Men I love and the tenuous link to talent acquisition... Ken Miles
It was a hot day in August 1966. The Ford J-car had been out all day, racing around the track in California. It was a prototype racing car, built to be stronger and faster than the legendary Ford GT40 that had won at Le Mans a few months earlier.
At the wheel was Ken Miles.
He was English, had a reputation for having a sardonic sense of humour and liked to speak his mind. Awkwardly when he did he was very rarely wrong which didn't make people exactly love him.
He was a true car geek. Part mechanic, part driver and he excelled at both. He could tell if some random part in the car was impacting on performance... and be able to fix it. A rare skill of being able to do, lead from the front and yet was a team player, fixing the bigger picture, not just how his car works but everyone in the team. He wasn’t a high-level strategist, he was practical, pragmatic and outcome focused.
If you've seen the recent film about him you'll have seen it is about his journey to the 1966 Le Mans race. The car was built by the mighty Ford that had deep pockets and a failure isn’t an option attitude.
They were the biggest car manufacturer in the world and yet in racing they were very much the underdog, Ferrari by comparison was nearly bankrupt having ploughed all their money into racing cars, with the result they were winning time and time again.
Despite working for Ford, being their best driver Ken Miles didn’t fit the wholesome clean cut image that Ford wanted to convey. In Ford’s eyes he was trouble and only got to race because of his relationship with racing boss Carolle Shelby. As a Le Mans winner himself, Shelby knew that to go out on a track and risk it all took a certain kind of person. That deep pockets and a good car did not guarantee success or avoid death at 200mph.
It’s June 1966 and Ken is in the lead. He has a huge lead having set a number of lap records along the way. He just has to hold on a little bit longer and all the work will have paid off. He has raced day and night and has earned the win, but Ford spotted a marketing opportunity... under instruction from Ford he slowed down... they wanted a photo opportunity. To bring the team cars in together 1,2,3.
Ken slowed down and Ford got their picture and the cars went over the line together. Only Ken didn't win... his teammate had started behind him at the start of the race and had therefore travelled further than the car Ken was driving.
People that were with him on the day say he was devasted.
He had taken on the giant corporate and lost. More than that he had lost a little of him even though he has raced his heart out. Yet, despite that, despite what they had done, stealing his hard-earned glory from him he carried on. He started thinking about the next race and how he could be quicker.
If you know me personally then I suspect you'll know why I love Ken. At his peak he was a similar age to me, could still 'do' as well as see the bigger picture but didn't always know when to shut up. It was never what he said I suspect but the way in which it was said. I find this when bidding for work, just ask any of the DANGERFIELD team and see what they say. Whilst I cut to the issues quite early, as a good consultant should, I deal with authority figures very badly. It has cost me and my business money. Speaking your mind doesn't always win you friends. But I know that people like Ken Miles, people with passion, people willing to stick their neck out ultimately will win. Ask my team about it and they will tell you that I’m all in.
Back to that hot August day…
Ken was testing a new design of car construction, it was a honeycomb design, reducing weight and increasing strength. In the hands of the right driver, it would be game changing. As Ken approached the end of the track's 1-mile downhill back straight at around 200mph his car suddenly looped, flipped, crashed and caught fire. He was killed instantly.
Until this recent film is was an underdog that had faded from history, I hope not share the same fate.
About
Martin Dangerfield is founder of the cunningly named Consulting business DANGERFIELD, bringing together recruitment specialists on a global basis to enable organisations to speed up hiring, optimise process and hire on a global basis. At the core of our offering is an onsite, on demand service with recruitment professionals hiring in your name.
Working with a group of leading recruitment and recruitment marketing professionals, Martin is keen to talk to high growth organisations about how the hire.