Late nights and favours (part 1)

It's currently 03:20am on Friday morning and I've just spent nearly 5 hours on a presentation pack for a meeting tomorrow at 10:30am in Sheffield (although I have a prior meeting in Leeds at 8am). I'm tired.

Thing is, with the hours I've been working (full-time as BlueDucks Limited), to do anything recently has felt almost impossible ... but then I guess that's me: wait until it feels almost impossible and find the motivation to do it.

You'd have thought that the last 20 years in change management would have led me to plan well ahead when it comes to adventures and Involve work; to ensure I was ready and completed the 5 hours of work a week ago.

But no. Instead there's that nagging (and totally unfounded) feeling that I don't have enough time to do everything I want to do. Then again, I've been there before and managed to be two things at the same time. I can damn well do it again!

1. The Tipping Point?

The car engine dies and I take a few seconds to let the silence wash through my mind and body, whilst still sat in the driveway. It's the end of another long day of work in Manchester and the M62 added to my general malaise.

The front door is opened by Lucia but my weary expression is hardly masked by my smile and the sheer mental relief to be home. I left the house at 5:45am this morning and, once again, it's after 7pm when I arrive home. Physically I'm fine but I head upstairs to change and take another few minutes to enjoy the simplicity of stillness. And there was still the whole working week ahead.

Apologies for those who dis-like 'that word' - but it perfectly reflected how I felt that day

A wonderful meal is ready and, after some time watching The Big Bang Theory with Lucia, my mind starts to wander onto the things that were fighting for space in my brain. Client work; the Great Wall of China Trek recruitment I need to re-start; the desire to come up with an exciting follow-up to the Thames 100km Row (quick review of that later) and ... the thing that got so many people excited earlier in the year: the Race 48 concept.

It was only a couple of months ago that a series of pretty senior and influential stakeholders in Leeds were keen to understand how they could help get the trial event up and running. At the same time the city of Sheffield were keen to get involved, but trying to get time to initially engage the right people across the Pennines in the city of Manchester was proving impossible.

That enthusiasm was a couple of months prior and don't misunderstand; I know everyone else has priorities and pressures, but I can't deny my disappointment when an email unexpectedly arrived saying (in effect) "Sorry, but we've now decided that we are too busy to consider this just now". Then again, sometimes that's just the jab in the ribs I need to force me into action.

After a discussion with a friend, mentor and Race 48 enthusiast; Gareth Boot, he introduced me to a new book which helped me prioritise that, other than my family (which includes my new wife of course) and paying the bills; Race 48 is THE next big thing for my Involve ethos and had to have my dedicated focus.

Shh, don't let Becci Skelton see this photo: she'll kill me for the Cadbury's Fingers.

 
Sat there, on the settee, I knew what I had to stop doing and what I needed to start doing.


2. How rowing delivered an appropriate pause.

The Thames 100km Row was a fantastic experience and, once we'd all got over the back pain and hamstring rigidity, something that did two things for me.

Firstly it once again demonstrated the unexpected capacity for physical and mental endurance we humans have when required, and it also gave me a huge psychological boost when the £29000 we raised for charity tipped my Involve activities up to the £100000 milestone (which I now proudly have on my 'Involve' header on Twitter .

I recently wrote a few words for the Candlelighters Trust, to describe the fun and the trauma of the row. Here's a summary and a few photos to help tell the story:

"Alarms were set for 4:30am as we had to eat lots of carbs before our 6am briefing. Ahead of us was day 1 of our row: 29 miles (and an estimated 6 hours) in a boat modelled on the 19^th century Thames water taxis.

At times like this you think ‘Why did I decide to do this?’, but you also feel the adrenaline buzzing through your body. So there we were; two teams of 6 and none of us had rowed before we started training for this, 8 months ago.

At 6:45am we started rowing; from Greenwich towards the estuary. Two hours later we turned and headed back towards Tower Bridge, before a final turn to row against a fast-moving tide. Muscles began to burn; grown men began to shout and curse as they each strained to pull their 9ft oar through the choppy murky water. Inch by inch we edged closer to the finishing line, but that final 2 miles took nearly 90 minutes of pain.

Day 2 was longer but calmer; taking the boats through the heart of London before heading up-river through Chelsea and onto Richmond. Just two hours into the 33 miles the strains of the previous day began to show, with back cramp and blisters wreaking havoc. Another six hours of virtually non-stop rowing and the team finally pulled into Westminster Boating Club to celebratory hugs and handshakes.

Experienced coxswain Sarah Cairn summed up the challenge: “This was the first time anyone has ever undertaken this sort of distance over just two days; let alone non-rowers. We are so incredibly proud of what you’ve done”.

Our efforts raised £29 000 for a variety of charities and, despite the pain and promises never to do anything so bonkers again, some of the guys are already asking “So what’s next Geoff?”

A brilliant message from lovely little Florence

BEST TEXT EVER ... laughed so loud when I got this (sorry Zach).

The team effort, mixed with the singularity of my own personal challenge to participate successfully in this world first event, reminded me that I'd thought about evolving the Involve ethos from singular events into participative events on a much wider scale. The amount of money that can be raised for charity also makes my heart and soul soar.

The idea for The Longest Day; my first mass participation idea that still feels like a practical and worthwhile activity, popped back into my head. The time and effort both Michelle and I tried to put into it to get it off the ground was HEAVILY reliant on others to make it a success - that HAD to be a learning point, as it failed to take off because my stance was a facilitating one. Now I felt the surge of determination and ... in the nicest possible sense ... **ck 'em: this idea was not going to wither and die as a result of people who weren't interested.

The die was cast and all I needed now was the time and financial breathing space to drive this through. Oh; both of those were a problem, so I needed to think of another way forward.


3. The ownership conundrum.

Without time to spare and without the financial cushion to drop work for any period of time, my mind turned to those people I knew who might be able to help out. The challenge wasn't to find people I trusted to fill the gaps in both time and knowledge: no, the challenge was learning to let go and to stop trying to spin so any plates at the same time. At least I knew I was keeping good company.

I was lucky to find three people who not only offered some of their time and experience, but were (and remain) bossy enough to tell me that I couldn't do it all by myself ... and they weren't just there for the ride. They really want to get involved!

You see I've always believed that if I want to do something that delivers my standards and definition of 'good', I'll best do it myself. In corporate life I occasionally found people didn't have the same drive as I did (albeit I'm sure there were others who thought I didn't have the same drive as them).

With my BlueDucks hat on I've brought a few associates into clients, but one situation has stayed with me and influenced my behaviour for several years: a situation which could have ended with me being sued had it run its course. Thankfully it didn't, but I'm still learning to 'let go' of some things.

The other thing of course remained. Where would I find the time to do the things I wanted to do, because this is still an Involve initiative ... not something I want to let go off. It's still my ethos, still my 'baby'. So what's the right balance between lots of late nights and asking favours?

That conundrum rages on within me and that's probably why I'm now facing only 3.5 hours of sleep before Race 48 probably has its biggest day ever so far. Let's see what Friday 31st July brings.