The Marathon Des Sables (MDS) is a 6-day self-supporting race across the Sahara.  The terrain is tough, the weather is practically unhabitable at 55Degrees … yet I did 6 back-to-back marathons.  How did I do it?

My secret sauce was to use my AGILE working process in adventure racing to develop race insights and strategies to nail the race.

Agile is a gradual style of working that creates flexibility, acknowledges that project requirements change and creates adaptations during a project.

Preparing for the MDS race was a similar agile approach to what I do for my clients – Perform external research and an internal audit on capabilities:

1. Questions/Audit -What are my current capabilities? Whats my objective in the race?
2. Research -What am I in for? Being aware of the environment.
3. Strategise– Create a plan and process that’s relevant for me, for the environment and for my objectives.
4. Adapt! – Be Agile! Continually adapt the plan.

A planning and control process was critical for me.  Similarly, an Agile approach needs a clear process and management structure that increases visibility, flexibility and control across the business that ensures all your projects are delivered on time and to the highest quality. 

A recent agency research report by Cactus showed that 28% of small agencies described themselves as having no set process methodology…. And I’m sure this is even higher for independent consultants.

A lack of process does not mean you are agile!  You can’t ‘wing it’ to a race or to work productivity.

One of my agile business risks and capability gaps I spotted was the ability to scale up if a project or client suddenly doubles in size.

Like the MDS race, I created my own business training plan – This year I spent a lot of time developing system automation, file management and a clear agile process that means:

1. My solid process foundation allows me to take on extra weight and easily scale up.
2. I’m able to change direction because of a flexible and scalable approach.
3. I have specific project pieces that are now allocated to skilled freelancers that creates flexibility, increases work quality, and challenges my thinking.
4. I break down projects into much smaller deliverables (phases) and ensure the next phase is informed by the previous.
5. I have a set project and file management approach that oversees all my future project pipeline, my current projects, external freelancers as well as day-to-day business operations.
6. I create white space for myself that allows me to think about the big picture of taking a higher-level approach to my current clients and projects (for better quality), developing new clients and addressing industry trends/changes.

The MDS race was the toughest event I’ve ever done, but it was the most incredible experience, and I really learnt a lot about myself in both the training and the race.  That internal audit/self-reflection is so critical to create a realistic approach for yourself. 

My new agile process has been running for a few months now and it will, no doubt, need adapting along the way, but it’s forming a good solid foundation to ensure I deliver the best quality work to my clients in the most efficient way.