Organization Horsepower Thinking Like a Motorcycle Racing Team

Harrison Withers

Introduction

This book isn’t about any new business concepts:

• Everything that appears has appeared thousands

of times before

• Connecting those concepts in more intuitively

human ways by changing the context

• Business can be abstract. Racing is primal, visceral,

and at the end of the day, a very simple concept

• See truth and light in the connectedness of business

The Machine Chapter 5

For most casual observers, racing is about the machine—the loud, greasy, smelly, visceral mass of metal and rubber that propels a human being

at unimaginable speeds.

• Racing machines are tools

• You can love the machine, but don’t be in love

with the machine

• The business equivelent of the racing machine is

systems, tools, and process

The Engine

The engine generates the power needed to propel the machine

down the track.

• Equivelent to the hardware and software business use

• Organizations are fairly good at measuring the horsepower

and torque of hardware and software.

The Chassis

The chassis is the container for the engine and allow the engine to

transmit power (hp) and force (torque) to the racing surface.

• The business equivalent to the racing chassis is business process.

• Process is the mechanism by which leadership steers the engine

or capacity of the organization and directs its application to

the marketplace.

Suspension

The suspension’s job is to keep the wheels on the ground and to

translate power and force into maximized traction.

• Analogous to the degree to which business processes can flex

to the demands of the marketplace.

• Agility

Brakes

The goal is to brake just long enough to reduce speed to just slow

enough.

• It’s another aspect of agility

• “winning on the brakes”

Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is the practice of minimizing the effects of air on

the machine.

• Business process doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

• What environmental factors affect business process, and how

we can minimize the effects?

• The first thing that comes to mind is wasted effort, which is the

basis of practicing Lean process improvement.

Summary

Businesses are really good at making process, systems, and tools.

They just aren’t always adept at making those things any good. But

don’t confuse making the stuff better with being better.

Appreciate the machine.

Improve the machine.

Don’t fall in love with the machine.

There are human beings who would benefit from that love more than

the mechanism of your business ever will.

Want More? Buy the Book

AMAZON

About the Author

Harrison Withers has been searching for ways to help people perform better since 1993. He has a talent for figuring out what the true cause of a problem is and what barriers need to be overcome to get a person where they want to go. He’s passionate about helping people make a measurable difference in their businesses.

A graduate of Michigan Technological University, Harrison has almost 2 decades of experience in the learning, performance improvement, and human resources fields and is expert at technology implementations linked to performance improvement including social, collaborative, and mobile technologies.

His writing and thought leadership extends through regular blogs on both business and guitar building. He has been a featured contributor for the Management Innovation eXchange with “Adapting Business Metrics to Build Credibility and Trust”. He was also the editor and curator for the self-published eBook “58 Quotes, Facts, Benchmarks, and Best Practices on People and Analytics.”

Harrison is a regular consultant to businesses that seek to significantly improve or transform their approach to talent development in the areas of onboarding, sales and leadership development. He is also a frequent speaker on talent development and the role of technology as part of a talent development strategy.

hcw3@hcw3.com

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