Lessons from the Ski Slopes

A few weeks ago, I had a most enjoyable day skiing in Northern Minnesota. For those unfamiliar with skiing in the Midwest, it typically involves very short runs into a river valley, or in this case, down from the bluffs surrounding Lake Superior.  Some of the runs have names like “Wendel’s Widowmaker,” but nobody really believes them. On the other hand, it was a gorgeous winter day, I was with a dear friend, and we had a great time.

During the many (many, many) times up the chair lift, I got to thinking. I began to reflect on the physics of skiing, a topic of pressing interest given my recent lapses in strength training.  In our daily lives, gravity and friction are generally physical forces that slow us down. We use gasoline or jet fuel to overcome these forces, to varying degrees, in order to get where we want to go. Our business metaphors imagine us “achieving lift-off” or “streamlining” to reduce drag and friction. We see these forces as the enemies of progress. Without gravity and friction, however, skiing turns into, well, either standing or falling.

 

On the mountain, gravity and friction are our friends, so long as we treat them as such. Gravity gives us speed. Friction, when channeled into the edges of our skis, gives us control. We manage these forces to propel us down the hill and away from rocks, trees, and other skiers. When those forces manage us, we find ourselves carving snow with our noses rather than our edges.

 

The connection to business seemed clear: do we manage the forces that drive our business, or do they manage us? Or, more accurately, do we manage our business in harmony with those forces, or in opposition to them?   Do we see vendors and customers as partners in efficient, mutually beneficial transactions, or do we challenge ourselves to take a little extra from each of them at every opportunity? Are competitors enemies to be crushed, or do we seek to benefit from them when we can? Great competitors can expand markets, drive demand, and even promote innovation, if we are operating in harmony with them as external forces.

 

On the ski slope, the sensations of harmony and disharmony are unmistakable. Skiing with the mountain is smooth, flowing, gentle.  We look downhill and flow from turn to turn, aware of our surroundings as a gestalt, making decisions and acting on them in a continuous process.  Skiing against the mountain is a different experience altogether. It may begin with anxiety or inattention, and quickly devolves into a series of disconnected moves calculated, however desperately, to keep us upright. We perceive a series of snapshots and try to react accordingly. All too often, the result is both sudden and sodden.

 

In business, disharmony may be harder to perceive, until we are dangerously in its cold embrace. Many of our performance measures are actually following indicators. The forces that ultimately result in reduced revenue or profitability may have been operating for some time before the results show up on our balance sheets.  Mild employee discontent may go unnoticed until key people start to leave; customers’ needs or preferences change and they tolerate a mild mis-fit with our services until…they don’t. Key vendors experience problems that we are unaware of until we find ourselves on allocation, just when our own key customers need product immediately.

 

A great strategy for preventing these kinds of commercial spills involves cultivating strong, trusting relationships with the people who touch our business. That way we can perceive problems as they emerge, and move smoothly toward their resolution before they become disruptive. It’s another good reason for understanding those relationships while you are in the flow of successful business, and investing in maintaining that flow.  

 

Returning readers will know about my belief in the SAIP Process as a means of understanding ethical risk and aligning social responsibility with winning business practices. That kind of reflective, analytical approach to stakeholder relationships can also help businesses remain in harmony, by building stronger relationships with the people who make that possible. 

 

If my readers happen to include any Midwest ski area operators, allow me to reiterate how much fun I had, skiing in the Heartland. And, if you are interested in exploring how you might differentiate your ski area through a commitment to social responsibility…

 

Look out below!