Lesson 70: Maintenance
Last week, I went golfing with my classmate, Greg. On my first swing at the first hole, my golf club whistled through the air but missed the ball. It was a hot Chicago morning, but it was not the weather making me sweat; it was my golfing. I rarely golf so it make sense why I was not very good. Greg told me, “You could miss a couple months of golf and lose some of your skills.” Not that I had skills to begin with, but my lack of maintenance showed up in my swing. His comment resonates with me because it shows how a lack of maintenance can manifest in a poor performance.
Maintenance keeps you on track to reach your objectives. During my train rides to work, I have been reading Andy Grove’s High Output Management. A core theme is Management By Objectives (MBO), which answers two simple questions:
Where do you want to go? (the answer provides the objective)
How will I pace myself to see if I am getting there?
This framework has been a useful way to think about my goals. The questions provide a road map for not only clarifying my objective but also continuously checking progress to prevent me from drifting off course. Since coming to business school, applying this mindset for maintenance has been challenging but critical for my well-being. For example, my daily routine includes journaling, calling friends and family, and exercise. All three are not necessary every day, but the power lies in the consistent commitment over time, like routine maintenance on my golf swing.
Looking ahead, I can apply Grove’s MBO framework in the following ways: 1) Where do you want to go? I want to look at 2,000 businesses. 2) How will I pace myself to see if I am getting there? I will use a stagger chart to track how many businesses I source each week. Below you can see how in the last three weeks I set a goal to look at 10 businesses. I reached this goal in 2 out of the 3 weeks. I feel proud of myself for learning about this system and using it as motivation to keep taking swings. Continuously maintaining deal flow is a necessary practice to improve my ability to hit a great shot and find a great business.
How will I pace myself to see if I am getting to 2,000?
Finding great businesses is one of the most important duties of an investor. Your ability to source companies separates you from the pack. Waiting for perfect market conditions will only hold you back and more importantly your skills lose strength. Your network turns cold, your thesis becomes stale, and your confidence becomes unsteady. Continuously maintaining deal flow is a necessary practice to improve my ability to hit a great shot and find a great business; a major competency separating good investors from the great ones.
My mission is to increase representation of Black leaders at the executive, investor, and board level. Today, I am looking for a great trade school. After looking at 34 businesses this week, I found 1 that truly interested me. The MBO framework on my ETA journey is helping me source deals and track my progress. Great golfers perform maintenance on their skills by practicing from the tee, the green, and even the sand traps. This maintenance ensures they are always ready for the competition. My commitment to this continuous process ensures I will not lose my skills and will remain prepared to 'take a swing' as an investor, providing a pathway to not only investing for myself but also for other Black leaders interested in becoming an executive, investor, or board member.
This is Lesson 70: Maintenance. Next week is Lesson 71: Failure.
