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Day 1: Confidence
It’s late in the evening and I have double checked and packed the last of the few selected items to take with me on my journey, all I need to do now is to get a good night’s sleep, ready for the long bike ride to Dijon tomorrow.
Every trip starts off the same, and this one is no exception. I am lying in bed, a glance at my alarm clock reminds me that it is a quarter to five. FAR TOO EARLY! The same set of questions keep running around my brain: “why am I doing this? Why don’t I just stay at home and chill out safe in the surroundings of my home and family? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just grow up and become sensible like nearly everyone else I know?” I imagine impossible bends that I somehow get around, only to find a fallen tree or broken down lorry directly in front of me. All the dangers and all the things that could go wrong are the only things interrupting me from answering the endless questions. One minute I am staring death in the face, the next I am explaining to a laughing crowd, just how it was I fell off. “Yes indeed, I was looking in the wrong direction!” and “yes indeed, perhaps my bike is too heavy, too powerful and yes you are right, this kind of larking around is for kids not CEO’s, sorry!” I am covered in sweat, so I take off for the bathroom and splash some cold water on my face. The alarm clock displays 06:15, another hour then I must get up. Shit!
I am just the same in business. I find myself attracted to new challenges and adventure, the adrenaline kick of risk gives me a feeling of freedom and purpose and takes me away from the same old, same old humdrum of daily business life. Rationally in my heart I know that standing still in the safety of the harbor of familiarity is in fact the same as moving backwards. I know that some of my competitors are out there on the ocean in search of increased market share and profitability, and so indeed I must lead my business to do the same.
In the in the small hours of the morning of the first day of every motorcycle adventure I have ever taken, I find myself wishing that I had prepared just a little more. That I had taken more time out to check and re-check the route, my bike, my insurance documents, everything - and even though I know deep down that they are all fine and even if something has been overlooked my experience, judgment and personality will always pull me through, I tend to forget these things in that state of not being fully awake or deep within a dream.
I believe that CEO’s need confidence more than any other element. Confidence drives them forward and inspires others to follow them on their journey. Confidence allows them to take decisions and to trust others. If we are confident, we know that we can put right anything that someone else screws up! However I also know that our inner confidence needs to be in balance with four other attributes: Adaptability, Pragmatism and most important, Curiosity, or what I like to call ‘Intellectual Curiosity’.
It is mid-morning. The sun is shining. The GPS tells me there’s 480km remaining to the Kyriad hotel. I have the wind in my face and the road rushing beneath my feet. This is it, this is fucking brilliant! I know that there is no turning back now. I know too that tomorrow is a long time and right now I need to focus on simply doing my job. To arrive in Dijon in one piece, no accidents, no unnecessary risks, to relax and to enjoy the journey.
Day 2: Adaptability
I find the second day on any road trip is always one of transition. The Confidence issues of day one have largely faded away. but my mind tends to drift between concern over things left undone in the office, my wife back home and the new situation I find myself in.
Adapting to life on the road; the endless packing and unpacking, searching for safe places to park the bikes overnight, the checking in and out of strange hotels, finding fuel stations and places to stop is not exactly what most people would call stress but it is a routine that needs getting re-acquainted with. Even basic decisions such, should I go down to breakfast in my bike gear to save time later on, or do I opt for a more socially acceptable dress code, only to change again fifteen minutes later?
But more than this, carefully planned routes do not always work; local diversions and errors mean that compromises are needed and adaptations made. The strategy remains the same but the way of achieving it different.
It’s mid-morning and the going is good. The predicted bad weather had not arrived, I am optimistic that somehow the weather forecasters have got it wrong and their prediction for rain the whole day is an exaggerated lie.
We’re driving through a dark wood , occasionally shafts of sunlight break through the twisted trees, forming a natural light show on the road ahead. One of the great things about biking is the fact that you can also smell as well as feel the landscape rushing by. In the coolness of the forest one can be forgetful of what is happening on the outside. And then, like a train exiting a tunnel the elation brought on by the brightness of the open landscape ahead is diminished by the sudden awareness of a very large menacing cloud in the distance. A small side road gives me the perfect opportunity to turn the bike around and head for higher ground to get a clear view of the vast plain and valley before us. I calculate that the approaching storm with its dramatic bursts of lightning and thunder, is more than 20Km wide and there is no obvious way of avoiding it. However, right in the middle, there appears to be a brighter gap that with some careful navigation the worst of the storm could perhaps be avoided. It’s a question of calculating wind speed and direction and then matching available roads and ground speed to navigate safely through the middle.
