The Brains of Brawn

For over a decade the completely fan-ignoring circus that is Formula One motor racing has held little appeal for me.  Fans want tight races, constant overtaking, driving skill over pitstop strategy, competent administrators and plenty of personalities.  All five have been absent for a generation.

To remedy this, radical rule changes have just come in to play.  Whilst the early signs give some encouragement, the irony is that one team’s unique attitude to them may give rise to familiarly destructive paint-drying procession problems, albeit in a new colour.

The story of team Brawn GP is a cracker for anyone who’s selling is afflicted by credit crunch, recessionary blues.  Somehow they reached the summit in the very first race in Melbourne.

With the new rule changes agreed far in advance, their approach was to reckon that they’d gain a significant march on their rivals if they started work on them as early as possible.  So soon in fact, that preparation began November 2007.  This is like a salesperson getting the groundwork in place for two financial year’s time.  The “perceived three-months head start” Brawn gained must practically be worth a full year in their field.

It’s a telling reminder that there is always a selling horizon beyond the next that you must keep in mind and constantly prepare for.