Want to Win in Business? Start Thinking Like a Race Car Driver

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Living a full life outside of our careers gives us many opportunities to continue growing. Outside interests beyond family and friends can expand our horizons and ideas of what’s possible. According to the author for him, that’s studying the art of car racing.  According to him, he appreciates how drivers are prepared from every angle, like prepping the car, assessing the competition and determining where and when to take risks. And I’ve found that the strategies deployed on the track translate well to running a successful business.  Race car drivers and entrepreneurs all want to move fast and win. Beating your business competition and other cars on the racetrack both require accelerating at the perfect time.

Putting the right foundation in place

Pit Crew: Few things define teamwork as well as a pit crew. From the tactical direction of the crew chief to the strength of the tire changer and jack man, to the communication skills of the spotter, pit crews work seamlessly at remarkable speeds to prepare their car for the next lap and eventually the finish line. Your job is to be an agile crew chief.  This could mean empowering mid-level managers to make operational calls, much like a pit crew places trust in their jackman. Or giving your marketing team the ability to practice flexible spending so they can quickly capitalize on new opportunities. It’s also your job to set the tone, communicate objectives clearly and ensure everyone is aligned when it comes to roles, tactics, timelines and outcomes.

Tire Pressure: Tires are a foundational element of a car, much like a strategic plan is the foundation of a viable business. Tire pressure allows drivers to optimize their handling and achieve faster lap times — it’s all about the contact patch between the tires and the road.  If you don’t have the tire pressure right, you risk losing control during turns. Likewise, a strategic business plan gives you the ability to create alignment and achieve faster results without losing control when the unexpected happens. It gives you control and speed, and a clear view of what’s working and what’s not.

Competitive Intel: Successfully competing means knowing who or what you are up against. Each of your competitors has some advantage. Like race car teams, you need to know the track record of your competitors — where they have succeeded and faltered, the strengths and weaknesses of team members, the amount of fuel/capital they have — and use that intel to your advantage. Get educated. Tools like Crayon share real-time insights gleaned from your competitors’ digital footprints, while social listening platforms like Sprout Social offer competitor reports and performance tracking across social networks.

Driving growth

Fuel Level: Think of motor fuel as your sales and marketing expenditures. You need to know how much fuel you have left in the tank. Do you front-load your pitstops (and sales/marketing expenditures) to start out strong and then conserve for the rest of the race? Or do you make more pit stops toward the end of the race (and end of the year), so you have enough fuel to get across the finish line?  A SaaS company might invest heavily in Q1 ad spend to acquire annual subscribers early. There’s no right answer here, as it depends on your revenue model and resources. But knowing what works best for your venture is critical for a successful year-end.

Pacing: Perhaps one of the most important elements of car racing and running a business is determining your pace. As a track has different sections that require different speeds, so does the growth trajectory of your business. In racing, drivers often start at a moderate pace to preserve fuel and tire life on long races to avoid unnecessary wear and tear in those initial laps.  Running a business is a long race, so you need to balance moderate pacing with those “push to pass” moments, when you strategically fuel a burst of acceleration to overtake your competitors. This could mean launching a feature during a competitor’s PR crisis or offering limited-time pricing in a peak demand season. Other pacing factors can include funding levels, product/market fit, cost of customer acquisition, market timing, scalability and more. This is where you lean on your business strategy as a guide in determining your business’s optimal pacing.

Crossing the finish line.  When you’re racing a car, crossing the finish line is the end of the race. In running a business, it means achieving sustainable, profitable growth. That feat takes all of the above strategies, combined with your leadership skills in risk management, adaptability and innovation. And most importantly, vision and conviction.  As racer Dale Earnhardt once said, “The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car. It’s the one who refuses to lose.”

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