10 business lessons from Mountain Bike riding

Murray Guest

Murray Guest

Strengths-based partnerships & solutions to unlock potential, develop inspired leaders and engaged team culture.

Published Nov 19,

Mountain Biking = business growth

I absolutely love getting out on some flowing single track. I’m not the best or the fastest mountain biker, but that feeling of freedom and powering around a berm is pure joy. I’m also passionate about learning and growth.  Over the years, as I’ve been riding I’ve noticed a number of similarities in the lessons from mountain bike riding and leadership.  Whether that’s being a leader in a company or as an entrepreneur. 

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 Mountain bike riding is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and for me it’s about the connection with nature, the combination of the mental & physical challenge and being in flow.  It’s also about the feeling of being a kid again, escaping for a while and riding through the bush with a few friends.  Here are 10 Mountain Bike riding Leadership lessons which have regularly shown up and inspired me.

1. Preparation is key- you don’t want to be THAT guy - the one that is never ready on time, when everyone else is ready to go! My wife used to laugh when the day before a ride with some friends, I clean the bike, lube the chain, check the tyres, wheel my aluminium friend into the house… however I’m setting myself up to be on time, prepared, everything in order and ready for the morning ride. Preparing for a meeting, presentation, webinar, pitch is just the same. How do you create the space for your preparation and success? Will a checklist or a system help? How can you make it as easy as possible for your repeated success?  Remember it’s the little things that make the difference!
2. Get in Flow! – My most creative, problem solving, sparks of clarity happen when I’m in flow! On a trail I regularly stop to record an idea on my . The solution to a problem I might have taken hours to ponder sitting at my desk, can emerge whilst riding along a trail or up a hill! Being in flow is that state of effortless direction, those activities where you instinctively know what to do next and are energised on completion.  Activities where you’ve had moments of subconscious excellence and thought, “How did I do that?”  I also return from rides with new ideas and renewed enthusiasm for problems. I believe ideas when in Flow are also your best.  I know I’m also in flow when in front of a white board with a client mapping out a solution to a problem or having an inspired energy conversation. Your moments of flow might be something completely different.  The aim? Know when you’re in flow and create more opportunities for it.  Next time you have a problem, a challenge, need a spark, don’t sit there and wrestle with it! Get up and get in flow!
3. Change gears before you need to – I took a friend mountain bike riding for the first time the other day and he was amazed at how often he changed gears. He also learnt pretty quickly you need to get into the right gear before you need to.  If you leave it too late, you lose momentum, it puts strain on the gears and makes it harder to get over the obstacle or hill.  So often in business we are living in the past and changing up gears too late, after the problem or obstacle has happened.  What are your leading KPIs telling you? What are the trends telling you? A change in one gear has a huge impact in the ease of pedaling and getting up that hill.  If there was one big change to improve things you would of already implemented it.  What small change can you make in response to what you’re seeing to move your business forward?
4. What comes down must go up – They don’t call it mountain bike riding for nothing! Enjoy the up hills, embrace the tough yards, the challenges, the learnings – you need to go up to enjoy the ride down the other side!
5. Breathe - Remember to breathe when you're riding downhill. I was holding my breath regularly on down hills.  It could have been the excitement, fear, stupidity, maybe even the poor skills.  Either way, it didn’t set me up for the next hill.  I didn’t have the oxygen to keep going. When things are going well, we often don’t pause, reflect and implement improvements.  We might be enjoying the ride so much we forget, we might be going so fast, growing in revenue or might be just hanging on for dear life!  When things are going well, pause, acknowledge the reasons why, learn from them and lock them in, so they are sustainable.
6. What you focus on is what you get – There’s this rocky section that probably still has some of my blood on it. Not so long ago I headed out for a late afternoon ride at the local trail.  As I left, I thought about the rock (which was 10 km away), as I climbed the back trail, I thought of the rock, as I enjoyed the top section I thought of the rock again, as I headed down the rocky trail I looked at that rock that I wanted to avoid squarely in his cold eyes as I whispered I won’t hit you today.  Bashing my elbow on the rock as I hit it wasn’t the worst thing.  Changing the punctured tire, with a throbbing, bleeding arm was.  I’m a big believer in what you focus on is what you get.  Are you focussing on the rocks & obstacles or the path ahead, through them?  Critical to XC MTB riding is picking your line through the technical sections and riding with momentum.  Leaders need to communicate the vision and create a purpose driven culture, where individual’s purpose are aligned with the organisation mission.  Can you answer, where are we going, how are we going to get there, do we know the challenges and what are we focussing on?    
7. Know your strengths & limitations - Get coaching from experts - get advice from mentors, know your strengths and limitations. My riding improved significantly from a few coaching sessions (thanks Jared, Scott & Alex), being open to new ways and applying them. There is a power in asking for help, being vulnerable, collaborating and giving others the chance to share their strengths.
8. Have fun – Life should be fun. Work should be fun.  Riding a bike is fun.  People are more productive, happier and more engaged when having fun.  Enjoy the ride and have fun along the way.  This fantastic video explains the impact of stress and why you should enjoy the ride. 
9. Get out in nature - The value of getting out in nature to reduce your stress, be more energised and creative is intuitive and has been well documented, check out these resources. My dose of nature on the bike leaves me feeling refreshed, focused and grounded.  How often are you getting out in nature?  Get out amongst the trees, the forest, in the park, feel the dirt between your toes - be inspired and get creative.  How about scheduling a meeting in a park or having a walk in nature to start the day?  This video provides some fun inspiration to get out in nature too!
10. Riding and business is better with friends - mountain bike riding is a solo sport. You’re really only competing against yourself, bettering your own time and getting smoother on the trails. Yet it's better and more fun with friends (Thanks Col, Matt, Jason, Nathan & Ross!)  Better with people who encourage, support and celebrate your milestones when you achieve them! If you are the “Average of 5 people you hang out with the most” as Jim Rohn says, who do you ride with and who are you collaborating with?  Do they inspire or tire you?