We put on our rain gear and set off. The wind is picking up, small branches are being ripped away from the trees, debris is blowing across the wet road, we need to move quickly but we need to drive safe, the balance is tricky. Rain is falling now but with darkness either side of us I believe we have successfully avoided the worst. If only avoiding banking crisis, recessions, and business pitfalls could be that simple to navigate!
Storm over, we enter the heart of the Burgundy. The promise of a fine restaurant and the very best wine that the region can offer is a powerful motivator to navigate the last kilometers to Santenay, our destination for the day. The theory of boring Burgundy landscapes seems to be untrue, as we pass between the vines in the upper valley. The place names rolling off the map like an impressive wine list from a Michelin star restaurant. I love the whites, perhaps nothing can be better but what about these illustrious reds? Can’t wait, we’re nearly there!
Day 3: Intellectual Curiosity
Driving around on a motorcycle without any apparent destination or purpose soon loses its appeal, that’s why my companion always takes care to plan-in some pre-selected landmarks for us to explore along the way.
I have noticed that having a genuine interest in virtually everything is a hallmark that I share with many leaders. I believe that because we are genuinely interested to know how things work and why things are the way they are, we are able to converse and engage on almost any topic with everyone we meet. From the shop floor to the board room and our customers and suppliers; this is what I call ‘Intellectual Curiosity’. It covers not only business topics but art and culture too. Consequently my insatiable appetite for new input is one of the key motivators for my adventures.
It’s incredibly hot, the sun is beating down and I am very glad that we decided to take our mid-day break at the castle of Brancion. Situated on top of a hil,l with its ancient walls still enclosing a medieval village, the place was teaming with French school children. If I am honest with you, I am not a lover of hoards of squealing kids, so we quickly moved away from the educational attractions and spent our time trying to piece together the puzzle of the castle ruins: where the kitchen would have been, where business would have taken place, the positioning of sleeping areas and romantic nooks for seduction and secret trysts. The clues were all there, berried within the stone walls.
From the highest point of the tower it was immediately obvious why the castle was positioned where it was. Neatly located on what was once an important trade route, it must have been very easy for guards to detect enemies from without while at the same time observing everything that was going within the village below. Keeping secrets from the CEO must have been almost impossible.
During this process of discovery, my mind made comparisons with my fellow CEO’s, how they monitor the different activities within their organizations and indeed how they keep track on what is going on without them. It is easy to conclude that things were so much easier once upon a time, but I am not sure that’s true. And although we have sophisticated communication technology to capture and process data, the very same technologies also have keys and gateways to block us out. Not much has changed in our need for reliable information in the last five centuries. Re-appraising the analog data information and security systems that survived so well for so long, can be useful in our search to invent new ways of solving the problems we are facing today. My father, an architect, often said that a moat and/or a thick Hawthorn hedge provides a much more effective alarm system than an electronic red box on the front gavel of a house.
End note: Despite its turbulent history, the final downfall of Brancion castle and its village community took place in 1594; more as a result of an arrogant and tyrannical CEO, rather than from an accommodating and compassionate one. Recent events in News International, remind me that when power and greed are the main motivators of an ambitious CEO and his family, downfall will almost certainly come sooner rather than later. And when it does, it will be fueled by the very people that were once thought of as loyal friends and supporters.
As predicted the whites were great but the reds were disappointing. Everyone tells me that I have to wait a few years for the acidity to drop. But even at 75EUR per bottle I cannot help but think that one is better off with a good Bordeaux! Still I give in to my curiosity and order a variety of the best they can offer to be delivered to my cellar. I guess in fifteen years I’ll know the truth?
Day 4. Emotional Intelligence
Today I am completely ‘in the flow’ the weather is fine and the road is empty. It’s kind of weird, we have driven all morning and there is not a car in sight, not a single one! It’s like an incredibly realistic 3D video game with all the extra senses features activated: Not only can I see and hear, I can touch, feel and smell everything around me. I am far from the madding crowd of my normal existence.
