FINISHING WELL

Mexico, 1968 Olympics

“Out of the cold darkness he came. John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania entered at the far end of the stadium, hobbling painfully with every step, his leg bloody and bandaged. The winner of the marathon had been declared over an hour earlier. Only a few spectators remained. But the lone runner pressed on…”

It is not enough to start a race, you must be able to finish it and finish it well.

The world hardly remembers people who start but never finish. We all remember the Wright Brothers (1903) for their “invention” of the airplane yet they where only building up on works that commenced as early as 900 AD. In fact just a couple of years before their historic break, a university professor of mathematics, Dr. Samuel P. Langley, had received some grant from the US War Department for his research and development of a viable manned airplane. On October 8, 1903, after six years of intense research, Langley gathered the press and notables for the historic moment. The experiment failed. The press condemnation was unparalleled.  He fought back gallantly and eight weeks later he tried again with an even more catastrophic result. He started well, but it was the Wright brothers, unfunded, uneducated and unknown that finished well a few days after his second attempt. They are the ones the world remembers.

Alexander Graham Bell, credited with the invention of the telephone, won the patent right because he filed just a few hours earlier than his competitor Elisha Gray who in all likelihood made the invention based on more recent revelations.  Gray started well, Graham finished better…

All through history we see this scenario played outcx  It is good to start but infinitely better to finish. The first cut may be the deepest, but the last cut is what finishes the job. The prize is not for starters but for finishers. You have set out with a goal in mind; do you actualize it or do you allow the vagaries of the day take their toll and cause you to deviate? The thought that creeps into your mind is the start of many great eventualities; do you see yours to a logical conclusion?

“…as the Tanzanian athlete limped round the field to cross the finishing line, the small crowd of spectators gave him a standing ovation, roaring their appreciation. Afterward, a reporter asked the runner why he had not retired from the race, since he had no chance of winning. He seemed confused by the question. Finally, he answered: “My country did not send me to Mexico to start the race, they sent me to finish.”

In spite of all the challenges we face in Process, Product, People, Technology, power, etc  always keep this in mind: you were not created/employed to see the problem, but to solve it. The fact that you are seeing it means you have started the process. Can you finish it?