Tour de France – The Razor’s Edge

We’re approaching the mid-point of the Tour de France bicycle race. I came across some material related to the Tour de France that also illustrates some of the themes I have been working on.

Daniel Coyle has written a fascinating book called Lance Armstrong’s War.  In the book, he eloquently captures the quest of all cyclists:

Ultimately, what every rider is aiming for is a quasi-mystical state known as being “on form.”  Note the preposition.  One does not get in form; rather, one tries to get on it, as one might walk across an ice-covered ridge, a visit made even trickier by the fact that even the rider is never quite sure where the edge begins.

The phrase was originally used to describe racehorses in the 18th century, and its meaning remains unchanged, referring to the elusive moment when all systems are working at optimum efficiency.  It is made possible by supercompensation, that physiological tendency of bodies under stress to protect themselves by getting stronger . . .up to a point.  After that point – the edge of the icy ridge, so to speak – the body protects itself by shutting down.  For Tour riders, the trick is to get as close as you can to the edge without slipping over.

For most riders, steeping out onto the razor, as the riders call it, is part science, part magic, the most magical part being that you get better at it as you get older.

Razors, icy ridges . . . edges.  This description of competitive racing highlights an important meaning of edge in The Only Sustainable Edge.  In this book, JSB and I use “edge” with multiple meanings.  Edge means advantage.  Edge also means periphery, in the sense of places where the familiar encounters and has to interact with the unfamiliar, as in the edges of companies, geographic edges (e.g., emerging markets) or demographic edges (e.g., the emergence of new generations of consumers).  But edge also means limits of performance and capabilities.

Peripheries are important because they test and ultimately expand the limits of our performance and capabilities.  By confronting us with the unfamiliar, they force us to get better faster.

But the process is not a comfortable one.  JSB and I use the term “productive friction” to describe what happens when groups of people come together at the edge.  They clash, they argue, they challenge each other.  Performance requirements are demanding, the deadlines are tight and everyone at the outset seems to be complicating things, rather than moving the group towards a solution.  Pressure builds and stress levels mount.  For those who enjoy testing their limits and who derive satisfaction from successfully addressing challenging problems, this experience can be exhilarating – and they emerge much more capable than they were before. For those who want stability and security, this can be pure hell.

The edge forces all of us to confront our fears, for danger lurks on the edge.  In Daniel Coyle’s words again:

That is the great open secret of bike racing – how often and how terribly they crash. They crash in sprints and on downhills, on greasy roundabouts and on sun-melted tar.  They lose eyes.  They go into comas. They break their backs with such regularity that they have a nifty-sounding term for it: “percussion fracture.”

. . . But there is something far worse than crashing: being left behind.

JSB likes to remind executives that the high corporate mortality rate is a key to Silicon Valley’s success.  If we don’t allow – even encourage – people to fail, they will be far more reluctant to push the boundaries of their performance.  In Silicon Valley, if you haven’t failed at least once, it probably means you haven’t pushed your boundaries hard enough.

That is the essence of the world we are building.  We all need to learn how to push the limits of our performance and capabilities by finding and spending more time on the relevant edges of our lives and our businesses. If we don’t get better faster, we will get left behind. On the other hand, if we get better faster, we will enjoy significant rewards, including the satisfaction of creating and contributing in ways that we never thought possible.  And, for those of us who learn that we can get better even faster by working with others, we will also benefit from deeper and more lasting relationships forged on the edge – the greatest reward of all.