I hope you are doing well. I am spending some quality time with my family in Alaska. After our Covid-19 PCR tests results were confirmed negative, we headed out for our Alaskan adventure. Yesterday we went dog sledding at the Seavey family homestead. They are a third generation mushing family who have placed several times in the Iditarod. It is a dog sled race spanning about 1,000 miles over 8 – 15 days, held in Spring each year from Anchorage to Nome, with one musher and a team of 14 dogs. The musher is known to get only 15 hours of sleep over the number of days as he/she strategizes to cross the finish line with 14 dogs (at least 5 must be in tow to stay in the race) first.
When I arrived I was expecting to see huge huskies. Instead the dogs were rather thin and small (and burn about 10,000 calories a day). I learned that the large huskies can’t run as fast for long. When I asked, “How are the 14 race dogs chosen?” I was shocked to hear that the strongest and those with the best temperament were not chosen to race. Instead, they explained, “We choose the dogs who will continue running and go the extra distance. We choose the ones with the most grit. They have to be trained to pace themselves and when they deal with -40 degree weather, they have to keep going.” They seemed to be extremely happy dogs and well cared for. Their love for the game keeps them running.
This made me reflect on our day-to-day business and how we have been able to maintain focus as a company for over 70 years. We know how far we have traveled, but with today’s greater challenges, I question, ‘are we in the race for the long haul? Do we have the grit to keep going, no matter what the conditions are? Do we keep pushing forward after the short term wins?’
Every single day we are faced with the opportunity to remind ourselves of the answers to those questions. How do we face each day, every project and all of the set-backs as strongly as possible, and also keep the pace to continue on after? We have been through our share of challenges this year, but do we have the grit to keep going? As employee owners, we not only create our race, we create our reward. We indeed have what it takes!
May you all stay safe, keep your eye on the rewards and find your inner grit.