a moderate-distance ride (lactate-threshold, aerobic session) and on I will do a 60K cycling race on Sunday morning (an anaerobic/strength session). What I am mindful is I have to complete my longest sessions for ride and run, as the main deal-breaker for an overall PB time are the last two disciplines. I have a 10K hilly run next Sunday, and a 21K run race a week before Zurich, so these will useful tuners for my racing mindset. So far, all is well and intend to maintain my slow but sure progress. I am getting enough quality sleep, and amplified my protein intake (including high-quality whey protein), essential fatty acids (krill oil), and antioxidants (plant-based, and the algae asthaxantin). My body fat is dropping, muscle tone is enhanced, and core strength is still reliable.

Power of Self-Assessment (But A Little Feedback Helps Heaps, Too)

Copyright: BruceLee.com

Measurement is a critical aspect of determining progress and progression. How well have you performed lately? How did you assess that?

Schools and educational institutions administer tests and examinations, to assess the effectiveness of the educational and learning processes. How students fare in their tests, gives a reliable measure of rote learning and their study methods. Whether actual learning has taken place leaves much to be desired. Michael Fulan wrote: ‘There is so much education going on this country, but very little learning!’ referring to the Canadian educational system. This observation can be extended to other countries, too.

Self-assessment is another way of measuring improvements and results. Athletes who use the scientific method to measure their progress, may glean enough useful information to assist them in adjusting their training programs, so as to meet their need for competition and races. With the use watches and monitoring instruments, we can gather feedback/data on heart-rate, cadence, speed/pace, distance, location, terrain profile, average moving speeds, and power. Increases in total distance, average speed and recovery heart-rates help in empirical assessments. Other non-instrument based measurements include recovery rates, muscle soreness, appetite, ability to sleep uninterruptedly, hydration levels, cramping, nutritional needs and feedback from your coach, are other factors that contribute to the total performance equation. Performance = Work + Rest.

Leadership Lessons: What are your tools for assessing your performance? How do you know you are still making progress? How do you monitor for stagnancy and stasis? Which tools would you consider reliable in assessing your growth and development? How much are you doing to develop your competencies and capabilities?

Excesses & Excessiveness

Training for triathlons and endurance sports can be deemed excessive for those around us. Perspectives differ, as we choose to wear a diversity of lenses that focus and filter our images. We are constantly comparing both our internal pictures, with those on our outside. These comparisons are relative in strength, so preparing for a double-Ironman triathlon may be seen as more hardcore than a single, or an ultra-marathon is more intense than a standard (?) 42.195K run. Enough versus excessive: how do you assess that? Who determines the yardstick of enough and inadequate?

In anything that requires endurance (a long-term project, lifelong commitment, It can be excessive, however you look at it. If it exceeds the norm, then it can be interpreted as too much. The benchmarks for normalcy have shifted positions and gears, so we tend to be more adventurous in our life and lifestyle. Nearly everyone wants a chance to play ‘hero’ or ‘heroine’ for a day. The event may have passed, yet the memories remain as a strong part of us. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger?

The indulgences we allow ourselves to immerse in may affect those around us. Be mindful of how our actions impact on them. Learn to hold back, decelerate, refocus, and re-align ourselves to our real sense of purpose. When our indulgences become hard to control, and we do not know when to hold back, then it may have morphed into an addiction. Addictions are mostly beyond our control, and when we are out of control we are inviting insanity, recklessness, and inconsideration.

Aerobic activity, and that includes endurance sports, have been linked with serious health disorders. Some scientific evidence points towards the stresses it places on our heart. Other sources indicate premature aging. However, if something that you enjoy provides you more benefits than risks, would you continue doing it? John Cooke writes an amusing piece about the lifestyle of an E-Lite athlete.

Leadership Lessons: When you are time-crunched, how do you integrate your priorities? When does a priority cease to be your priority? How often do you stop to show appreciation to those who indulge in you, and allow you to indulge in your excessiveness? When do you know when to reduce the risks?

Alarmed By What You’ve Read?

Will Ironman return to Asia?

Just because it is linked or shared via social media, does it mean that it is reliable? Many links are made with little regard for reading the article and being critical about its contents. Sharing material online still requires a sense of responsibility. Remember: you can still ignore the posting, if it contains drivel and dumbfounding data and descriptions.

Fear drives action. Action drives sales. I am openly annoyed with salespeople who attempt to make sales, by introducing dated literature and anecdotal evidence. Most claims made by the manufacturers (of these over-priced nutritional products) have not been validated by the FDA or similar national body. So, we should not be bamboozled by misleading advertising. Buyer beware, but use your head. Advertorials are also cleverly and thinly disguised reports on advertised products, and heavily tout their benefits. Consider slimming and beauty centres/chains, as well as product launches.

Many consumers have no idea what the numbers means: mg, mcg, and IUs. How do you what is the recommended daily rate? What happens if you are engaged in regular strenuous activities? Are you expected to consume more antioxidants if you engage in regular aerobic activities?

Perhaps, we should insist on more empirical research and less anecdotal reliance? If it is in the news, there is a higher degree of credibility, objectivity and believability if it is based on facts. Opinion pieces are more subjective. For instance, a leading online magazine reported that Macca will not be going to the Olympics, nor is Emma Snowsill who was an Olympian before. Because they were interviewed, and gave their perspectives the news is more worthy of our attention. If it is based on results, you cannot dispute the official results, unless there was a glaring typological error.

