CADENCE IN BUSINESS

I just got a new electric mountain bike. I took it out around Rabbit Island, and I jumped on a very gentle track to give it a little nudge. However, there was a physics incident where the bike stopped, and I kept going. Newton’s first law of motion proved true once again: the object in motion remained in motion, over the handlebars—until my momentum was stopped on by another force (the ground). Ouch. I’m fine, it’s all part of the fun. So, for the rest of the ride, I took it easy, rolling around a smoother park trail instead. 

While riding one of these smooth trails, I noticed how good my ‘cadence’ was on this new bike. In biking, cadence is the consistency of the pedal revolutions. The rhythm of the movement. I noticed how the cadence while pedalling uphill on the mountain bike track was almost as smooth as pedalling around on the flat ground. While I was riding around, I started thinking about this word cadence. In poetry, cadence is the pace, rhythm, rise and fall of the words. In music, cadence is the name for the distance between chord changes.  And in business, cadence is just as important. 

You don’t want to be stopping and starting. Whether you're cruising fast on a flat or grinding up a hill, your legs should keep a steady rhythm. The terrain changes, but your effort stays smooth. The same applies to business: you adjust to different landscapes, but you don’t want frantic bursts of energy followed by burnout. 

Think about it—prospects come in through marketing, sales convert them, operations deliver the goods, finance ensures cash flow. That’s cadence. Underpinning it all is culture. Culture ensures the business runs smoothly and allows you to shift gears when needed without losing momentum, and not just that, but your people who are along for the ride are making the most of the challenges and loving the downhills. 

A smooth cadence is about systems, and it’s about people. The best businesses have cultures that encourage collaboration, adaptability, and innovation. Because the world changes. Competitors change. Sometimes you need to shift gears and increase your speed. Culture enables that—without the wheels falling off (or your CEO going over the handlebars.) 

So what’s your cadence? Does your business flow or does it progress in bunny hops like a new driver? Are your meetings smooth and productive, or do they feel like a bumpy ride? This all ties into Breakthrough’s Meeting Magic course—worth a look.