What Lake Michigan has taught me about preparation, leadership, risk and winning
There is something about taking the helm of a sailboat in rough water that strips life—and business—down to the fundamentals.
The wind doesn’t care about your résumé. The waves don’t care how successful you were yesterday. And a storm certainly doesn’t care about excuses. You prepare. You execute. You adapt. Or you pay the price.
After decades in business and years racing sailboats across Lake Michigan, I’ve discovered that the lessons from one translate remarkably well to the other.
Boat racing demands attention to detail. A line improperly secured, a sail incorrectly rigged, a weather change overlooked, or a decision made thirty seconds too late can change an entire race. In extreme conditions, your life can depend upon getting the little things right.
Business works much the same way. It usually isn’t the giant, obvious problem that catches you. It’s the small detail nobody bothered to check.
Your boat is your business. Your course is your plan. Your crew is your team. And the finish line is your goal.
Before leaving the harbor, a good sailor prepares. He checks the boat, studies the weather, understands the course and considers what could go wrong before it happens. A good businessman should do exactly the same thing.
A seasoned sailor doesn’t simply stare at his instruments. He watches the clouds, studies the water, feels changes in the wind and looks miles ahead. What is happening over there may soon be happening right here.
That’s business.
Markets change. Customers change. Technology changes. Financing changes. Competition changes. Successful businesspeople learn to recognize those shifts before everyone else does. Sometimes success is simply finding wind where everybody else sees dead water.
Then there is the crew.
You can own a magnificent boat and still lose every race with the wrong people aboard. Surround yourself with people who make you better. Bring experience, youth, energy and different perspectives. Find people willing to challenge your thinking rather than simply agree with it.
Never be intimidated by having somebody on your boat who knows something you don’t. That is precisely the person you want aboard when the storm arrives.
And eventually, it will.
Business has storms too: bad markets, lost customers, staffing problems, financing challenges, shipping delays, new competitors and technology that can change an industry almost overnight.
You don’t abandon the race every time the wind changes. You adjust the sails. You change your heading. You communicate with your crew. And you keep moving toward the finish line.
Everyone loves crossing that finish line, but races aren’t usually won there. They are won hours, days and sometimes months earlier through preparation.
The same is true in business.
Success comes from doing the hard things when nobody is watching—the preparation, education, phone calls, planning and attention to detail that others aren’t willing to do. That is where races are won, businesses are built and reputations are earned.
After enough years on the water and in business, you learn one more lesson: Day One will never look exactly like Day Two. Conditions change. People change. Markets change. You must be willing to change with them without losing sight of where you’re going.
So build your boat carefully. Choose your crew wisely. Study the conditions. Prepare for the storm. Find the wind. And when everybody else starts looking for the harbor, keep sailing toward the finish line.
It’s your chapter to write. It’s your boat to sail. And it’s your business to propel forward—to create opportunity, independence and success for you and your family.
Those are lessons learned from a seasoned sailor and a seasoned businessman.
