Truly, there are few people in the world who we could learn less from than these two turnips, promoting a recruitment business by running across a desert - just leaving time for answering all the big questions while inventing a couple of sayings - comedy gold.
"The brothers claim they aren't runners but 'thinkers'."
What could you learn from a week in the desert?
13 May 2008 6:45am - http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/
If you're having trouble motivating yourself to make that next call, consider what it takes to run six marathons in a week. Fresh from completing an ultra-marathon in the Sahara, recruiters David and Mark Simon explain how planning, preparation and reflection are crucial aspects of any project. The brothers ran this year's Marathon des Sables, in April, across the Sahara. The temperature was 47 degrees every day, dropping to as low as four degrees at night, while the conditions ranged from rocky terrain and cracked salt flats to steep passes that needed ropes to climb and knee-deep sand on the tall dunes. Some 800 runners - 50 of whom couldn't finish - carried 15-kilogram packs containing their clothing, snakebite kits and food for the week and they drank up to 12 litres of water each day.
For Mark, the second day was the hardest, when he was suffering from Achilles tendonitis and his big toes were blistered, swollen and bleeding. At the time, he says, he doubted could finish the race, let alone achieve one of the top 200 places as was his aim (he ended up 147th). "I finished the day and Dave was waiting for me... I actually had tears streaming down my cheeks out of frustration, and I can't remember crying since I was a kid." The following day, he ran with the tops cut out of his shoes so his toes could move freely. "The next day we just got into it. I decided to run the thing as hard as I could. I caught up to Dave and we actually ran together. From then I got stronger, but that was a dark day for me." For David, the final 17.5-kilometre stage of the race was the toughest and he ran his slowest time (but still finished 107th). "I was spent. I just had put so much into the race, mentally I was exhausted more than physically; I just couldn't push my body. In theory most people are really stomping on the last day. We'd definitely planned to finish together... but I couldn't stay with him. I was getting frustrated and I was thinking 'blow it, I'll just tap along'. My brain was saying 'just walk' but I didn't want to take hours, because I was in a good position, and I didn't want to let Mark down. I got my worst position that day and I felt that I'd really held Mark back to do a good finish. "Coming across the line we sort of put our arms in the air but there was no elation, I was just exhausted. I thought I'd be happy but I actually said to Mark, 'I think I've left a piece of myself out in the desert'."
Plan, implement, debriefThe brothers' 'Project Sahara' taught them some "universal lessons" that they intend to apply in their new recruitment business, TT1 People. "We've seen [through the project] that hard work, discipline, planning and structure can get a result," says David, who has recruited on and off for the past nine years, most recently as the managing director of executive search firm Godfrey Group. "We have a weekly PID (plan, implement, debrief) meeting. [It's] discipline and we believe in having a rhythm to that. "Planning can be short but you've got to do it. Implement - well there's no use planning if you're not going to do what you say you're going to do. But the bit that we believe is totally lacking in people's everyday work is they don't reflect. So our 'plan implement debrief' is sort of military speak for 'reflect on what you do, and capture the lessons and apply them immediately'. "What's the definition of stupidity?" he asks. "If you learn something new and don't apply it." Mark, who is new to the recruitment industry but has previously owned and sold landscaping and personal training businesses, adds that even when you work side-by-side with your team "it's good to share what you're doing and help each other".
MotivationThe brothers claim they aren't runners but 'thinkers'. Their 'Project Sahara' wasn't just about the marathon - "it was about a cause, a book trilogy, and then the race," David says. The cause is Room to Read - a charity that aims to improve education and literacy among children in developing companies. Mark and David raised close to $4000 in sponsorship during the race, which is almost enough to build a library room in Cambodia. (Their new venture will also donate a portion of its revenue to the cause.) "[Literacy] has given us so much," David says. "We have a credos that the person that you want to be is a direct result of the people you associate with and the books you read. It's given us so much to read, [but] ... there's some significant part of the population that don't even have access to books. "Here we are, the race is done, box ticked, but we've still got books to write to share a story with people... that we hope is universal." The book trilogy (the first book, about the brothers' experiences in the lead-up to the race, is available now while the third isn't expected for a few years) aims to get people thinking about their own Project Sahara. "We chased the horizon every day and got there - a lot of people are chasing the horizon their entire life, so it's a book about coming up with an idea and doing it. Don't spend a lifetime thinking about it, get to the next stage," David says.
Know your valuesHaving clarity around your values aids decision making, David says. "We have a saying: 'know your values and business decisions - all decisions - become a lot easier'. "A lot of people in the recruitment industry sacrifice their values to make a dollar," he adds. "We know what our business does, we know what we do well, we know what we can deliver to our clients and what we can't deliver, so therefore it's the ability to say 'no', or 'we can't help you with that so we'll refer you to someone that can', rather than taking on anything and everything. "From a pure business perspective it means you need to have thought your company out. Know when to say no. Know what your values are and don't sacrifice them."
Nothing beats hard workThere are no shortcuts to achieving your goals, David says. "Whether you're running across the desert or you're building a new business or a desk or learning a new profession, if you can't roll your sleeves up, then forget it. Really, don't bother. Go and do something where you earn a salary."
Surround yourself with thinkers"We're big believers in 'if you've got an idea, put it on the table'," Mark says. "Surround yourself with people that can think solutions, rather than problems. Everyone's so quick to say 'that doesn't work, that's no good', but there's a minority of people that go one step further and try and think of a solution. It's so easy to critique. So surround yourself with solution thinkers, or thinkers, full stop."
Invest in yourselfThe brothers' ethos is 'learn, think, evolve', Mark says. "It is a constant process." David says success comes from "hard work, discipline and continual self education". "If you think you know everything, you're dead in the water. And don't wait for someone else to invest in [your education]. Invest in it yourself."
