[Courtesy of NTT Indy Cars]
Every so often
there are events that as they play out can influence outcomes apart from what
is actually taking place. For Margo and me there were times when we enjoyed the
occasional track day that gave us an opportunity to take our cars onto real
race tracks to simply have fun driving fast in a safe environment. Everyone
heads in the same direction, right? What could possibly go wrong? However,
these days we no longer enjoy that pleasurable pastime, but rather have been
relegated to spectators.
Following any
sporting team, or, for that matter individuals provides insights into what is
achieved. There is a definite correlation between the learning phase and just
how well a performance plays out. Certainly, in some sports, there is many
inputs that can influence outcomes, but ultimately it comes down to individuals,
particularly those in a leadership role, just “do your job,” as NFL coach Bill
Belichick believes is what wins games for the New England Patriots.
It was in March
2022 that I posted about how Everything
I know about marketing I learnt from watching football. I have often
been told to write stories based on what I know, observe, participate in –
otherwise known as writing about what I love.
Many of us have been likewise so advised and when it comes to HPE and
the NonStop product suite, it takes very little encouragement for me to take on
a topic that is of interest to me.
However, coming
almost a year after my post on what I learnt about marketing (from watching NFL
football) it is time to tackle a topic even closer to my heart. Not that this
is an indication that in the depths of winter I will continue to pursue the
topic of what I have learnt, but rather what I continue to learn in general.
This time, as a sole proprietor – together with Margo, naturally – sustaining a
thriving business is a topic about which I have learnt much.
When it comes to
watching the development of an Indy Car driver, over the passage of time there
are several key milestones to be met. First up there is the learning the trade
by which aspiring young drivers have to dedicate considerable time honing their
skills, first in karting and then in junior open wheel race cars. Margo and I
have had the good fortune to be good friends of the extended Herta family and
with that we have watched grandson, Colton Herta, come through the ranks.
Imagine the
surprise of Colton’s parents when barely a teenager he provided a proposal for
a two year apprenticeship racing open wheel cars in Europe. This would involve
the youngster finding accommodation, feeding himself and in general become
reliant on few others apart from himself. Fortunately a family steeped in
facing took to the youngster and it all turned out for the best.
When you look to
start a business the most important aspect is to actually start. Having spent
decades in the NonStop community, participating in lively discussions about
what it would be like to start a business, there comes a time for the talking
to stop and the actual doing to begin. Sounds all rather simple but this comes
with the knowledge that you will go through a heavy learning phase.
Technical knowledge
by itself isn’t going to cut it; the NonStop community is alive with technical
experts on all fronts, be that the OS, the database, security and more. Developing
and then documenting a plan that stands a chance of working and then following through
by putting yourself out there isn’t for everyone.
Young Colton
left home for two years in order to challenge himself on European race tracks
he wanted to learn – and yes, winning races against formidable opponents,
including current F1 driver Lando Norris. But he didn’t just talk about it with
Mom and Dad, he executed and began winning. In business not only do you have to
start, but you have to pick a business opportunity where you not only can learn
but win the occasional “deal.”
Margo and I have
watched Colton race from the time before he became a teenager and in that time
we have watched a rate of maturity that was impressive to say the least. But it
was while in Europe and became visible as he rose through the driver ranks back
in the US, this new level of maturity materialized itself in the way he rose
from just being a team player to where he became a team leader.
Yes, he did his
job and this was recognized at an early age. Margo and I were at Sonoma in 2018
for the last Indy Car race of that year when Colton stepped into an Indy Car
for the first time. The day didn’t go particularly well but then three races
into the 2019 season, Colton at the tender age of 18, won his first Indy Race.
It would be
farcical of me to talk about my own youthful exuberance as I can barely recall
any of my antics at the tender age of 18. But then again, like so many in the
NonStop community, the 1970s served as my time as a computer cadet - an
apprentice, no matter how you name it. My formative years of learning to where
I graduated as, more mature relatively speaking, an IT professional, paved the
way for decades spent solely in IT.
Watching Colton
study a table, looking for further insights into improving his performance,
turning to engineering staff to hear what they have to say and yes, having to
relearn his car with every spec change and tire upgrade, made me realize that
the apprenticeship never truly ends. If energy increases at the square of
speed, then so does the need to learn. Where writing becomes your passport to
income then it demands hitting the books even harder.
As the 1970s
passed into the 1980s, it was the time of active M&A activities and I
managed to participate in more than one. Were they distraction? For the most
part there were unplanned career changes and, after a fashion, like many of my
colleagues so provoked, I began looking over my shoulder more frequently.
From his
learning through maturity to becoming a team leader and winning races, Colton
too wasn’t immune to M&A activities and they did prove a distraction as
much as he told reporters that he was solely focused on the task at hand. How
could he not be distracted when others were waving the prospect of a drive in
F1? And the results of his 2022 campaign showed that racing at the highest
level in Indy didn’t cater all that well to the distracted driver. Still, the
rumors persisted and together his team and his major sponsor are having yet one
more tilt at F1. The nay-sayers may ask, what is all the fuss about? Is Colton
worthy? Let’s just saw how this all plays out!
What I have
learnt from watching Colton is no matter the skillset you have acquired, it can
all count for naught in the blink of an eye. That database management system
you spent years to master is no longer a requirement and that security model
you embraced has become blasé. The road to self employment may not be for
everyone but as I watched Colton power forward it reminded me that what others
are doing should never distract you from what you deliver – services or goods.
For the NonStop
community M&A and the rumors of M&A are ever present and in the 2000s,
they proved to be distracting in the extreme. Margo and I stopped talking about
joining the gig economy in 2009 and stepped up to create Pyalla Technologies,
LLC. But it was only a couple of years later when our business struggled as key
clients looked at M&A actions even as others went through total management
changes.
For the NonStop
community the big surprise isn’t so much of how the community has now turned a
corner, returned to in-person events, worked through aspects of hybrid IT and
the true value of engaging with cloud service providers, mostly in part rather
than in whole, but rather that we have a community at all! It’s a testament to
the continued enthusiasm for and championing all things of NonStop that
highlights how well we have left the distractions of the past behind us.
When it comes to
reaping the rewards, barely 22 years old, Colton signed a new long term
contract with Andretti and sponsor Gainbridge that makes him the highest paid
Indy Driver. That period of focused learning, becoming mature, demonstrating
leadership and putting distractions to one side, has paid off in a way many of
us simply didn’t expect. But looking back at performances through the years, it
wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Colton’s
achievements in this regard no longer parallel that of my own and perhaps this
is where learning and achievements diverge. And yet, I am reminded that with
the uptick in participation in the gig economy brought on by the global
pandemic, life has become a lot more predictable when you elect to be in
business on your own. The apprenticeship may be winding down and the fear from
M&A long gone but the rewards are clearly worth pursuing despite all the
nay-sayers you may encounter.
I have learnt so
much from watching Indy Cars. The lifecycle of a business launched as
essentially a gig mirrors much of what happens in the sporting world. Yes, I
did, I taught, and now I write. I cannot draw any comparisons to the rewards on
offer to those of individual sports’ folks but the gig economy brings with it
its own rewards. Time, travel, friendships – they are all on offer.
When it comes to
those in the NonStop community who find themselves challenged over prospects
for the coming year, or two, there’s no time like the present to have those
conversations. Consider all that has been learnt and what you can give back.
Working with the NonStop community is both the challenge and the reward and in
all seriousness, isn’t this what it is all about? Enjoying the time spent with
likeminded colleagues as you show up and just do your job?
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