Le Mans Street
Two lessons from Ford v Ferrari on focus, defeat, and the art of staying in the race.
I recently watched Ford v Ferrari. I know, it took me a while, but I’m really glad I did. It does a fabulous job of keeping you in the edge of your seat, listening to the roar of those GT40s, feeling like something is definitely about to happen, it was scenes that highlight the silence in the boardroom and the grit in the cockpit that got me thinking about how we approach downtown and local business support.
If you manage a downtown district, curate your storefront, or try to get a placemaking idea funded, you are essentially in a race. And as it turns out, you are usually the underdog.
There are two moments in that movie that perfectly encapsulate the struggle of independent operators and visionary district managers. One is strategic, and the other is deeply personal. Both are necessary if you want to win.
1. Find Your Le Mans (The Iacocca Pivot)
There is a scene where Lee Iacocca faces Henry Ford II. Ford is furious. Production is stalled, sales are flat, and the company feels bloated and uninspired. He wants to know why they are losing.
Iacocca doesn’t pitch a new sedan. He doesn’t suggest a marketing campaign for the masses. He correctly identifies the single niche where Ford could shock the world and redefine its entire narrative: Beating Ferrari at Le Mans.
He realized that you cannot be “awesome” at everything all at once. You have to pick the one battlefield where victory changes the perception of your entire brand.
In our world of downtowns and storefronts, we often make the mistake of trying to be everything to everyone. We want to be the family destination and the nightlife hotspot and the high end cultural destination. We dilute our message until we are nothing.
Iacocca’s lesson is about the power of the singular objective.
For the Storefront: What is the one window display, the one product, or the one interaction that, if you nail it, proves you are world-class?
For the District: Stop trying to fix every problem, lift every gum stain, and fill every vacancy. Find your “Le Mans”: the one block, the one festival, or the one mural project where a spectacular marketing move will make the world look at your downtown differently.
You don’t need to win everywhere. You just need to win the race that matters.
2. Swallow the Defeat (The Ken Miles Standard)
The second lesson is harder to watch, but it is the mark of a true master.
Ken Miles drives the perfect race. He pushes the car beyond its limits, outsmarts the competition, and is laps ahead. He has earned the win. Then, the “suits” intervene. They want a photo finish. They ask him to slow down for the sake of the corporate narrative.
Miles slows down. He crosses the line. And because of a technicality, he loses the win.
He was robbed. It was unfair. Even for someone whose choice of movie must have zero drama and lots of explosions, it was gut-wrenching.
What he does next is a stellar example for our industry. He doesn’t throw a tantrum. He doesn’t storm off to the press. He gets out of the car, swallows the defeat, and looks at the next challenge. He knows what he did. He knows he built the best machine and drove the fastest lap.
In the work of placemaking and business building, you will be robbed. You will have the perfect grant application denied. You will have a landlord refuse a genius tenant. You will have a city council vote down a project that would have saved the block.
It will feel personal. It will feel like you slowed down for the photo finish and lost everything.
The amateur quits. The master, like Miles, understands that the race is long. He swallows the bitter pill, acknowledges the reality, and gets back to work on the car.
We don’t do this for the trophy. We do it because we are the only ones who know how to drive the car.
See you on the sidewalk.