Overcoming Disappointment and Racing to Victory

 

A couple of weeks ago I entered my first elite road cyclist stage race. I had only officially competed at this level once in the past (Pigeon Lake Road Race, 2009) and this was my first stage race. Despite feeling fairly fit going into the race, I was dreading the time trial (TT); also known as the race of truth. I am not a power rider and where I’ve had success in racing in the past are in criteriums (crits) and road races where strategy and endurance are more important than sheer power.

As with the days leading up to the race, the morning of the time trial was again extremely windy. Many riders were simply concerned with not crashing while in the aero position. I knew I would not fare well, but set a realistic goal of not wanting to finish last and put in a solid effort. I finished second last. I was disappointed, but not devastated. However, my motivation was certainly impacted – not only did I not feel like continuing with the final two events of the stage race, but I had doubts on continuing on with any racing at all this season.

I am not one to easily quit or give up. On the drive home I decided to race the crit that evening. Prior to the event, I decided I need a motivational quote. I came across one from Henry Ward Beecher that said “men’s best successes come after their disappointments”. I raced well to a satisfying 13th place in the crit, thankful that I did not quit. I had a positive attitude going into Sunday’s 136 km road race.

The road race started into the wind which would eventually gust up to 80 km/hr and the pace was fast. Attacks started within the first 5 km and guys were popping off the back, which is where I found myself. The back of the peloton is rarely a good place to be during a race; and in windy conditions, it is a terrible place to be. Recognizing my poor position, I fought for better position. Soon after moving to the top third of the peloton, an attack was launched by a Pedalhead rider. I responded and we had a two man break. Soon thereafter, we were joined by a young Bow Cycle rider. Three guys in windy conditions gave the peloton little to worry about and as a result they were happy to let our trio suffer in the wind. The race car would from time to time come up beside us to give time-gap updates: 1:00, 1:30, 2:10, etc. At one point we had a gap of 4:10. However, the gap of over 4:00 minutes would never have happened if we didn’t believe that even an 18 second margin is significant. Nick, the Pedalhead rider who was most experienced and riding strong was a big factor in getting us the gap. However, we still had over 80 km to the finish and with 60 km to go, we were down to two.

At many times, I thought about quitting, however, I also thought of my disappointment from the TT and knew I had a comparative advantage in endurance events, so was compelled to race on. With two laps to go and a gap of 2:30, we were bridged by two riders – a teammate of mine, Blaine Richter and the winner of the TT Kris Dahl from H&R Block. I was now confident that the five of us could maintain our advantage over the peloton which would now be speeding along to catch Kris. Nick had enough, and it was me in a new three man break with about 40 km to go. Despite working well together, our time margin had dwindled to less than 30 seconds. However, were nearly at the end – one more stretch of 3 km into the 70 km/hr winds. It would come down to a sprint. After being out in the wind for nearly 4.5 hours, I really wanted the win and unleashed everything I had to take the sprint. This was certainly one of my greatest athletic successes and it did come after a disappointment – glad I didn’t quit.

Sustainability for SME’s – why bother?

The Green Business and Sustainability waves have certainly started to break across the corporate world. From wanting to address risk to looking for opportunities, corporations are ramping up efforts to integrate sustainability into their businesses. Beyond grass roots green teams, positions dedicated to corporate social responsibility and sustainability are increasingly common at all levels of companies right to the C-suite, namely the CSO or Chief Sustainability Officer.

While corporations are advancing sustainability efforts such as measuring and reducing their carbon footprints to undertaking full blown sustainability assessments covering social, economic and environmental sustainability indicators, many small and medium sized enterprises are watching from the sidelines. It is likely they either cannot afford a dedicated position  or don’t see any value by integrating sustainability into their businesses.

I believe that the sustainability advantage is not only for leading corporations, but also leading SMEs. From short term cost savings by increasing energy and other operational efficiencies to increased revenue resulting from product or service innovation, sustainability can be a key differentiator in a competitive business environment.

One particular advantage gaining attention of progressive businesses is the strong correlation between sustainability and employee engagement. Employee engagement is important for retaining top talent and with another labour crunch likely in the cards, business leaders should be aware of the increasing expectation from the next generation of employees. They will be asking questions: what is the sustainability maturity level of my organization? What are my company’s carbon and ecological footprints? Do they have a sustainability strategy? What level of involvement will I have in contributing  to the triple bottom line? 

