do better than others, is Review,
systematically and often. They are
agile organizations, measuring performance,
getting the right people
in the room to review results, extracting
the learnings, and making
decisions on what to do next.
• Isolate the problem, not the person.
A pitstop crew leader shared this
phrase with us when describing a
disastrous pit stop. Rather than put
the blame on the person who had
trouble securely fixing the tire, they
studied the mishap to understand
what went wrong and how to prevent
it from happening again. Organizations
that create a safe environment
for people to make mistakes
and learn from them, build confidence,
and enable creativity and
innovation.
• Real gains come at the boundaries.
A Formula 1 car is a complex piece of
equipment. Its components – power
unit, aerodynamics, gears, brakes,
electronics, etc. – must work in
harmony to enable the car to attain
its peak performance. This requires
open and honest communication
across organization boundaries
where colleagues in different functions
constantly share knowledge
and experience. This in contrast to
companies where we often see walls
form between different functions –
finance, marketing, manufacturing,
etc. – which leads to a fractious
work environment.
I have had several adventures attending
Formula 1 Grand Prix and
visiting team headquarters. A few
of these have been included in my
new book, “Exploding Turkeys and Spare
Trousers, adventures in global business.”
The book includes fifty-three stories
from my business travels, and each
includes a business or life takeaway.
One F1 experience I described was
when I visited Ferrari F1’s headquarters
at Maranello, Italy. It was the
day before Midsummer, I was confident
that I would catch my Finnair
flight from Milan to Helsinki in time
to celebrate with the family in the
evening. However, I did not anticipate
being invited by Ferrari to a full
Italian lunch at Michael Schumacher’s
favorite restaurant. Afterward, I
had to invoke that great driver’s skill
to make it to the airport on time, arriving
just as the door of the airplane
was closing.
Ken Pasternak has lived in the USA, France,
Finland, United Kingdom, Turkey, and
Belgium before returning permanently
to Helsinki in 1996. He has held leadership
positions at Citibank and the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
As an author, consultant and
keynote speaker Ken focuses on building
high performance organizations through
visionary leadership, team effectiveness,
creating a winning culture, and improving
cross-cultural understanding. He is a
graduate of Yale University and is a dual
Finland/US citizen.
Ken Pasternak’s newest book “Exploding
Turkeys and Spare Trousers, adventures in
global business” (2021) includes fifty-three
most memorable stories from his business
travels, and each includes a business or life
takeaway.
Do you know where F1 has raced in the US?
Miami in Florida will become the 11th US venue to have hosted a round of
the Formula 1 World Championship in 2022. The other venues are
• Indianapolis, Indiana; 19 races, 1950-1960 (as Indy 500) and 2000-2007
(as US Grand Prix)
• Sebring, Florida; 1 race, 1959
• Riverside, California; 1 race, 1960
• Watkins Glen, upstate New York; 20 races, 1961-1980
• Long Beach, California; 8 races, 1976-1983
• Las Vegas, Nevada; 2 races, 1981-1982
• Detroit, Michigan; 7 races, 1982-1988
• Dallas, Texas; 1 race, 1984
• Phoenix, Arizona; 3 races, 1989-1991
• Austin, Texas; 9 races so far, 2012-2021 (9th race on October 22-24, 2021)
Source and picture: Formula1
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