Slowly, Slowly: An Endurance Athlete’s Four Lessons for Going the Distance

What does manufacturing leadership have in common with running marathons or climbing mountains? Steven Pivnik is the perfect person to answer this question!

Steven is an entrepreneur who brough great growth and success to his company Binary Tree during his tenure as CEO. He is also an accomplished endurance athlete, who has reached the summits of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro. He has competed in dozens of marathons and Ironman triathlons, including the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. (If you’re unfamiliar with this feat, Ironman is a grueling triathlon that combines a 2.5-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.22-mile marathon run—all in about 16 hours!)

Steven recently came onto the Mindfulness Manufacturing podcast to talk about the intersections of entrepreneurship and endurance sports, plus shared some of the lessons he highlights in his book Built to Finish: How to Go the Distance in Business and Life. Whether you’re ready to scale mountains, run marathons, or change how you show up on the manufacturing floor, Steven has great insights for you!

Go the Distance, Tip #1: Avoid the Shortcuts

In both sports and business, shortcuts often cause more harm than good! When you take a shortcut on a task, like hiring a new team member or building a product, it makes seem like a quick and simple fix. But shortcuts can come back to bite you, leading to an increased risk of mistakes, unsustainable outcomes, and a greater sense of disconnect in your organization.

Go the Distance, Tip #2: “Pole pole!”

In Swahili, “pole pole” means “slowly, slowly.” Steven heard this phrase many times while climbing Kilimanjaro, as local guides reminder him to take it slow and not rush the journey. Like shortcuts, going too fast can lead to rushed outcomes and missed connections—or serious health issue, if you’re climbing a mountain. “Pole pole” is a powerful reminder to take it slow and practice intentionality, especially when it comes to forming connections with your team.

Go the Distance, Tip #3: Stronger Relationships, Better Results

When people have strong relationships with others at work, they’re more likely to show up feeling motivated, encouraged, and ready to give it their all on the manufacturing floor. To improve outcomes in your organization, commit to getting to know your team. Ask curious questions and shift your mindset to foster more meaningful relationships, and it can have a positive impact on your entire organization.

Go the Distance, Tip #4: Everyone has Greatness

Everyone has greatness and a story to tell! If you’re open, curious, and willing to learn, you’ll discover that every person has a unique perspective and that every conversation is a chance for deeper connections. Stay curious and be intentional with your conversations, and you never know what kind of great connection you’ll unlock!

Learn More on the Podcast

To hear more great lessons on endurance and leadership with Steven Pivnik, listen to his Mindfulness Manufacturing episode here.

Mindfulness Manufacturing

Our show is about providing listeners with real stories that come from a place of experience, transparency, and authenticity. Most importantly it’s about what we learn from these stories and applying Mindfulness in our everyday work and personal lives.
Our intention is to create an environment where people can learn through open honest discussions on how we apply Mindfulness. Although our experiences and stories come from time in a manufacturing environment hence the title “Mindfulness Manufacturing”, we still see our discussions and topics relatable to any organization or profession.

When a mistake occurs on the plant floor, your mind might jump to one question: who caused this issue, and should I write them up for their mistake? But there’s a more productive approach you could be taking—and in this episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing, guest Dr. Jake Mazulewicz breaks it all down!

With a background as a firefighter, EMT, and military paratrooper, Jake knows the challenges of high-hazard industries, and works with organizations to reduce errors and create safer, more reliable workplace environments. In this episode, Jake shares why you can’t procedularize everything, including the way you handle errors and accidents, and offers great insights and stories about how to use connection and curiosity to improve safety, address errors, and strengthen your organization.

3:35 – Procedures and policies are the work that is imagined, and on the floor is how the work actually gets done

4:19 – The work as-done is almost always radically different than the work as-imagined

5:20 – Even when you have standards and people show up wanting to do a good job, you can still see issues that need to be addressed

6:44 – There will always be areas that absolutely need to have procedures in place

8:02 – There are also adaptive jobs, which leans less into procedures and more intro troubleshooting and tacit human knowledge

10:56 – In an ideal environment, both mechanistic and adaptive models are used and respected and needed

12:11 – There are four levels, ranging from strict procedurals to looser guidelines that show what to do, but not how to do it

15:36 – Tacit knowledge gets shared through conversations

16:22 – A way to share important information is to have frontline experts record videos sharing their insights to problems, especially those that are not covered in procedures

19:44 – Through conversation and connection, more knowledge is shared

21:58 – Debriefing also plays a central role

23:45 – If you have strong discipline, you’ll find more freedom

25:31 – In most situations, errors are signals, not defects

27:07 – When an error occurs, be curious and find the deeper cause of the problem

Connect with Jake Mazulewicz

Find him on Linkedin

Visit his website