Equal units ≠ equal parts

All units of measure are not created equal

Everybody forgets the 27th mile. Sure, a marathon is technically only 26.2 miles, but a lot of folks just round down to 26. They shave off that last two-tenths, because they think it won't be much, because they think it's just a tack-on.

But it's not.

I just finished my fourth marathon in two months, and having done this last little bit four times recently, I can tell you it's no tack-on. By the time you get to the end of a marathon, every step is heavy, hurts, hammers you into the pavement. No matter what your pace or ability, you're beat by the end. Mashed potatoes, emphasis on "mashed."

If you break down the 26.2 miles of the marathon into equal units, each two-tenths of a mile, you get 131 little units of distance. But I assure you, that 131st unit is exponentially more difficult than the 1st, 50th, or 100th. Equal units is not equal parts!

You'd expect that, even if you're not a runner. Of course that last little bit is tough. But I don't think we apply the same thinking in other tasks. We tend to think of the end of a project or a written work or a personal objective as equivalent to the things that came before.

That's where we fail to account for the final friction. The things that get in the way of finality. There's always some last troll or traitor that's out there aiming to stop us before the finish line. Even the Empire: they were all set to cross the goal line and fire the Death Star when Luke and Han got in those two shots that blew the whole thing up.

It's tough to account for this hidden force that denies us our touchdown. While I'd love to say that we should simply budget a little cushion of whitespace at the end for caution, I'm equally persuaded that such an idea is preposterous. These shocks and surprises at the end are simply too shocking and surprising to adequately prepare for. I think the best we can do is anticipate that, as we get to the end, we're in the "red zone" (to steal a principle from American football). We're in the "danger zone" (to steal a lyric from Kenny Loggins). We're vulnerable because we can spot the end and feel confident that we'll make it.

But we might not. I guess the issue is less about not finishing and more about not finishing with the quality and performance we've anticipated. Getting back to the marathon arena, the objective there is to finish that 131st unit (two-tenths of a mile) at the same pace as the very first one. That's rare, but that's the goal. The risk, then, is less about not finishing...and much more about not performing when it matters the most—at the end.

If we're head's up about equal units not being the same as equal parts, then we'll know there are moments that matter more than others. Some years, some days, some seconds just do matter more. And when we recognize that, we can start to find the edge and advantage we need as strategists in an astrategic world.