Planes may use runways in the literal sense but I have come to embrace the concept for many other aspects in life. A runway is a way of initially moving toward your destination – being in motion when you’re not quite ready or able to fly. By intentionally incorporating a runway phase to a project or idea, you can accelerate progress in the early stages.
Some examples:
- The dreaded icebreakers at a workshop can be reframed as “runways” – allowing participants to get focused and mentally prepared to dive into the main content
- An internship can provide a runway for a new hire or career
- Short-term financial and housing assistance provided to a new graduate can serve as a runway to launch them until they are established
- A side hustle can serve as a runway to test out a full-fledged entrepreneurial venture
- A pilot or beta-testing acts as a runway to a product launch
- Dog-sitting can be a runway to personal ownership of an animal
- Writing a blog could serve as a runway to authoring a book
Planes do not go from the gate directly into the air – they travel from stopped to airborne via the runway. The bigger the plane (aka: idea), the longer the runway that is required, but no plane takes flight without the initial path of acceleration. Your ideas can benefit from a similarly planned ramp-up of energy.
