Built to Finish: How to Go the Distance in Business and in Life by Steven Pivnik
What's It About?
An endurance athlete’s formula for success for entrepreneurs: the grit to start, the stamina to finish, and the balance to live fully along the way.“Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.”
There’s a passage in serial entrepreneur Steven Pivnik’s book Built to Finish where he is hiking up Mount Rainier and comes upon a sign, “No hiking past this point.”
“For me,” Pivnik writes, “that was an invitation to break the rules to see what lay beyond the warning sign.”
Later, about to compete in his first Olympic-distance triathlon, his wife surveys the treacherous, hilly terrain and tells her husband she doesn’t have a good feeling about this. “Even more fuel for my fire,” Pivnik responds.
Whether it’s closing multimillion-dollar licensing deals with IBM and Microsoft, to the Ironman World Championship, to ultramarathons and summit expeditions, Steven Pivnik knows how to go the distance — and sometimes that means stretching the envelope beyond what you think is even possible.
Story of Adventure — and Business Savvy
Like anything in life, “you never know what to expect when navigating a mountain. With each step comes a new risk.”
But in business, as in life, there’s such a thing as calculated risk — strategies and processes put in place to protect against such risk and increase the chances of a positive outcome, along with determination, discipline, resilience, patience, pace and the ability to get through “the grind,” the not-so-flashy but essential parts of any initiative.
Pivnik’s story is twofold. Raised from a Jewish upbringing and parents of limited means, he scratches and claws his way to create a thriving international information technology company with 200 employees and contracts from iconic industry trailblazers. After exiting the company, he turns his desire for new adventure into high-impact sports competitions, notably Ironman distance triathlons, marathons, ultra-marathons, helicopter skiing and mountaineering.
Valuable Nuggets and Key Takeaways
In Built to Finish, Pivnik shares his story and the many lessons learned along the way. While the work is written as a narrative recounting his life story, the nature of his projects and accomplishments lend themselves to valuable nuggets on everything from the ABCs of running a business, to understanding and navigating the human element at every turn, to approaching each task and challenge with the proper mindset, to taking risks when appropriate, and staying the course when necessary.
While his wisdom comes anecdotally, he offers Key Takeaways at the end of each chapter, reinforcing the teaching points and the messages, such as:
- One mistake doesn’t define you.
- Sometimes it’s ok to wear success on your sleeves.
- Embed diversity and inclusion into your corporate culture as early as possible.
- Never underestimate the power of the personal touch to demonstrate your commitment.
- The magic happens in the trenches, so roll up your sleeves and pitch in.
An Enlightening Read for All Ages
For the next phase of Pivnik’s life, he looks to be a role model for his family, for the workforce at large, and for business leaders as he builds a platform of advisory services to other entrepreneurs.
Whether for business or personal goals, Pivnik says he has transformed his body and mind into “an endurance machine.”
And even in his title, Built to Finish, what exactly does “finish” mean?
“They say the finish line is the true destination,” Pivnik writes. “But I found that the journey is perhaps the most special part.”
Come along on this special journey — it is sure to enlighten readers of all interests and ages.
About Steven Pivnik:
Steven Pivnik is a serial entrepreneur specializing in the Information Technology market. He grew his last company, Binary Tree, to over 200 employees across 12 countries and then successfully sold it. Steven now advises other founders and entrepreneurs looking for a similar corporate growth. While Steven was CEO of Binary Tree, the company was named to the Inc. 500 and Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies multiple times. Steven was known not only for negotiating and closing multimillion-dollar licensing deals with companies like IBM and Microsoft, but also for creating a corporate culture with significantly below-average employee turnover and above-average customer satisfaction ratings.
Steven is also an endurance sports enthusiast and enjoys triathlons of all distances as well as ultramarathons and mountaineering. He has competed in over 20 triathlons including the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, eight New York City Marathons, Ultraman Florida and numerous ultra-marathons including distances of 50k, 50 miles, 100k, and 100 miles.
