The Process of Running

Written by Niamh Elisabeth McShane | 3 min read
Published on: April 4, 2019 - Last modified: November 13th, 2020
Process of Running - Image of feet running

Have you ever spent a long evening working overtime analyzing stubborn process bottlenecks and trying to tweak and optimize your internal operations? A little while down the line, when your efforts had come to fruition you knew it: hard work pays off. Runners know this too! At Signavio, we are running the Berlin Half Marathon for the fifth year in a row, an achievement we are very proud of!

Running, a painstaking process...

Hours of hard work resulting in the euphoria of success is, by our very human nature, an addictive and satisfying pattern. Most industry professionals know this feeling all too well. Your organization runs on a multitude of connecting factors and core processes requiring thorough and consistent attention, an ongoing task as strenuous as it is rewarding.

What better comparison can there be with this process than long-distance running?

Long-distance running is a form of delayed gratification in which crossing the finish line makes all the miles you just covered worth the effort. Your business, no matter what your current pain points are, was built to thrive, and there are many race ribbons to be broken by your team as you grow. At Signavio, adopting a culture of BPM permeates not only our business processes and decisions, but our entire team’s way of life. On a weekly basis, small groups of Signavio employees meet for group running sessions, strength building and yoga classes.

Dedication and planning

Preparing yourself for a long term goal goes beyond motivation or a spur-of-the-moment desire to get fit. It takes dedication and planning and most of all, a consistent approach. At Signavio, adopting a culture of continuous improvement not only within our organization, but in every aspect of our lives, means carving out time throughout our busy week for long runs and sometimes waking up at 6 a.m. (even in the freezing Berlin winter!) to get the kilometers in before work.

The Berlin Half Marathon 2019

On Sunday 7 April, a considerable group of Signavians from all over the world and with various motivations, goals, abilities, and personal challenges will join together to run the Berlin Half Marathon for the fifth consecutive year in a row. This 21 km (13.1 mile) route will take us through the sunny streets of the city where the Signavio journey itself began; under the Brandenburg Gate, past the Siegessäule, round by Potsdamer Platz, culminating in the east of the city, not far from the Fernsehturm. As we join together to congratulate each other with celebratory beers afterwards, we will all be acutely aware that behind this endorphin-induced bliss are weeks and months of preparation.

Hard work pays off

At the end of the quarter we will join together again and celebrate another kind of achievement, our successes as a Business Transformation leader. And yet the sentiment will be much the same, a sense of mutual joy and an awareness of the work it took to get us here… and a champagne toast, of course.

Current state and future state

Your body has a current state and most likely you, as an ambitious and driven individual, have a desired future state for it too: For your mind, for your fitness level, and for your ability to perform consistently and happily under whatever circumstances life throws at you. You are not so different from the organization in which you work. It too has a current state and a future state and you want it to run optimally, to function in a streamlined and resilient way, and to perform consistently when changes in the market threaten to throw it off track.

The secret: nothing worth having comes without effort

Herein lies the secret that our Berlin Half Marathon finishers have come to understand over the years, that nothing worth having comes without effort, and that consistency is a culture that must be implemented and retained. There is magic in the misery and there are massive rewards to be reaped from the hard work. When it comes to athletic abilities, this is a process you must implement independently. But when it comes to your business, you have Signavio. Our Process Transformation Suite is here to make sure that your company is always ready to jump over the next hurdle and to outrun the competition. Let us show you what you can achieve when you adopt BPM as a culture.

Published on: April 4, 2019 - Last modified: November 13th, 2020
Topics: Signavio