Getting the Formula for Success
Written by Ben Dyer
Thursday, 26 August 2010 01:00
I am a massive fan of motorsport, especially F1 which is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of motor racing. For me it’s the combination of individual skill, team dynamics and technology that make these supercharged go-karts so exciting.
However, if F1 is the ultimate team sport, then without the total package even the most talented driver will struggle to perform. When you’re travelling at speeds of up to 200mph and pulling 2Gs at La Rascasse at Monte Carlo, it’s all about the detail, its all about quality.
This is an ethos the Woking-based Team McLaren has in spades, the guys there are totally driven by quality. Their attention to detail is legendary and group chairman Ron Dennis credits this obsessive culture as one of the reasons they have won 168 races, 12 drivers championships and 8 constructors championships over the years. However, with all the high-end engineering and complex solutions to difficult problems, there is one part of an F1 car the designers can’t control which is the driver. It may sound crazy but the driver is the weak link in the total equation. You can throw as much technology and money as you like at F1, but ultimately the driver decides how successful a team will be on a given racing weekend.
McLaren counters the dilemma by trying to mitigate as many potential problems the driver might face as possible. Chief engineer, Scott Bain is responsible for the parts of the car a driver comes into contact with; the ultimate goal is to make the driver 100% comfortable and able to focus on the task in hand. For instance, if the seat was too small or the peddles too close together the driver could get distracted and would be less capable of operating the car effectively.
I realise we don’t all make F1 cars, however these same principles can be applied regardless of the business. The issue is that achieving quality results is hard work. I would even go so far as to suggest it’s impossible if you don’t know what you are aiming for.
So I challenge you to think like McLaren. What are your aspirations and weakest links? Where do these interact? Maybe like McLaren you need to examine the detail of every point of contact with the customer. Understanding and distilling information like this is business gold dust and can help shape every aspect of a company, from marketing to management.
By Ben Dyer, Product Development Director, Actinic. Originally published on BusinessZone