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Murray is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach with more than 15 years’ experience leading cultural change in large organisations. He specialises in partnering with business leaders to rediscover their passion, inject new energy into their organisations, and build inspired team cultures. He also runs the Entrepreneurs Vitality Retreat with his wife Tammy Guest in Bali.

www.inspiremybusiness.com

If Copenhagen is any indication, more cyclists and cycling infrastructure can only make things better in the big city. And yet, you often see a lot of indifference or opposition in cities that haven’t begun the switch to a bicycle city yet. It can be a huge obstacle for people all around the world who want to push their municipality to embrace cyclists and work with them.

Cycling has all kinds of benefits for the individual, of course. It’s efficient (as efficient as a car in a city, when traffic is factored in), healthy, and safe. Besides, cyclists save a pretty penny on gas and car payments. However, cyclists can also mean good news for big businesses as well, from helping you have a more efficient and healthy staff to helping you network with other bigwigs.

Why Big Business Should Love Cyclists

So, all you corporate suits, listen up. I’ve compiled a list of the 13 reasons why big businesses should welcome and support amazing cyclists.

1 – It’s A Profitable Market

Let’s go right into the big one, shall we? When you go into business, you go into it for one reason. Money. We’re lying to ourselves if we say money’s not the most important thing in the business world.

As we’ve seen in the Copenhagen example, when a city starts gearing (pun intended) towards being a bicycle city, the local market explodes. Copenhagen is rocking near 300 different bicycle shops, their post office has over 300 bikes in service, and there are around 130 bicycle taxis.

Several companies manufacture bicycles and bike parts born out of Copenhagen, magazines, cycling clubs, races, and other profitable events. In other words, hopping on the cycling bandwagon is a good way to turn one hell of a profit. And if your city moves towards making bikes more mainstream and accessible, then the cycling market will only grow stronger, more profitable, and more stable. That means more money, for a longer period.

2 – It’s A Good Group Activity

Every business has those little events here and there; picnics, dinners, luncheons, etc. One of my old workplaces even had an annual paintball tournament. The intention is obvious; to foster closer office relationships and improve employee satisfaction (and therefore, employee productivity), it’s important to get everyone together to socialize and have fun once in a while. When you’re looking to plan out-of-office activities for your staff, why not go for a bike ride?

Every town and city has at least one free bike trail nearby these days, almost everyone knows how to ride a bike, and it can be as relaxing and simple or as competitive as you want it to be. The cost of hosting is a lot less than hosting other kinds of events (like, for example, the paintball tournament), and there is so much you can do with biking. As another example, Google Inc. has 9 Conference Bikes (7-seater bikes) at their headquarters, used for team building exercises and transportation.

3 – It’s A Healthy Activity

Everyone knows that cycling is good for your body’s health and wellness. It’s a good way to stay fit, lose weight, and generally just be healthier. And that is good news for big business! Just think, if your whole staff biked to and from work every day, they would be healthier on average, giving them more energy (which means higher productivity) and fewer health problems getting in the way of work. A healthy staff means a happy boss and a happy boss is just good news for everyone involved.

4 – Your Employees Are More Likely To Be On Time

Cities have lots of traffic. And is there any wonder why? Tens of thousands of cars are all piled into narrow streets sitting bumper to bumper crawling towards their desired destination. Cars take up a lot of space too. 6 Cyclists could occupy roughly the same space as 1 car.

Traffic makes getting from point A to point B a lot more tedious than it has to be. If only there was a smaller form of transportation, that could go faster than a car can in the city, and doesn’t get caught up in traffic jams every 3 meters. Oh wait, there is! It’s called a bicycle.

During rush hour in the Welsh city of Cardiff, on average cars only move about 11 Kilometres per Hour, and get stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. However, during that same period, cyclists were free to move up to speeds of 24 km/h. Next time your employees complain about traffic making them late recommend they start biking to work.

5 – People who cycle to and from work are more likely to have better mental health

According to a study done by the University of East Anglia, people who bike to work are more likely to have better mental health (and better concentration) than their motorist counterparts. The study, which collected data from over 18,000 people in the UK, measured various angles that affected people’s work capabilities, such as happiness (or lack thereof), feelings of worthlessness, missed sleep, and an inability to effectively or reasonably face problems.

