When you fixate on an obstacle in riding on a curve you will end right there! - courtesy of www.motorcyclebasics.com

Motorcycle riding is very similar to running a small business or any new business for that matter. It can be very fun and you’ll be able to enjoy every minute of it, but it is also challenging because you have much bigger and stronger guys out there that can simply crush you without even noticing it.

This is not the right way to ride your business! Mind what you are doing, stay focused!
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It becomes therefore a game of anticipating other people’s moves, of allowing yourself enough cushion to have the time and the space to get out from dangerous situations. Above everything else you must be nimble, you must react fast and be able to coordinate several actions simultaneously in a split of a second without even thinking about them. The coaches at the riding range called it “muscle memory” and it is basically repeating the same action over and over through exercise so that you can then execute it with speed.

You can do mistakes, they are part of the learning process and of living, but you should never fall down. One acronym that I found really useful doing this particular course is SEE: see, evaluate, execute. You must be looking out continuously at what is happening around you. You do it with your eyes while riding, you do it with surveys, statistics and connections with other entrepreneurs in business.

You should be fast in evaluating the situation: what is closer needs immediate attention but you can’t lose sight of what is immediately after down the road. By anticipating the motions of other during the “see” process you will then be able to execute and as a matter of fact your execution should be so fast that it begins already when you see something for the first time and continues through the evaluation process and end to the desired result.

Like when you ride a bike, you should be focused on what you do and not do other things at the same time. Always be as alert as you can be and know your limits as well as the limits of your vehicle. These should be tested in a safe area, where you have no other traffic around you (competition). You need to know how fast you can brake and change course and how stable you bike is during a curve (a change of direction in business).

I have discovered that the greatest percentage of incidents that riders get into by themselves happen when they drive in a curve. Negotiating the turn and selecting the right speed of entrance is a key factor in making it to the other side. Like in business, once you are in a curve or change you must keep you speed constant or increase it. If you break or slow down while turning you will lose your grip on the road and you are likely to run out of the road into some kind of obstacle.

But the most fascinating concept that I have seen applied during my rider training is that your motorcycle will always go where you point your nose. Look toward your target and the bike will do everything needed to get you there. Don’t look at the bike and much less at the ground.

My coaches actually explained me that people who get killed during a turn, get fixated on some kind of obstacle (wall, tree, ravine) that is along side the road and that they want to avoid. They got into the turn too fast in the first place, they haven’t mastered their driving skill before getting there and now they are frightened at the idea of hitting that rock and sure enough they stare at it and their bike go straight against it.

This is called “target fixation” and is the most deadly mistake you can do in riding. You might have done every other possible mistake but you could still survive them; target fixation is a sure killer.

In business it translates into looking at the way to get out of situations rather than getting stuck in thinking to failure or to the horrible consequences that could ensue from your actions. If you fixate on the barriers, you will get straight into them.

Be alert, be considerate but definitely look ahead.

Roberto Mazzoni

Drive your business safely, avoid target fixation is a post from: Using the Web and social media to sell real estate