The gentle pounding of the Triumph Thunderbird’s parallel twin engine is a mask for the enormous power it has in store. One slight twist of the throttle and the beast awakes with a growl and the only sensation that matters is one of G-force and speed. Only here in the empty roads of the Beaujolais do I feel safe and comfortable enough to really enjoy this experience.
With my office and even my family life far behind me, I drop back and encourage my companion to take the lead. I forget about the carefully planned route and free him up to drive wherever and however fast or slow he desires. The result is an exhilarating hour of adrenaline and fun, followed by a calmer phase where the natural beauty of the countryside takes on a higher importance. I just love it; I am a 100% passive follower, all desire of leading gone. No decisions to take, no responsibilities to anyone except myself. I have no need to keep one eye in the rear view mirror to check that he’s still there and safe, no concerns as to whether he’s OK: it’s time to relax and take it all in.
Emotional Intelligence is all about being able to pick up the necessary signals to know when and how to act, when to step back, or when to step up and re-take control. Emotional intelligence allows us to do this without losing the support and encouragement of those we are leading. To motivate people to do what is best for the team and to deliver meaningful results.
By combining our emotional intelligence and confidence we gain the ability to trust other people and to delegate. Our inner confidence tells us that if they screw up, we know we can step in and sort it. Our emotional intelligence allows us to read situations accurately and to know how far we can push and when.
If true leadership is about ensuring our teams reach our objective and goals, then this means we need to know when they are tired, frustrated or bored. We need to be sure that we create a culture of achievement and satisfaction. Without it, the people we leed may not stick around. I believe this is our job, this is what we do. Far away from home, in a strange environment, an abundance of emotional intelligence and pragmatism is what one needs to stay happy, safe and focused.
The day’s ride over, I am hungry, showered and changed, ready for our evening meal. Tonight our English hosts have laid on a private wine tasting for us – the best of the Beaujolais. Roger Bonjour (yes that’s his real name) is our guide. He’s biased by only serving wine from his seven vineyards. But I don’t mind this kind of conflict of interest. He’s a down to earth, straight forward, happy man who knows what he likes and likes what he knows. His wines are so cheap it’s embarrassing and even if they are not going to win big prizes or score more than 80 in Parker, they are honest, smooth and very drinkable. I like Roger, I like my hosts, I love the local cheeses and breads. Give me the Beaujolais region any day. It’s scenery is sublime and its produce, delicious. I don’t know what it is but I feel right at home here, like I have always lived here. Very strange, very relaxing and sublime.
Day 5: Pragmatism
Every adventure has to come to an end and this year’s was fixed to a very tight deadline (a promise that I would be back in time to attend my company’s annual family BBQ). In fact the whole planning of the trip was designed to ensure that there was enough margin to ensure we arrived back at our original departure point by 12:30pm on the 21st. of June, 2011. The last morning’s route was planned and re-drawn, adaptations were made so we could still take in more sites without increasing the risk of arriving late, or even not at all. Pragmatism the CEO’s most reliable asset; the ability to make things happen. After all the strategy and theorizing, it’s only the result that really matters.
It’s the last day of the holiday, the long straight roads across the giant corn fields of the Champagne region seem to go on forever. A sense of elation and freedom is pounding through my veins, it always does when I am riding in perfect biking conditions. One part of me wants this moment to last forever, another, wants it to be over as soon as possible.
As Belgium approaches, rain starts to fall. And although I am loving every minute of it I also want to be at home, safe in the arms of my wife. With the achievement of my objective in sight, now is not the time to make a mistake or to do anything silly. I know only too well that many adventures come to grief close to their completion. Just a few hours behind me lie empty bottles of Burgundy and half eaten delicious farmyard cheeses. I replay the breathtaking landscapes and precious moments that were not captured on a digital memory chip and ask myself how can I share all this with those that were left behind?
In front of me lies a muddy field, some white marquees billowing in the wind and my colleagues with their families and friends, disappointed by the lack of sunshine in a Flemish summer, getting ready for a cold afternoon and putting on brave defiant faces. Never mind the weather, we have each other, fine wine and piping hot food, fun and games for the children and music. And with the first half year figures just out, I can see that not only is it is going to be a great afternoon, it’s going to be a great year too!