Has your business considered the sustainability imperative?

What makes you happy?

I am seeing more and more articles, commentaries and reports on the notion of what I’ll refer to as ‘happiness metrics’. It may be some time before developed countries replace GDP, the current measure of economic progress, with a more robust and inclusive measure. However, with the increased attention that measuring and understanding “happiness” is getting, such a metric metric may not be far off.

France’s president Nicholas Sarkozy has recommended that a greater emphasis be placed on happiness relative to GDP in the development of public policy; his critics maintain he is proposing the new emphasis due to the relative failure of his government’s policies in achieving a speedier economic recovery for France.

Closer to home, in 2007 Edmonton’s Mark Anielski published the book The Economics of Happiness which provides insights on how to enable the paradigm shift from crass consumer capitalism to more sustainable economies. I have just started reading this book and I find it fascinating.

Another report, released just last week by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards titled Does Money Matter? Determining the Happiness of Canadians has provided some key findings on Canadians and happiness:

• Perceived health status is an economically significant determinant of happiness
• High levels of stress level were associated with lower life satisfaction
• An individual’s sense of belonging to their local community is an important determinant of individual life satisfaction.  
• Although household income was statistically significant at the one per cent level, it carries less economic significance for happiness than the variables highlighted above.

How many people would disagree with the above findings? More importantly, how many people care?

I care because the current consumerism paradigm tends to associate happiness and success with the acquisition of large houses, several cars, and a wide array of consumables. This current paradigm has consequences, such as an array of negative societal impacts. However, my concern is from an environmental perspective. The current paradigm has been disastrous in many ways and is clearly not sustainable as evidenced by the number of species extinctions, the loss of biodiversity and of course climate change. A fundamental problem is that the goods and services provided by nature have not been properly valued, but that is another story.

With the extreme growth of the developing world and emerging economies, and the lifestyle expectations the newly formed middle classes in China and India will have based on their perceptions of happiness under the “consumerism” mindset, I am glad that more holistic discussions on “genuine wealth” are underway.

Cross Is Alive in Edmonton

I was pleasantly surprised to see close to 100 participants at the first Cyclo-cross Tuesday night race of the season last night.  It goes to show that Edmonton is not  as redneck as outsiders may perceive us to be – nice to see a little Euro action! Recreation and dare I say competitiveness in outdoor pursuits does not have to be  limited to softball, golf and fishing…What is Cyclo-Cross you ask? Cyclo-cross is a unique sport, combining elements of cross-country running, mountain biking, hurdles, and road cycling. Competitors make their way along steep paths, muddy tracks and artificial obstacles, and typically  have to dismount and carry their bikes at some point during each lap. Cyclo-cross races are run on 2.5 to 3.5 km circuits, which include clearings, pavement, grass and dirt paths. Riders do several laps of the circuit over a period of no more than an hour.

Cyclo-cross combines the technical aspects of mountain biking and the speed of road racing, but neither in excess, so it is a great sport for someone looking to get into cycling. It’s fun, mayhem, and thrills for riders and spectators alike, something like steeplechase with bikes.

Cyclo-cross has a huge following in Europe where it is not uncommon for crowds to exceed tens of thousands. Its popularity is growing tremendously in Canada and the United States, and Alberta has sent many riders to National and World Championships.

FYI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rVrSjTLo9o&feature=related

Good work Edmonton!

Carbon Farmer – are your credits certified?

I saw an article in the journal last week during the Fringe Festival that I found quite interesting. It was about Alberta’s very own Carbon Farmer selling ‘Carbon Plus Credits’ at the Fringe Festival.

My curiosity led me to the Carbon Farmer website, which by the way, I thought was very well done. However, as I do have some experience in climate change and carbon markets, two questions immediately came to mind. First, how much do the credits cost and second, are the credits certified?

Upon a quick investigation of the Carbon Farmer’s website I discovered that the credits, which give buyers the warm fuzzy feeling of offsetting 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent, are $15 each. How was this price determined? Why $15 dollars? Why not $1.50 or $150? I wonder if it has anything to do with the $15 per tonne payment option for large emitters covered under Alberta’s carbon offset system. While the question of the price remains interesting, of more concern to me was the question of verification.

