The ability to stay focused, read changing conditions and decide at the right moment matters more than ever in business. Those instincts are not always shaped in meeting rooms. Sometimes a passion pursued well away from work turns out to teach just as much about leadership.
From a childhood passion to a way of life
For our CEO Ahmet Toprakçı, that passion is motorcycling. What began in childhood has grown into far more than a hobby over the years, becoming a way of life that calls for attention, discipline and a strong sense of safety. Toprakçı, who completed professional advanced riding courses around a decade ago, today owns motorcycles in a range of styles, from classic scooters to high-capacity vintage bobbers.
Having ridden in conditions as varied as city traffic, desert terrain, muddy trails and long-distance routes, Toprakçı still makes room for time in the saddle despite a demanding schedule. Last month he rode to a television programme with a formal dress code, which says a great deal about the place motorcycling holds in his daily life.
More than a means of transport: motorcycle culture
Motorcycle culture is a significant part of this passion. Toprakçı is drawn to the lifestyle side of it all, from hunting for vintage pieces to visiting motorcycle shops in different countries. Events such as The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, which brings classic and retro enthusiasts together to raise awareness of men’s health, show that motorcycling carries a spirit and a sense of community all its own, he says. He also shares the passion with his daughter and is keen for her relationship with motorcycles to be safe and well informed from the very beginning.
The focus learned in the saddle pays off at work
What ties Toprakçı to motorcycling above all is the way riding keeps you entirely in the moment. From the sound of the road to the smallest change in the surface, from the movements of nearby vehicles to potential hazards, every detail has to be read the moment you sit in the saddle, and you also need to anticipate what other drivers will do next. For Toprakçı, motorcycling is a matter of awareness rather than speed, and he believes that same focus has a powerful equivalent in business and in leadership.
“It makes you feel freedom and responsibility at the same time”
“For me, motorcycling is about awareness far more than speed. The moment you sit in the saddle, your mind cannot wander anywhere else; you have to read the road, the vehicles around you and even the slightest change in the surface. At the same time, you need to think one step ahead, anticipate potential risks and, when necessary, make quick but calm decisions. I believe this approach has a very strong equivalent in business and in leadership. Motorcycling reminds me to stay in the moment, keep my focus, take calculated risks and adapt to changing conditions. What is more, when I ride home from work, my mind is clear because all my attention has gone into the ride. That is exactly what makes it feel like freedom and responsibility at the same time.”
What Ahmet Toprakçı describes is a reminder of how simple the ideas we discuss so often in business really are. In a period marked by growing uncertainty and a need for faster decisions, what keeps companies standing is not knowing in advance what will happen, but reading changing conditions correctly and keeping a cool head. Toprakçı says he learned that in the saddle. On a motorcycle, as in business, you do not get to choose the road on your own, but how you ride it is entirely up to you.
