As many know, I am pretty passionate about both biking and running. Much to the dismay of my triathlon training daughter, swimming [still] is not my thing. But running and biking have been part of my life since I was a child. And over the past few years have become a winemaker (www.jezreelwinery.com), while returning to being the CEO of a start-up (www.zulaapp.com).
For me, running and biking were, until recently solitary activities. A form of meditation on the move. When I run a marathon I usually am alone, especially in Israel where there could be big distances between people (was not the same experience in New York City Marathon, there I was surrounded by people, but like many in New York still felt alone much of the time).
Only for a short time did I have a regular running partner, but that started as a favor to someone to help her get her running legs...and inspire her. But most of the time I run alone, lost in my own thoughts.
In our move to Hanaton I started to bike every shabbat morning with a group of people, but aside from the comfort of knowing that if I had a problem someone would be nearby to help, continued to be an individual sport. As we bike off-road, most of the time on single-track trails, really is still a one by one experience.
Over the past two years, together with my co-founder Jeff Pulver, have explored what it means for teams to work together, and thinking through how to help teams communicate better. Because so much of what we do is team work in our business lives -- and the world is changing fast, as is our needs to keep our communication with team members constant and effective.
So how does this connect to running and biking, you ask?
A few weeks ago I decided rather than drive my daughter and her friend to triathlon practice and leave them there (and have other parent come get them) I would simply stay and work-out with them. So far not the swimming part, but the running and biking. What I have discovered is a whole different approach -- that of a team. In one training session we were actually taught how to physically help other team members push up a hill on bikes -- the ultimate form of team work. In the running I discovered a similar experience, with the coach dividing us into groups and having "team leaders" set the pace, and challenge us to run together at the same pace, each one inspiring the other, and keeping a check and balance system in place as to speed and endurance.
Working out with my daughter's triathlon group has made me realize that what was for me a individual experience can be strengthened as a team activity.
Hey -- didn't the title say something about wine?
Yup, parallel to my entree into the world of triathlon team training was the harvest season for the wine industry in Israel. While my partner Yehuda runs the winery operation on a daily basis, he consults with me about most issues. At the beginning of the harvest season he said to me we need to bring on another pair of hands -- that with the jump in activity (we have enough wine in barrel now for over 60,000 bottles!) we needed to add to the team. It struck me that wine making is also very much a team business -- making (and drinking it) alone is somewhere between very challenging to depressing. But working as team we can make magic (and do!).
I will continue to live my personal ying/yang of individual/community. But thanks to triathlon practice and wine making I have new respect for the value of teams.
