A Personal Values Story
This story (told in 2 parts) is one of my favorite stories about my great friend, Mike Olsson.
To set the stage, I need to tell you that our friendship flourished right at the tail end of my career with PCL. I had just moved back to Edmonton, Alberta after spending 8 years living and working in Denver, Colorado and my wife Linda and I had determined that I would work a couple more years before retiring. My new boss, Peter Stalenhoef, asked my to act as Mike Olsson’s leadership mentor in my remaining time. Although I dd not know Mike well at that time, what I did know was that he was always “up”, a strong team player, serious about professional development (our métier), a terrific athlete and a lot of fun to be around. Who could say no to deepening a relationship with such a character? Not me!
That was 10 years ago, and I do know Mike a lot better now, well enough to call him a great friend. I am a generation older, so you already know that Mike wasn’t just ‘on the take’ as my protégé … he gave more back to me in demonstrating his learning, his encouragement, his steadiness and his perseverance than I could ever have imagined: the return on this mentoring investment is one of the best gifts of my life, so thank you to our shared boss Peter! But this story is really about these particular attributes of Mike’s most excellent character.
Part 1: Mike has completed a number of Ironman competitions, those long-distance triathlons that combine a 4K swim, a 180K bike ride and a 42K run … not your average Sunday morning jog. The training that goes into preparation for an event like this is massive: Mike says he put in at least 10 hours of training a week for 7 straight months and that he should really have been doing twice the training, but he also has a beautiful family and a day job.
Here are 3 pix of the Hawaii Ironman, just to give you an idea of the triple challenge:
I did say that Mike is a terrific athlete, but I shouldn’t imply that his athleticism transcends ALL sports. In fact, when he did the Hawaii Ironman, he says he didn’t think he would even be able to finish the swim (first) portion, since moving through water quickly is definitely not his forte. But, his forever-positive outlook allowed him later to boast that his bike was the easiest to find when he finally did complete the swim …
In 2007, having improved his performance as a swimmer, Mike competed in Ironman Canada. He felt he was fit enough to achieve a finish time he could be proud of and came out of the water earlier than ever to start the bike portion. 60K in, he got a flat tire, fixed it in a few minutes and kept going.
20K later, second flat tire … then the third … the fourth … the fifth. Mike says he had never felt such frustration and disbelief … until the sixth flat!
After more than an hour wasted on the side of the road, he was finally able to replace the entire wheel and complete the bike portion. So much for that time to be proud of!
But Mike didn’t quit, as I know I would have ... didn’t even occur to him. After using up his own 2 spares tubes, he waved down other triathletes for their spare tubes and cartridges; in fact, after the 6th flat, he borrowed a whole wheel from a spectator! Quitting, complaining were never options for Mike: he finished the bike portion and then ran a pretty decent marathon, incredibly achieving his personal best despite the setbacks.
How was he able to accomplish this feat? That is the deeply interesting part.
Part 2: This is Mike’s Dad, celebrating at the summit of the Chilkoot Trail, in 2012, at the end of a strenuous 5-day hike in Alaska and the Yukon.
As a father, Gordon Olsson continues to give his son Mike great gifts. Now almost 80, he has spent a lifetime modeling the way. A career land surveyor, he had always wanted to hike the famous Chilkoot Trail, retracing the steps over the continental divide that the prospectors followed during the Gold Rush in the late 1800’s.
What the picture doesn’t obviously show is the fact that Gordon was born without fully-formed fingers and feet. He only has a few half-fingers and his feet are really just heels … no real ‘ball of foot’ or toes. But Gordon never let this slow him down in life: he has always been active and has never used the ‘disability’ excuse … ever! So … is it any surprise that Mike would let 6 flat tires get in his way of finishing?
Mike Churchillian attitude of “Never Give Up!” is deeply who he is … because it is who Gordon is … and has always shown to the world.
Like Father, like Son … both models for all the rest of us!