This is another great counter intuitive proposition. It’s so counter intuitive that we might lose some of you here. So instead of launching into some diatribe, let’s tell a story.
There once was a racer who was brash, self-assured, and flashy. He had good reason to be: he was a great racer. He was the first rookie ever to qualify for the pinnacle of his circuit, the Piston Cup.
Yes, friends, we’re talking about Lightning McQueen. If you remember the movie Cars, you remember that his cockiness nearly cost him the pivotal race, and he ended in a three-way tie with Chick Hicks and “The King” Strip Weathers. After an unexpected tour of duty in the washed-up town of Radiator Springs teaches him the humility and character he was lacking, he gets to the big runoff race just in time. With the help of all of his new friends, he rushes out to glory with a big win, securing his place among the greats in Piston Cup history.
Wait, what? That’s not how it happened?
Nope. He didn’t win the big race. Not because he couldn’t, but because he chose not to. He had overcome several obstacles to victory after falling victim to Chick Hicks borderline-illegal maneuvers, and he was headed for the finish line. But he came to a screeching halt mere inches before he crossed it. Why? Because he saw that the King had been incapacitated by Hicks’s chicanery. Seeing him there, and thinking of his own mentor Hudson Hornet’s feelings of being abandoned by the sport he loved, McQueen couldn’t be the one to steal his glory. Not that way. So he left the track and helped the old man finish his final race. In doing so, he lost the race.
However, he won the hearts of The King, his family, his fans, McQueens own fans, and the fair lady, Sally Carrera. He also won the respect of Dinoco, the coveted sponsor. And as the beginning of the sequel tells us, he went on to surpass his mentor’s record by winning the Piston Cup every year from 2007-2010.
Ask yourself this: What is the goal I’m focusing on right now? Is winning this goal the best thing for my business? Is there a way to take my business even higher by sacrificing the short term for long term gain?
And if you need help, call us for a tune-up, some fuel, and a new set of tires.
