Mastery – The Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 is one of the most iconic cars in the world. A timeless classic that sets the industry standard in design, performance, functionality, and charisma. The basic design remains the same. The functional goal of the car remains the same. A car is pure when the driver sits in it and feels the car in their guts. That is a 911.

My appreciation for the 911 has developed over the last few years. It started with an accidental visit to the museum in Stuttgart, Germany. A buddy and I were in Germany and wanted to go to the Mercedes museum. We hopped on a 20-minute train and made our way to the museum by walking over a mile. Unfortunately, the museum was closed. Crap! It was drizzling outside too. 

At that point, we decided to use google and found that the Porsche museum was open. Back then, I didn’t know as much about Porsche. Going to the museum opened my eyes to the brand, history, and mastery of the Porsche 911. I’d like to go back to the museum with my current perspective and see the details I missed then. I accidentally ended up at the Porsche museum. I’m glad I did.

Many might not know this, but in the late 1970s, Porsche planned to replace the 911 with the 928. The company was producing the 911 Super Carrera (SC), and the car kept performing well in sales. Yet, some in the company thought the company had to move on from the 911. Sometimes, we can’t help but fix what isn’t broken.   

From a vintage interest perspective, the 911 SC did not have the desirability of some of the other air-cooled cars. Ironically, though, it is the 911 that might have saved Porsche. In a single meeting, Porsche decided to extend the life of the 911 and may have extended the company’s life by doing so. The 911 was, and is, precise. The engineers and designers caught lightning in a bottle. They created a rare car that is the flagship product of the company. Porsche did one thing better than anything and anyone else; they built the 911. Customers value that mastery. 

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, he presents the 10,000-hour rule for mastery. The rule is that to master something, you commit 10,000 hours to it. The principle is about focusing and devoting yourself to one thing and perfecting it. Musicians develop mastery when they devote 10,000 hours to practice. Racing drivers become icons when they devote 10,000 hours to racing. A few years ago, I attended training at Chicago Booth School of Business and we watched a music conductor not missing a single detail in the band’s practice as they prepared for a performance. Hour after hour, they painstakingly went after perfection. 

So what? Why the word picture of Porsche, art, and devotion? Businesses and individuals get far too distracted and broadly focused. We forget our core passions. We neglect our core competencies. And we don’t have the time to devote ourselves, or our companies, to a few incredible things. Instead, we find ourselves an inch deep and a mile wide chasing the latest fads or flash-in-the-pan ideas. My challenge to you is to find one thing in front of you and go after it full steam. If you fail…so what. 

Find your 911.