Having Fun, Part I
Dr. David Spindler is a neuroscientist who has dedicated his practice to unraveling the complicated interplay between mind and body at the highest levels of world-class sports. He specializes in working with elite athletes to help them compete better. After all, when you’re competing at that level of play, there’s usually a lot of prize and sponsorship money involved, and the difference between finishing “in the money” and out of it is usually very small.
With athletes the early selection process usually involves specific physical characteristics that will help them compete and win in their chosen sport. Those with the required physical traits usually advance to higher levels of competition. Those who don’t possess them are either required to work harder at the sport or find themselves competing at a different level.
While I am not a scientist in any form or fashion, I have observed a similar correlation between business owners and their success. Running a small business is comparable to being a top athlete in many ways. Both are selective in who can become elite, and both require relentless practice and years of dedication to their respective crafts.
At the same time, there are noticeable differences between the two.
The competitive “event” in sports is usually of a much shorter duration than business, typically measured in hours, minutes, and even fractions of seconds on occasion.
In business, the competitive “event” is measured at least in years and frequently in decades. There is also no off-season or even a halftime where you can catch a breather. Once a business is launched, the game is on, and it continues until the owner or their creditors or customers decide it’s over—sometimes victoriously, sometimes not.
Through his work with elite athletes Dr. Spindler discovered an interesting concept that caught my attention: “Fun extends the time to exhaustion.” In other words, when an athlete is enjoying their sport, they’re more likely to work longer and harder toward their goal. They’re also less likely to feel exhausted at the end of a strenuous workout than an athlete who has lost their spark and is no longer enjoying what they’re doing.
Business owners can feel the same way now and then, especially when experiencing tough times or when the business grows and running it becomes more complex. This is when you’ll hear them say things like, “I’m burned out,” or “I’m feeling lost,” or simply, “This isn’t fun anymore.”
Just as Dr. Spindler suggests with athletes, there are usually no magic answers for a business owner to use to address their loss of fun. But also, just as with athletes, there are strategies an owner can employ to tackle the situation and get some fun back into running their company.
In Part II of this series I’ll highlight one such strategy used by Dr. Spindler as well as a couple I’ve utilized with business owners over the years.
