"Driven to Win: How a Day on the Track Shaped My Approach to Business"

Years ago, I had the chance to drive a Legends-style race car—similar to the one ZZ Top had in their iconic 80s music videos—in a 10-lap race in front of a big crowd at the Nashville Fairgrounds. The experience was both exhilarating and humbling.

A few days before the race, I met up with the car owner, who gave me a quick rundown on how to drive it. His parting words were simple: "Don’t wreck my car." As a novice who had never raced before, those words echoed in my mind as I drove up to the oval track to meet my coach for a few practice laps around the track.

Little did I know, my coach was none other than NASCAR legend Bobby Allison Sr. When he saw me in the car, he waved me over and said, “I want you to go around the track three times as fast as you can, then come back to me, and we’ll make some adjustments.”

Excited but clueless, I pulled out onto the track and drove as fast as I could, with no real plan or understanding of what I was doing. After three laps, I returned to Bobby, who was laughing and shaking his head. He said, "Well, I can’t really tell you what to adjust because you never went around the track the same way any of the three times."

That’s when it hit me: There’s a strategy in racing—a process that drivers follow to get around the track as fast and effectively as possible. Whether it’s finding the right line, timing your acceleration out of a turn, or knowing when to hit the breaks, every action has a purpose. But I wasn’t doing any of that. I was just having fun, driving without a plan or strategy.

Later, I realized my experience on the track was a lot like how many businesses operate. We jump into our race with enthusiasm but without a clear plan or strategy, and we wonder why we aren’t winning. Here are some key lessons I learned that day and how they apply to business.

1. Respect the Process

Just like my chaotic laps around the track, many businesses struggle because they don’t respect the process. In racing, consistency is key. Drivers follow a specific process to ensure they can make adjustments and improve their performance. Similarly, in business, we need to establish and consistently follow processes that we believe will be most effective and efficient in getting us around the track and to the finish line.

When you respect processes that follow very consistent steps you can evaluate them, and then make informed adjustments to improve them. And when you improve your processes you improve your business. But if you’re constantly changing direction or don’t have a step by step process that everybody follows it becomes impossible to refine or optimize your model or your operations.

2. Raise Your Standards

There’s one thing that’s true in life and business: we don’t operate to the level of our hopes and dreams; we operate to the level of our standards. In car racing, there are standards that everyone operates by. There’s a standard that the fans expect, a standard that the organization expects, and then there are the standards that the drivers, the team, and the crew set for themselves.

My standard for this race was what the car owner said: “Don’t wreck my car.” My standard wasn’t racing to win. My standard was just racing to finish without wrecking the car. But that’s not enough if you want to succeed at the highest levels. In business, we often set our standards too low, just trying to get by or avoid failure. But to truly excel, we need to raise our standards—to aim not just to survive, but to thrive, to be the best at what we do. In business we must set a standard of how we want every customer to feel after interacting with our company, our products or our team and work every day to ensure we are meeting those standards.

Great leaders get frustrated when people don’t respect the standards because they know that success is built on a foundation of high standards. If you lower your standards, you lower your results. But when you commit to excellence, you push yourself and your team to achieve more than you ever thought possible.

3. Respect the Structure

In both racing and business, respecting the structure is crucial. In NASCAR, the structure includes everything from the rules of the race to the organization of the pit crew, the preparation of the car, and the strategies employed by the team. This structure is designed to create a fair and competitive environment while ensuring the safety and success of everyone involved.

In business, the structure includes your business model, organizational hierarchy, and the systems and processes that keep everything running smoothly. Just like in racing, this structure is there for a reason. It provides a framework within which creativity and innovation can flourish, but only when everyone respects it and lives by it.

Disregarding the structure can lead to chaos, inefficiency, and ultimately failure. On the race track, not following the structure can result in penalties or even dangerous accidents. In business, ignoring the structure can lead to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and a demoralized team.

Winning Beyond the Finish Line

I didn’t win the race that day. In fact, I didn’t even come close. But the lessons I took away from that experience have helped me win in far more important arenas—like business and life. The thrill of the race was exhilarating, but it was the insights I gained about respecting the process, raising my standards, and honoring the structure that have had a lasting impact.

In business, victory isn’t always about crossing the finish line first. It’s about consistently improving, learning from your experiences, and building a strong foundation for future success. By respecting the process, you create a framework that allows for growth and improvement. By raising your standards, you challenge yourself and your team to reach new heights. And by respecting the structure, you ensure that your efforts are organized, efficient, and aligned with your ultimate goals.

Great leaders understand the importance of Process, Standards, and Structure and expect their team to operate within them. They know that by respecting these priorities they can focus on what truly matters—achieving their goals, driving innovation, and leading their team to success.