dead running watch as mission test

Two writers I admire (Haruki Murakami and Hanif Abdurraqib) have a running practice that complements their writing practice. They seem to mostly ignore performance metrics and many of the trappings of 2020’s running culture. The point, for them, is the meditative regularity of it. Being in their body, being in the outdoors, being kind to both. They do it and then they do it again. “How far?” or “how fast?” matter much less to them than “did you, today?”

I aspire to that gritty peacefulness. And. I have three different running apps on my phone and a Garmin watch. I train and race. I read subreddits full of technical advice. I pay attention to the numbers. 

Yesterday, my watch died about halfway through the run. This jarred me. I didn’t know how fast I was going or how far. I had to go by feel. And the dead watch forced me to consider: what is the point of this? Beyond the interim goals and detailed little metrics and cartoon badges - why am I out here? 

So many teams and organizations right now are reckoning with a dead watch. Some external source of status and support is gone. You’ve lost funding, people, political power. The specific signatures of achievement you wanted to see won’t show up.

The best organizations I’ve seen use dead watch moments, terrible and unjust as they are, to sharpen their understanding of their missions. They become more themselves, in spite of the unfair challenge, and make the world a better place as a result.

In 2014 and 2015, young migrants fled violence in their home countries in Central America and came to New Orleans in record numbers. Many of them were learning English for the first time when they got here. Ben and the principals of his schools decided to seek out these kids and make their schools the best at meeting their needs. This was obviously going to hurt test scores and stress still-forming cultures at some new schools. And. The whole point of opening and leading these schools in the first place was to serve all students – no matter what their needs were. Collegiate Academies became a deeper version of itself and a mini-generation of kids got to do the last of their growing up in a place that was safe and loving. 

-eric