A Winning Strategy

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When I worked as a professional software engineer for AT&T Bell Laboratories, I was a member of the AT&T corporate running team. This is my racing jersey from that team.

At that time, one component of AT&T Bell Laboratories was located in Naperville, Illinois, which is a city about 30 miles south west of the city of Chicago.

The AT&T running team was very competitive at that time and there were a couple of runners who could run about 4:10 mile.  On my best days, I was running about a minute plus slower, or could run about a 5:30 pace per mile at that time.

On May 19, 1988, I ran a 6K (3.7 miles) running road race, the Spring Fling Run, sponsored by AT&T Bell Labs at the Hickory Ridge Conference Center in Lisle, Illinois, which is a city near Naperville.

I had a winning strategy in mind for the race.  I lined up in the very first row of the runners at the starting line and took off at a very fast pace running ahead of all my AT&T teammates.  Normally I would run behind my AT&T running team teammates and try to catch them, but on that day, I sprinted to the font ran at the front the whole race and challenged them to chase me and then catch me.  All of the other runners, including my AT&T teammates started out a pace slower than 5:30/mile, so I immediately created some distance between myself and all the other runners.

My AT&T teammates expect me to slow down and fade so they could catch me eventually, but I never did.  When they realized I was not going to slow down or fade, it was too late for any of them to make a surge to catch me before the finish line.

I was the overall winner of that 6K running road race.  I was the very first finisher, first overall. My winning time was 20:32, two seconds off the course record of 20:30.  My average pace was 5:31/Mile.  There were about one hundred people in that 6K race.

I realize this event happened many years ago and I can not even get anywhere close to running that fast ever again.

However, I was going through some old papers I had stored in my basement and found the certificate from that race included in the image below.

The strategy I used to win that race made me think about developing a winning strategy in life and in business.

• The 6K Race is as a Metaphor for Choosing a Winning Strategy

When I lined up at the start of the 6K road race, I knew every runner had the same goal: to cross the finish line first. Yet the real difference between those who fade, those who finish strong and those who actually win, isn’t always just talent.  I was running against runners who could run a minute per mile faster than me.  It’s about choosing and using a winning strategy.

Winning Strategy Principle: To win that 6K race I had to choose my own winning strategy before the race to beat the runners I knew were faster than me including my own teammates on the AT&T corporate running team. Just as in running, your professional life and personal life is filled with distractions and moments where we’re tempted to deviate from what works. Winning in your personal and professional life comes from deciding on and sticking to a winning strategy that will allow you to get to your desired finish line ahead of everyone else.

• You Compete Against Who Shows as You Execute Your Winning Strategy

One truth about running races is that you don’t get to choose your competition.  On race day, you have to run against who shows up. You may line up against seasoned veterans who have been training for years, who are faster than you or you might find yourself surrounded by runners just starting their journey. On race day, the field is what it is, you don’t control who shows up. What you do control is how you respond and how you execute the strategy you have chosen to use against who shows up.

Winning Strategy Principle:  To win that 6K race, I had to compete against all runners who showed up to run that day, including several of my teammates who were much faster than me.  I executed my strategy and ran my race. I used my strategy against the runners who showed up run that day.  Winning in your personal and professional life comes from executing your own winning strategy, your own way, using your own training and skills and not from controlling the competition.

• Stick to Your Own Winning Strategy

Sticking to winning strategy is a commitment to a framework to achieve victory. It is a roadmap you create before the pressure hits, rooted in preparation, knowledge and clarity of purpose. Sticking to your own winning strategy means resisting the urge to chase distractions, panic when conditions get challenging, or copy what others are doing and not trusting yourself.

Winning Strategy Principle: To win that 6K race, I had stick to my own strategy and trust that my training, my prior experience racing in running road races and knowledge of how my teammates from the AT&T corporate running team would like race that day would be enough to allow me to win the race.  Winning in your personal and professional life comes from sticking to and trusting your own winning strategy and having the confidence it will work for you.

How do You develop a winning strategy in your own life?

Developing a winning strategy in your own personal and professional life by: (1) setting your own pace; (2) trusting your training; (3) staying disciplined under pressure; and (4) finishing strong.

• Set Your Own Pace – In running, one of the quickest ways to have a bad race is by starting too fast just because others are pushing the pace.  You get caught up in the excitement of the start, but by the halfway mark, exhaustion takes over. The same is true in life: when you measure yourself constantly against the pace of others in their live like trying to match their careers, possessions, or achievement, you risk running out of energy before you reach our own desired finish line.

Winning Strategy Principle: Setting your own pace means selecting a desired pace for your own strategy and sticking to it to arrive at your own desired finish line.

• Trust Your Training – No runner wins a road race day by accident.  Such victories include may hours of daily training, and gaining experience by directly competing and racing with other runners in road races.  Just like in running, in your life, you engage in daily “training sessions”, such as building skills sets, learning new tasks, nurturing relationships, that prepare you for executing your own strategy.

Winning Strategy Principle: To overcome challenges and achieve victories in your personal and professional life, you have to trust your training as you execute your own winning strategy.

• Stay Disciplined Under Pressure – Races don’t always unfold the way anyone expects. Someone may surge ahead, the weather may shift, or fatigue may hit earlier than planned. The temptation is to abandon your strategy and react emotionally. But winners know how to stay grounded, even when conditions change. In life, staying disciplined under pressure means resisting distractions, temptations, and shortcuts when they appear.  It means staying committed to the principles and strategies you know will serve you, even when others around you take detours.

Winning Strategy Principle:  Staying discipled under stress makes all the difference between falling apart and finishing well as you execute your own winning strategy.

• Finish Strong – The mark of a great runner isn’t just how they start, but how they finish. The last stretch of the race is where perseverance meets preparation. Many people begin projects or goals with enthusiasm but fade before the end, leaving work incomplete or dreams unfulfilled. Finishing strong means you conserve enough energy and stay focused to cross the line with integrity and impact.

Winning Strategy Principle: In life, finishing strong means following through on commitments and pushing through fatigue and temporary challenges to deliver your best when it matters most as you execute your own winning strategy.

Taking the time to develop and execute your own winning strategy allows you to create a significant positive impact in your life.

Out There on the Edge of Everything®…

Stephen Lesavich, PhD

Copyright © 2025 by Stephen Lesavich, PhD.  All rights reserved.

Certified solution-focused life coach and experienced business coach.

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