Think Bigger: How Small Steps Lead to Big Changes
With Just One More Step
Breaking the box
A while ago, after 10+ years spent in consulting, I felt trapped in a box that had become too small for me. I can’t say I had been peacefully cruising along either: I had had the most challenging and rewarding years working across 3 countries, and travelled around the world many times; met incredible people and had been part of transformative projects touching millions of people. I had led some parts of the deployment of a multi partner loyalty card (S’Miles) in France across the SNCF National French Railways, and Caisse d’Epargne bank; a next generation contactless fare payment system (PRESTO Card) across 10+ cities in Canada making the lives of 3.5 million daily commuters a bit more convenient and seamless every day; and improved the customer service infrastructure used to serve millions of public transit commuters in Singapore (EZ-Link).
But still, I did realize, after serving so many years in the same company, I was plateauing. And I also did not see the point of the next promotion; it seemed to me that the next level was all about revenue tagging and office politics. I was more interested in making an impact to my clients, designing innovative solutions and building new businesses.
At one point in one’s life or career one might feel trapped and short of space.
We are animals of habits. Our minds and bodies are designed to adapt to create paths of least resistance.
Some of us take comfort in repetition and predictability. And that’s great too: they make great business operators. For others like me, doing something “new”, after a while, starts to feel old, too small or not that exciting anymore (more on this here: why KoncentriK)
But how do you break out of the shell of habits? How to change the trajectory your life or career seems to be bound to? Become a better self? Aim for something bigger than yourself?
Just one more
I started running when I turned 30. My first run was 5 km.
One day I decided to aim a little bit higher. So I aimed for 10 km.
Think Bigger.
Then I thought I should try, once in my life, running a half marathon. So I trained for it, and I ran one. Then another one.
Think Bigger.
Then I thought, well since I can run a half marathon, maybe once in my life I should run a full marathon.
So, at 34, I trained, and I ran a full marathon. Then another one.
Think Bigger.
Then I started trail running and discovered a whole new world of challenges. Friends of mine were running 50 km, 100 km… I did not even know it was even possible at the time.
I started practicing the hill climbing and downhill runs, uneven and rocky paths, night runs and 6+ hour long runs. I decided I should try running a 50 km. So I trained hard and I ran a 50 km.
Think Bigger.
Then I thought, since I can run a 50 km, then once in my life, I should at least run a 100 km.
So I trained really hard for more than six months, and I ran a 100 km. Then another one. You can read more about my last run in Romania’s Transylvania here.
I can’t say I am particularly good at it, but to date I have always passed the finish line, usually in the top 30% or so. It’s not bad, it’s not great, but it does not really matter to me: my new me is just racing against my old self.
Being first is not my goal. It’s the process to get there that makes me greater today than who I was yesterday.
When you put your mind to it
What’s interesting is that none of the above achievements were really planned. I just set the next goal based on the previous one. But I also discover that by pushing a little more, I could achieve something much greater. With just one more step.
Think Bigger.
Each and every race is transformative: I learn a bit more about myself every time. And it has allowed me to achieve what I thought was inconceivable a few years back.
At every step, I was full of doubts, wondering if would be able to make it. Afraid I would not make it.
Over the years, I tried to perfect my approach; it worked for me, in sports and in life, I hope it can be useful to you as well, it’s disconcertingly simple:
Define your goal : many people cruise through life without any clear goal. There is nothing wrong about it, it’s just hard to accomplish something big if you don’t know what you are shooting for…
Have a plan: plan the steps to get there in details; dissecting the journey in small chunks helps to turn what seems impossible into a series of small achievable challenges.
Build a mental picture of your success: learn, practice, train hard. Going through the pain of learning will help you know what you will be going through on race day. Practice, keep trying until you can picture success.
Think one step at a time: celebrate each small achievement as success, one step at a time.
Think Bigger. And go just one more step.
The Goal
Defining a goal, is the very first impulse, the smallest amount of energy that will ignite change. Like a fragile flame that can become a fire later on. It needs nurturing, it needs work, it needs attention; until it becomes this all-consuming desire that will drive all your actions and decisions.
The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. - Napoleon Hill
It will first seem crazy, unreachable, aspirational, without much meaning or contours, like a shape in the distance, somehow identifiable but without clear features. More like a dream; a desire melted in impossibility.
I have tried asking this to many people around me; what’s your goal? Most of the time it’s hard to get a clear, concise and definitive answer.
When it comes to running, my goal is simple: I pick a race to participate in. My goal is just finish it. So I train for it.
For career goals, I had a few over the years, and they built upon each other in a way: join a top consulting company, move away from just tech, build products, live and work in a different country, start my own business, help others start new ventures and embrace the new. Some seemed harder than others, some seemed impossible a few years back.
Think Bigger.
The Plan
In the world of running, planning involves two things: a training plan and a race plan. You work the steps backwards from race day’s finish line all the way back to where you are today.