The study found that, whether you bike or not, just not taking the car is enough to boost your average mental health and happiness, because when you bike, walk, or take transit, you have the opportunity to relax (and take a power nap, if you use the bus/train), and have a bit of fun.

It’s also an opportunity to socialize, which has notorious mental health benefits. So why bike over the bus or walk? On top of all of those other things, cycling is great exercise, and exercise is also known to improve mental health and happiness.

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6 – You Can Handle More Customers

Cycling isn’t just good for your employees. Think about it. What’s an instant turnaway for most customers? No parking. If you can’t find a space, you can’t stop at a shop. Well, when you’re on a bike, you rarely have that problem. Remember earlier when I said you could fit 6 bikes in the space a single car takes up on the road? Yeah. If your store is the kind of place that has a full parking lot every weekend, then having more cyclist customers can only be good for business.

7 – Your Customers Have More Money (to spend)

Doesn’t it just break your heart when your customers can’t afford your products? Wouldn’t it be nice to relieve some of their financial burdens (like say, car payments, parking fees, etc.) so that they can spend that extra cash on your stuff? People who choose cycling over a car save all kinds of money on gas and parking.

On average, UK families spend £70.40 a week on transportation, according to the Money Advice Service. That is £.80 a year! That is how much cyclists save just by traveling on a bike year-round. That’s a lot of money, and a lot of it could be spent on your products!

8 – Cycling Sparks Creativity

Cycling has all kinds of benefits for people socially and physically. But it’s also really good for your brain. All types of creative people, both in the arts and the business world, have said that physical activity helps them overcome mental blocks and work through problems, making good decisions.

Scientifically speaking, only 25 minutes of aerobic exercise (so basically a standard bike ride) can boost your creativity. This is because doing so keeps the oxygen flowing to your brain, while also giving you a break from a problem that’s got you stuck. As any writer will tell you, one of the best ways to clear a creative block is to take a break from it and do something else for a little bit.

9 – It’ll keep your employees awake

Do you have a problem with your staff yawning their work days away? Before you start spiking their coffee, there’s an easier solution. It might seem like an oxymoron to do physical activity when you’re feeling tired, but many studies have shown that a short bike ride (or any form of aerobic or cardio exercise) reduces fatigue. If your employees are biking to and from work, they’re going to have that extra morning kick that coffee just can’t quite provide for them.

When your employees are less tired, it’s great for everyone involved. They’ll be more productive, which is already a pretty benefit, but on top of that, when you aren’t tired you are more creative and better at problem-solving.

10 – It’s A Social Activity

It used to be that golf was the sport of the business world. You can see the appeal; it’s one of the most laid-back sports in the world outside of e-sports. But these days a lot of business leaders are young and energetic. The days of the stereotypical “fat cat” types are winding down. A lot of today’s business leaders are into cycling. And it’s pretty easy to see why. It’s not particularly mentally exhausting (whereas golf requires a lot of strategy and planning) and it can be either as relaxed or intense as you see fit.

It’s also a good activity for when you want to socialize because you can bike at whatever pace is comfortable. It’s a constant physical activity that doesn’t feel like constant physical activity (unless you’re going hard). Another good thing about cycling is it can be competitive without any real winners or losers.

On top of that, golf has been on the decline in popularity since the turn of the century, according to the National Golf Federation. But while golf has been on the decline, cycling’s popularity, especially in Europe, continues to steadily climb.

11 – Cycling Reduces Stress

According to research collected from over cyclists and 100 employers, 82% of people who bike to and from work report having lower stress levels. Lower stress has fantastic benefits for the workplace. Stress can give us anxiety, make us feel pressured or rushed, and it can cause our work quality to decline. Stress also has a severe negative impact on your health, both physical and mental.

Low stress means less anxiety, more energy, and a healthier mind approaching the tasks and problems of the day. It’s everything you could hope for as an employer.

12 – It’s Environmentally Friendly

Going green is great for businesses these days. The more cyclists there are, the less air pollution there is in the streets. Bicycles don’t spit out smog, and they don’t require fossil fuels. By encouraging your employees to bike over using a car, you can earn plenty of brownie points with environmentally-minded consumers while making the city, and therefore the world, a cleaner and fresher place. And the best part is, it doesn’t have to cost your business a nickel. Just lead by example and ask your staff to follow along.

Cyclists also breathe in less pollution than people in cars, which is good for their lungs.

13 – Bikes Are Quiet

HONK. BEEP. SCREETCH. VROOM. Cars are so noisy. It’s ridiculous how loud they are. Cars are so loud that in some parts of the city at rush hour you can’t even talk on a cell on the sidewalk or have a conversation without shouting. Cars are the biggest contributors to noise pollution in the big cities. But there is one mode of transportation that’s as quiet as it is efficient; bicycles!

Conclusion

Imagine if the noise of the street (which always seems to find its way to your office even if you’re in the middle of the 30th floor) was reduced or eliminated! Peace at long last, or at least until the next time the rings.

Convinced yet? Let me know in the comments!

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