Stop Looking for Faster Runners

A little over a week ago, something happened in the world of marathon running that many thought to be impossible.

Two runners broke the two-hour marathon barrier. Not one…two!

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe finished in 1:59:30, just 11 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who, incidentally, was running his first official marathon!

To put these times in perspective, that’s the equivalent of running a 4-minute and 33-second mile…26 times in a row.

Incredible? Absolutely.

But here’s the question I kept coming back to while reading this story…was this just about the runners?

The System Behind the Performance

As it turns out, both athletes were wearing a newly released Adidas shoe. These shoes were ultra-lightweight, under 100 grams, and designed to return energy with each step.

In other words, the system changed.

Now, don’t get me wrong, these are world-class athletes. The discipline, training, and mental toughness required to perform at that level is hard to comprehend. Heck, I can’t run a single mile in 4 minutes and 33 seconds!

But if we’re being honest, this wasn’t just a human breakthrough. It was a system breakthrough.

And that’s where I think there’s a lesson for all of us.

We Love to Celebrate the “Runner”

In business, we tend to do the same thing.

We celebrate the top salesperson, the high-performing plant manager, and the “rockstar” engineer who somehow gets everything done.

And just like in the marathon, those individuals definitely deserve recognition.

But too often, we stop there. We assume the performance is simply about the person.

High Performance is a Function of the System

Lean teaches us something very different.

Performance is largely a function of the system people work in day in and day out. Things such as training methods, tools/technology, standard work, coaching, and overall support systems play critical roles.

In the marathon mentioned earlier, the athletes didn’t suddenly become superhuman. Instead, what we’re seeing is the result of years, really decades, of incremental improvements in all those areas. Training, nutrition, pacing strategies…and now, shoe tech.

The breakthrough didn’t come from one place. It came from the system.

What Does This Mean for Leaders?

It’s worth asking a simple question:

Where in your organization are you relying on “faster runners”… instead of building a better system?

Are you asking people to work harder to hit targets? Are you hoping your top performers will carry the load? Are you celebrating outcomes without an understanding of how they were achieved?

Or, are you improving the system so that more people can consistently succeed?

Final Thought

We’ll remember the names of the runners who broke the two-hour barrier (as we should).

But the bigger story, at least to me, is everything behind them… including the system that made it all possible.

And maybe that’s the reminder for all of us. Don’t just look for faster runners. Build a better system.

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