If this report was true and accurate, it may upset millions due to the implications and ramifications of secrecy/secret formula. It also suggests that labeling has been deceitful, or national authorities on food & drug control have been careless.

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?

Congratulations Ironman Cairns Finishers!

We congratulate the finishers of the new, M-Dot branded Ironman triathlon in Cairns! Team Singapore faired relatively well on a tough, hot day. Adrian Mok was the fastest in the group, despite gastrointestinal issues. Top lady triathlete and Kona finisher, Choo Ling Er bested her own with a new personal best time.

We present their achievements in a pictorial fashion.

Congratulations to Perth-based Malaysian, Kevin Siah who scored a PB! He worked smartly for this A-race.

Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack’s comments on Ironman Cairns: always real, honest and never a dull moment. Unfortunately, Macca did not make it to the London Olympics 2012; he comments about the ‘drawn out’ process, of ‘not knowing’. We are hoping for a Lance Armstrong-Macca showdown in Kona in October. Lance Armstrong won his second half-Ironman in Hawaii. Pete Jacobs recovered from his injuries and won Ironman 70.3 Cairns. Congrats, Petey!

Running Free: Barefoot Running Redux

This morning, after our swim group was requested to vacate the lagoon in Sentosa Island (after three laps of 400-450m), we opted for a short 4K-plus run. Since a few of the runners were keen to explore barefoot running, Vijay, Kumar, Dennis and I chose to run barefoot. Dennis was comfortable in his cool-looking Vibrams Five Fingers (VFF) running shoes, and he demonstrated how he has embraced the natural style of running light. This generous man was part of an entourage that recently ran alongside Kirsten in her 10-hour, road-to-recovery Sundown Marathon.

In my private sharing with a small group during Saturday’s lagoon swim, I showed how running light was possible and made more comfortable. I also demonstrated how high-cadence tempo running (of unshod runners) could match that of shod runners. Here are some key points for your edification:

1)    Pool running (between chest and groin level) can be a safe substitute for barefoot running. No shoes.

2)    With pool running, you can vary your cadence (feet turnover) while running on the spot. I have generated up to 130 footfalls per foot per minute. Also, running at groin-level water simulates running on hills/shoreline (upon your entry/exit from the water). Chest-high water allows you to pump your arms harder while earning higher-cadence steps.

3)    In barefoot running, land as naturally as you feel. Keep low. You will rarely land on your heels, as this can hurt.

4)    When running barefoot, avoid running on your toes. Physical therapists, Nate Carlson shared with me that fractured toes are the common injury he has treated with barefoot runners. Instead, run at the ball of your toes (foot-bed, where you pedal off) or mid-sole.

5)    It is alright to land on your heels, provided that your feet roll forwards onto the forefeet.

6)    Lean forward slightly to gain more advantage with gravity and its accompanying increase in cadence.

7)    Increase cadence slightly, and you increase speed and intensity.

8)    Shoes are necessary as a means of handling both physical impacts on the feet, as well as protecting them from injury (through punctures and open wounds).

When you study the running gait of Ironman world champions, Chrissy Wellington & Rinnie Carfrae; the former takes smaller steps with higher cadence, while the latter takes wider strides and lower cadence. Top female Singaporean runners, Vivien and Anne parallel Wellington and Carfare. What I have observed about world-class marathoners from Kenya and Ethiopia is that they may have begun their running careers with barefoot and light running, however progressed towards a more bouncy and wider strides. That is where the role of running shoes comes into serious play. Running as rapidly (3 minutes/K) pace is just hard on the pure barefoot runner.

Sustaining Your Interest (Part 2/3)

After making your entry, you will proceed to the second phase called Sustaining. What will you do to stay interested? How do you keep your business running? Many people progress to a certain point, and then begin to experience diminishing gains. Generative leaps become incremental gains, or even stasis. They reach a stalemate before getting a checkmate. Distractions and disruptions usurp their sense of direction. What started off as a sprint, now, has to be paced like a marathon. Large strides have to make way for smaller, high-cadence footsteps.

From research and observation, we realize that enthusiasm begins to wane after the start of a new pursuit, position, hobby, lifestyle shift, or business. This is when engaging and activating your motivational strategies become crucial. When you begin to lose track of the bigger picture, or falter due to new challenges, then you will need to sustain your interest. How would you assure that?

1)    Fix your eyes on your expected results (eye on the achievement and accomplishment).

2)    Focus on enhancing your performance (don’t fire them, fire them up!).

3)    Earn your results through your team.

4)    Engage the your core values to help sustain you (endurance, persistence, purpose, patience, determination, optimism)

5)    Review your sense of purpose (what and why did I choose this?).

6)    Review your motivation.

7)    Monitor your energy, and notice when it begins to fade (use EFT, change your physiology, eat well and natural foods).

8)    Seek inspiration and encouragement from your mentors, teachers and guides.

9)    Encourage and assure others, especially when they are beginning to slide.

When running a race, how do you continue to feed your body, as you keep moving? Malnutrition can severely affect your physiology (mental, emotional and physical condition). It can also affect your position and business. How do you stay engaged, engaging, and engage others in the process?

Read this article by HBR about the Seven Seismic Shifts that can affect the performance of an emerging leader.

Leadership Lessons: what are your contingency plans? How do stay motivated? How are you driven by your purpose? If the expected outcome differs from your original, what will you do to continue in your quest? How will you overcome obstacles, curve balls and unpleasant surprises? What are you doing to nourish your mind and body?

There should be no dead-ends at this point of the process. Keep moving. Stop being assimilated by the environment of negativity and naysayers.