Racing to the Top? Try the Triathlon
Back in 2001, BD's Mongolian Barbecue cofounder Matthew Kirby, 48, who was both older and fitter than anyone else at the Ferndale, Mich., restaurant chain's headquarters, registered his business partner Billy Downs, 40, and two senior-level managers for a short-distance triathlon. "None of us were in good shape," remembers David Plancon, 36, director of purchasing. "He was egging us on, and I think he thought we'd back out." No one wanted to be the one who did, of course. "We each found a way to get through it," Plancon says. "And as soon as I finished, I immediately began thinking about how I could do it better.'"
Plancon and Downs started training together, with Downs competing in his first Ironman in 2005 and now gunning for Kona. But Downs is clearly irked by the fact that after five years, Kirby still clocks better times than he does. "He's a past marathoner and a strong swimmer, but I can beat him on the bike," Downs notes. "And I'm the only one who's done an Ironman." Not for long, perhaps. Plancon is training to do one.
This potent mix of camaraderie and competition is a reflection of BD's company culture. "We're an aggressive young company," says Plancon. "If you tell me I can't produce a certain result, somehow I'll find a way to do it. I'm goal oriented, and I like to hire people who are motivated and goal oriented, too."
Once the CEO does a triathlon, his subordinates can expect to hear all about the best training regimens and diets and the latest equipment. Downs encourages his managers to set audacious "Ironman" goals for themselves. Dave Moore, 53, CEO of 24/7 Real Media, an online advertising company, sees the challenge of completing a triathlon as analogous to the travails he suffered during the dot-com meltdown. "We were bleeding money, and every day was a bad day," he explains. "The triathlon training was an outlet for my stress. Your first triathlon feels like an insurmountable obstacle, and in business I was facing things that seemed equally insurmountable."
Succeeding at the triathlon gave him hope he could get through the downturn. He began using the analogy in pep talks to his staff. "It resonated," says Ali Mirian, 34, a product manager at 24/7--and in more ways than one.
The company gradually turned itself around, and employees began asking Moore for advice on how to train for a race. Mirian and Moore have run the New York Triathlon together every year since 2003. Sherri Valenti, 38, vice president of marketing, ran her first triathlon in 2004 and might soon join Moore and Mirian in New York. "It does become an inner circle that people want to be a part of," Mirian says.
Pressure cooker. Luis Valdes, executive consultant at Corporate Psychology Resources in Atlanta, has studied the common link between top athletes and executives. "If it's an overt part of the culture and done well, it can be motivating and create cohesion and camaraderie," he says. "But if there's a lot of implied pressure to show that you can hang with the rest of the crowd, then you get people competing who don't want to, and it can actually disrupt performance. Most of the time it isn't done well."
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