The Baton Drop

‍

‍

It starts well.

‍

The runners burst from the blocks, legs like pistons, the track rattling under their spikes. The first 100 metres is clean, powerful. The second runner is ready, arm stretched back, eyes forward. For a moment, everything looks perfect.

‍

Then it happens. A wobble. A mistimed grip. The baton slips, kisses the ground, and rolls into silence.

‍

The crowd gasps. Months of training vanish in less than a second. Not because the team was slow. Not because they weren’t strong enough. But because the handover wasn’t clean.

‍

That’s where it lands: the race isn’t really won in the sprint. It’s won or lost in the exchange.

‍

And suddenly it feels uncomfortably familiar.

‍

Because audits work the same way.

‍

You can blaze through your section with speed and precision. You can run your “leg” flawlessly. But if the handover to review is clumsy, the whole engagement stumbles.

‍

Deadlines slip. Errors creep. Trust wobbles. And just like on the track, the worst part isn’t the mistake itself, it’s the wasted effort of everyone who ran before you.

‍

Audit Tip #14: Protect the exchange zone.

‍

Stop treating handovers like afterthoughts. Build them into the rhythm of the race:

• Share sections mid-way, not in one Friday-night dump.
  
  
• Add notes that explain your logic, so reviewers can see the road you travelled.
  
  
• Leave the file tidy, so the next person doesn’t waste time tripping over your loose ends.
  
  

‍

Clean passes mean smoother reviews. Fewer late nights. A team that feels like it’s running in stride and not sprinting, stumbling, then scrambling to recover.

‍

The truth is simple: the baton will always be part of the race. The question is whether yours glides from hand to hand… or ends up rolling in the dust.

‍

If you caught the World Championships in Tokyo, what moment gave you goosebumps. The sprints, the hurdles, or the relays?

‍

Until next week,
Christiaan

‍

P.S. Book a demo here. Let us help you make your exchange zone seamless.

‍

‍