I did not see any reference to third party verification on the Carbon Farmer’s website. In my mind, this is an issue. If I was a patron of the Fringe wanting to offset the mileage I used to get there and the energy used to produce my deep fried elephant ear, I would want assurance that the three trees planted by the farmer offsetting 1 tonne of Co2e, were in fact planted. In addition, how will I know that the trees will in fact do their job of carbon sequestration? As this process will not occur overnight, what mechanism is in place to ensure that the trees will be there in 2 years, 5 years and the 5o plus years of growth required for sequestering 1 tonne of CO2e? Mr. Carbon Farmer, have you heard of the mountain pine beetle or wildfire?

The Carbon Farmer has relied on a third party assessment, from an Ontario based consulting firm, to validate that the region of the boreal forest where the trees are planted do have the potential to sequester the predicted volume of carbon. The operative word in the prior sentence is ‘potential’.

Many variables are at play in carbon offsetting world and especially when involving natural systems. Unless the Carbon Plus Credit I buy from the Carbon Farmer comes with assurance that the offset is real and verifiable, I’ll look at offsetting elsewhere.

Disappointment, but in perspective.

I participated in the Canadian National Criterium Championship cycling race this morning. After much anticipation, my race was unfortunately much shorter than anticipated.  On lap 10 of 40, a major crash occurred on the first corner of the course that went through downtown Devon, Alberta. I managed to avoid the crash but had to violently swerve to avoid it and in doing so rolled my back rim and flatted.

It was really disappointing not to finish the race, let alone contend, but I do consider myself lucky to not have been one of the many riders involved in the terrible crash. Rather than lamenting on not finishing, I could be one of the three competitors that were sent to the hospital with injuries ranging from broken collar bone to fractured jaw. So in short, not finishing doesn’t seem so bad afterall.

Benevolent Leadership

 

You don’t have to look far to find great examples of excellent leaders. A benevolent leader was characterized by Lao Tzu in the 6th Century B.C. who said “A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. He is the teacher who succeeds without taking credit. And, because credit is not taken, credit is received.” 

Last night the Chicago Blackhawks one their first Stanley Cup in 41 years. The team’s captain, Jonathon Toews was awarded the Con Smythe Trophy. The Con Smythe is awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to his team during the National Hockey League‘s Stanley Cup playoffs. When the leagues shady Commissioner, Gary Bettman, awarded Toews with the trophy, Toews frankly seemed unimpressed. His lack of reaction was drastically changed when he was handed the highly treasured Stanley Cup as he was clearly ecstatic. The cup represents the Blackhawks success as a team and obviously has much deeper meaning than an individual award. At 22 years old, with a Stanley Cup, an Olympic Gold Medal and a Con Smythe all in a single year, Jonathon Toews is clearly an effective and benevolent leader. What kind of leadership style does do you think he applies?

Agony and Suffering – Mind Over Matter to a Degree

 

Although my first road race of the year is still pending, a good training session certainly brings out the burn and also agony. I often ponder how close I may be to really pushing a physical boundary versus being influenced by my mental state. For instance, on a hill repeat after teetering on or pushing past my threshold zone into an anaerobic zone and then seeing the need to respond to an attack or initiate a sprint, sometimes I can easily endure the suffering and respond extraordinarily well. However, on another repeat the pain is unbearable and the desire to simply give up becomes too overwhelming. As such, the sprint is conceded. I am convinced that if the mental ‘gaming’ that is largely responsible for such variability could be managed, I would be a stronger cyclist.

Ragazzi Italian Pizzaria

Not bad. The Italian beer was a good addition and the God father pizza was salty, spciey and delicious. Apparently the Margherita was just OK – it looked liked it could have more basil and less cheeze.. I’d go back.

Role of the CSO

 

Is there a role for the Chief Sustainability Officer? How many organizations are contemplating the need for another seat on the executive management bench? In this era of fiscal restraint and policy uncertainty it may be a while before the CSO becomes integrated as part of functional management teams.  Arguably, the downsides in companies until the creation of such a position is created are lack of coordination of sustainability initiatives, weak support from executive management, potential incongruence with overall business strategy, and insufficient resources to achieve identified financial objectives.  My guess is that by 2012, things will have changes as many large companies, particularly those with exposure to natural resource risk, will have CSO positions established or in the works.