"The brothers claim they aren't runners but 'thinkers'."
What could you learn from a week in the desert?
13 May 2008 6:45am - http://www.recruiterdaily.com.au/
If you're having trouble motivating yourself to make that next call, consider what it takes to run six marathons in a week. Fresh from completing an ultra-marathon in the Sahara, recruiters David and Mark Simon explain how planning, preparation and reflection are crucial aspects of any project. The brothers ran this year's Marathon des Sables, in April, across the Sahara. The temperature was 47 degrees every day, dropping to as low as four degrees at night, while the conditions ranged from rocky terrain and cracked salt flats to steep passes that needed ropes to climb and knee-deep sand on the tall dunes. Some 800 runners - 50 of whom couldn't finish - carried 15-kilogram packs containing their clothing, snakebite kits and food for the week and they drank up to 12 litres of water each day.
For Mark, the second day was the hardest, when he was suffering from Achilles tendonitis and his big toes were blistered, swollen and bleeding. At the time, he says, he doubted could finish the race, let alone achieve one of the top 200 places as was his aim (he ended up 147th). "I finished the day and Dave was waiting for me... I actually had tears streaming down my cheeks out of frustration, and I can't remember crying since I was a kid." The following day, he ran with the tops cut out of his shoes so his toes could move freely. "The next day we just got into it. I decided to run the thing as hard as I could. I caught up to Dave and we actually ran together. From then I got stronger, but that was a dark day for me." For David, the final 17.5-kilometre stage of the race was the toughest and he ran his slowest time (but still finished 107th). "I was spent. I just had put so much into the race, mentally I was exhausted more than physically; I just couldn't push my body. In theory most people are really stomping on the last day. We'd definitely planned to finish together... but I couldn't stay with him. I was getting frustrated and I was thinking 'blow it, I'll just tap along'. My brain was saying 'just walk' but I didn't want to take hours, because I was in a good position, and I didn't want to let Mark down. I got my worst position that day and I felt that I'd really held Mark back to do a good finish. "Coming across the line we sort of put our arms in the air but there was no elation, I was just exhausted. I thought I'd be happy but I actually said to Mark, 'I think I've left a piece of myself out in the desert'."
Plan, implement, debriefThe brothers' 'Project Sahara' taught them some "universal lessons" that they intend to apply in their new recruitment business, TT1 People. "We've seen [through the project] that hard work, discipline, planning and structure can get a result," says David, who has recruited on and off for the past nine years, most recently as the managing director of executive search firm Godfrey Group. "We have a weekly PID (plan, implement, debrief) meeting. [It's] discipline and we believe in having a rhythm to that. "Planning can be short but you've got to do it. Implement - well there's no use planning if you're not going to do what you say you're going to do. But the bit that we believe is totally lacking in people's everyday work is they don't reflect. So our 'plan implement debrief' is sort of military speak for 'reflect on what you do, and capture the lessons and apply them immediately'. "What's the definition of stupidity?" he asks. "If you learn something new and don't apply it." Mark, who is new to the recruitment industry but has previously owned and sold landscaping and personal training businesses, adds that even when you work side-by-side with your team "it's good to share what you're doing and help each other".
MotivationThe brothers claim they aren't runners but 'thinkers'. Their 'Project Sahara' wasn't just about the marathon - "it was about a cause, a book trilogy, and then the race," David says. The cause is Room to Read - a charity that aims to improve education and literacy among children in developing companies. Mark and David raised close to $4000 in sponsorship during the race, which is almost enough to build a library room in Cambodia. (Their new venture will also donate a portion of its revenue to the cause.) "[Literacy] has given us so much," David says. "We have a credos that the person that you want to be is a direct result of the people you associate with and the books you read. It's given us so much to read, [but] ... there's some significant part of the population that don't even have access to books. "Here we are, the race is done, box ticked, but we've still got books to write to share a story with people... that we hope is universal." The book trilogy (the first book, about the brothers' experiences in the lead-up to the race, is available now while the third isn't expected for a few years) aims to get people thinking about their own Project Sahara. "We chased the horizon every day and got there - a lot of people are chasing the horizon their entire life, so it's a book about coming up with an idea and doing it. Don't spend a lifetime thinking about it, get to the next stage," David says.
Know your valuesHaving clarity around your values aids decision making, David says. "We have a saying: 'know your values and business decisions - all decisions - become a lot easier'. "A lot of people in the recruitment industry sacrifice their values to make a dollar," he adds. "We know what our business does, we know what we do well, we know what we can deliver to our clients and what we can't deliver, so therefore it's the ability to say 'no', or 'we can't help you with that so we'll refer you to someone that can', rather than taking on anything and everything. "From a pure business perspective it means you need to have thought your company out. Know when to say no. Know what your values are and don't sacrifice them."
Nothing beats hard workThere are no shortcuts to achieving your goals, David says. "Whether you're running across the desert or you're building a new business or a desk or learning a new profession, if you can't roll your sleeves up, then forget it. Really, don't bother. Go and do something where you earn a salary."
Surround yourself with thinkers"We're big believers in 'if you've got an idea, put it on the table'," Mark says. "Surround yourself with people that can think solutions, rather than problems. Everyone's so quick to say 'that doesn't work, that's no good', but there's a minority of people that go one step further and try and think of a solution. It's so easy to critique. So surround yourself with solution thinkers, or thinkers, full stop."
Invest in yourselfThe brothers' ethos is 'learn, think, evolve', Mark says. "It is a constant process." David says success comes from "hard work, discipline and continual self education". "If you think you know everything, you're dead in the water. And don't wait for someone else to invest in [your education]. Invest in it yourself."
No comments:
Post a Comment