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It’s 2:13 a.m. The alarm will go off in just over 45 minutes. Then it’ll start. I’m worried about what’s to come, because I’m less prepared than last time. Will it be enough?
At 4:00 a.m., the starting signal will be given for the 105th edition of the Nijmegen 4-Day Walk. I set off enthusiastically on the first few kilometers of the 200-kilometer trek that lies ahead of me over the next few days.
In this blog post, I reflect on what I’ve learned from this challenge and how these lessons can be applied to other challenges, such as designing and implementing crisis management within an organization.
“Aim for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Ambitious, challenging goals can help you bring out the best in yourself. Not necessarily by achieving the goal itself, but because they can provide direction for all the small decisions we make every day.
The 4-Day Walk is a good example of this. Walking 200 kilometers in four days is a serious challenge. The most sensible way to prepare for it is to start training gradually in January, so that you can get used to the distances—both physically and mentally—as well as the aches and minor issues you’ll encounter along the way.
Another major challenge lies in designing and organizing the flow of information during a crisis. This is a complex issue, because you want to prepare the organization for an unexpected situation and, in doing so, you must also involve key stakeholders within the organization.
To achieve a major goal, it’s important to have a sense of the path from the current situation to the desired outcome. That path doesn’t have to be fully mapped out yet, as long as the first step is clear. Just as is often the case with a real journey: the further you travel, the clearer the rest of the route becomes.
One of my strategies for this during the Four Days Marches is the "hour-by-hour" approach. I walk for 50 minutes, take a 10-minute break, and then walk for another 50 minutes, and so on. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the total distance, I focus solely on the current hour. How long it will take or whether you’ll make it to the finish isn’t important—only the current hour counts.
A similar approach could be taken when setting up your crisis management process. Assess where your organization currently stands, what the intended outcome is, and what steps are needed to get there. By focusing on the current step and not looking too far ahead, you maintain clarity and agility.
Focusing on the part that lies ahead of us is mainly a matter of mindset. It allows us to stay positive because we celebrate our successes along the way.
During the Nijmegen 4-Day Walk and as we strive to achieve our goals, it is crucial to acknowledge and celebrate our milestones along the way. This boosts our motivation and strengthens our perseverance.
On Friday afternoon, I crossed the finish line with a couple of big bouquets of gladiolas and a beer or two under my belt. It was a wonderful way to wrap up four challenging, educational days filled with lots of singing, dancing, and laughter. Oh, and walking—lots and lots of walking.
The Nijmegen Four Days Marches is a great example of how even the biggest challenges become manageable when we break them down into smaller steps (pun intended). This principle has much broader applications, both in our personal and professional goals.
Keep this in mind as you tackle your own "four-day challenge" and move step by step toward your goals.
* P.S. Are you looking for suggestions on a step-by-step plan to improve your organization’s crisis management? Then fill out our quick scan , and we’ll help you with that!
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