𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲

Elite distance runners don’t focus on beating the pack. They focus on lifting their base pace every single day.

When I train for long distances, I mostly ignore my top-end speed. That’s vanity. I work on lifting my baseline – the pace I can sustain day after day, week after week.

1% faster baseline compounds over months.

Sprinting to impress competitors burns you out by Tuesday.

I’ve worked with founders obsessed with competitor feature releases. They sprint to match every announcement, burning engineering resources and confusing their product strategy.

Meanwhile, the companies that dominate long-term are quietly compounding fundamentals:

• Customer retention improving 1% monthly
• – Sales cycle shortening week over week
• – Average contract value climbing quarter over quarter
• – Team capability expanding through systematic skill development

Elite runners don’t just chase times. They chase Olympic qualification, national records, proving what’s humanly possible.

The mission transcends individual races.

Your team won’t sacrifice weekends for “10% revenue growth this quarter.”

They will for missions that matter: “A computer in every home” or “Give everyone access to enterprise-grade tools.”

Are your core metrics stronger than last quarter?

Can your team sustain this pace for 15 more years?

Does your mission still rally people when growth is flat?

If the answer is no, you’re asking people to compound effort towards quarterly targets that won’t matter in 2 years.

Stop tracking what competitors ship. Start tracking whether your baseline capabilities are improving.

The compound effect of 1% monthly improvement makes you unrecognisable in a year, unbeatable in five.

What are you building toward that will still matter in 10 years, regardless of who wins this quarter?

🎥 I hope Kate Mackz doesn’t mind me sharing this moment with Christina Tosi from PostRunHigh 🎙️.