The training plan is about building up endurance and strength, usually in 4 week blocks: base building, strength and hill training, peak week (maximum mileage), taper week (rest, recovery), and so on.
The race plan is mostly a mental preparation to firm up what’s known and in your control, to better handle the unknowns of the race: it’s a time table with checkpoints, elevation, distances, estimated times, cut off times, drop off bag location; and also your mandatory kit (minimum amount of food, water, medical kit, jacket, extra battery, compass,…)… funny enough all of these will do very little when you encounter a unexpected damped muddy terrain, cold, snow, very narrow technical paths you can’t run on or if you fall down.
(Note: I have never ever been to stick to my planned timings!)
But it’s reassuring to have a baseline to compare against somehow: beyond the physical training, preparing the mind is crucial. The training will create a familiar terrain of sensations, emotions and pain that are important for the race itself so you get to know your body’s response and recovery process. Training sessions give you many opportunities to learn about your response to such stress.
With focus and training, the mind and body can work together and achieve the impossible. And all it takes is to think a bit bigger, and one more step (in the right direction).
When I wanted to change my career from software delivery to move away from “just tech”, I decided the best way to get there was to build up my business acumen. So I looked through my options (for years!) and finally decided to go for an Executive MBA. I pondered on which one was best to accommodate my work schedule (practicality), budget (affordability) and was best aligned to my goal (curriculum, reputation, network).
I thought of the EMBA as the tool to help me change my career; one of the big step to get there. I also worked with a career coach, re-wrote my resume, my social profile, and so on. That was all part of the “plan”.
Then interestingly as I was completing my EMBA, instead of moving to strategy consulting as planned, I got an opportunity to join a mobile payment startup as a CTO.
Somehow, having defined a goal and ignited change in my career, it had created a new chain of events, opened my mind to new possibilities and turned an eventuality into an opportunity. Just like running a 5 km race once, started a whole chain of events that led me to run a 100 km.
Sometimes initiating change does not lead you where you thought you’d be, but it can create new opportunities you would have not seen otherwise.
Joining a startup was financially risky (and it proved to be a poor choice from a financial perspective!) but an amazing, transformative professional and personal experience.
And it all started with a goal, and a plan. And thinking a bit bigger.
Success
For many, winning in sport is the only way to define success. You are either on the podium, or you are not.
What I like about ultra-trail running is, every finisher is a winner, in some ways. It’s such a gruelling experience, it takes so much out of you to go through it and pass the finish line.
You can see it on the face of each of the runners at the Ultra Trail MontBlanc (UTMB) when they arrive after anywhere between 20+ and 46+ hours of non stop effort. The relief in their eyes, their tears, their body shivering or collapsing. They have given it all. There is something incredibility grand and inspiring about it. Like the ultimate victory of the mind over the body.
Most will think of this defining instant as “success”. But that’s not it. It would be like saying that only the last step actually mattered; when a 100 km race requires about 130,000 steps; and before that more than 1,200 km of practice runs over many months, and before that many years of training.
Success is not about crossing the finishing line, success is made of all the steps that lead you to it.
Success is not finite. Success is a process: as a series of steps you took to achieve your goal. Until you can set the new one.
Think bigger.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn” - John C. Maxwell
Nokia was building the coolest phones on the market until it wasn’t anymore. Tom Tom was the best GPS device until it was not. IBM was building the best computers until it was not. Sony was building the best music players until it was not.
Does it make them less successful to think they were at the top and suddenly their brilliance eroded? Staying at the top is a constant, relentless, fight for survival. And no one is immune to falling from grace.
My career changes have brought me into unexpected territories. Like when you climb a mountain and think the top of near, just to realize there is another summit behind it, further and higher.
You need to keep thinking bigger.
One More Step
When I run a 100 km, even after a few years of practice, I never start the race thinking I am going to run 100 km. I think I am only doing a 10 km run ten times. I only focus on the next checkpoint. I break down the race in these 10 km chunks so it makes it easier to achieve.
Once I reach a checkpoint, I have a drink, some food; it suddenly feels possible to go to the next one. And then the next. And at the end when I am totally exhausted I only think about “one more step”. Just one more. And another one. Until the end is in reach.
It sounds like I am playing tricks with myself; but it really works. Because surprisingly there is always a tiny bit of energy in me, that allows to go one more step. One more kilometre. One more checkpoint.
This form of resilience isn’t built in one day: the hours of training and practice (the plan) help to build it over time. It has proven to be incredibly useful in life and at work.
It keeps me focused on what matters. It helps handle the downs, the pain and frustrations that necessarily go with starting a business or trying something new.
All you need is to Think Bigger. And One More Step.
What’s next you might ask? Well, what’s beyond 100 km?
How about you? What does bigger looks like to you? What’s your next step?
Damien Kopp
PS: Please add damien@koncentrik.co to your contacts to receive my emails so they don’t go into your spam folder!