Are You Sucking Up To The Right Pack?

Okay I will admit it...I am a huge NASCAR fan. I was introduced to the sport by my former operations manager and best friend Wayne "White Tiger" Henderson back in 1993. He introduced me to the sport and I have been an Earnhardt and Earnhardt Jr. fan ever since.

In NASCAR, especially at the big tracks there is a term called "drafting" that is very important. It basically means that one car aligns itself with one or more cars ahead and it can actually travel faster and more efficiently around the track. It happens because the cars in front actually reduce the wind resistance of the car that is following and an excess of power and speed actually gets build up and can be used to propel both cars literally making them both faster. The car that is sucking up however is building power in reserve that eventually can be used to sling shot around the car it is following when the time is right. A car that can attach itself to another car does so by "sucking up."

This past Sunday as I watch Junior and a few of my other favorites travel around the track at Michigan it planted a seed that I thought was worth sharing. No matter what race track these guys drive on, the cars in the middle to the rear of the pack always tend to be the poorer running cars. Yes they suck up to the cars ahead of them but for some reason they never seem to collectively make any headway; the better running cars who week in and week out always seem to run better.

Occasionally you will see a driver who normally resides at the front of the pack start at the end of the pack say at the start of the race. But a driver like Dale Jr. or Tony Stewart rarely stay back there in the back long because they find a way to get up to the better cars quickly and suck up to the right pack of cars that when the checkers fly give them the best chance to win. They know which cars they suck up better to and they seek those cars out and like a crafty old frog leap frog from one car to the next until they reach the front of the pack. It is fascinating to watch and it happens every Sunday.

Now what in the world does this have to do Rippling or building your network you might be asking yourself? Everything!

Bad cars that suck up to other bad cars never seem to win races. Good cars that leave the bad cars in their rearview mirror seem to always find the faster cars to suck up to and collectively they all increase their chances of winning the race. However, like in life, only the best of the best on that particular day will actually win. But the good cars almost always finish in a good spot and more importantly place themselves in position to win...week in and week out.

Your relationships are the same way. You have good people who are going somewhere you could surround yourself with and attach to (no real sucking is needed or allowed in most states) or you have bad (or not so great) people who aren't going anywhere that are happy to welcome you into their pack. Good people are going to make things happen; like in NASCAR because they are out in front tend to stay out of the wrecks or you have bad people who like bad drivers cause wrecks or get caught up in them. Which is a better option for your personal or professional bumper to be attached to and pulled along the race track of life by?

The trick is to evaluate which people you need to "suck up" to (not literally) and find a way to run with them. Show that you bring value to the people you need to run with and they will have the confidence to run with you and bring you along to the front of the pack. Understand where you can make people more efficient and add value to their life and make the moves on and off the track that will help them and you too will be a position to win when the checkered flag goes a flying.

Rippling your way to the front of the pack isn't hard...it just takes time, patience and desire. Which pack are you sucking up to right now?

Ripple On!!!

Steve