When thinking about sports that are practiced in pairs, rallying is simply something you can’t miss. The mix of speed, adrenaline, and precision makes it a celebration of human collaboration and execution.
There’s a lot we can learn from this exciting sport, but today I’d like to focus on some lessons I took specifically from its reconnaissance stage, also known as recce.
What is recce?
Before a race, driver and co-driver have 2 full drives on the trail. This preparation stage is known as recce (/ˈrɛki/)—short for reconnaissance. During this process, the driver and co-driver traverse the trail in a controlled speed to collect pace notes, which are essential for success.
Why is recce so important?
Rallying is a sport based on precision. The terrain makes it impossible to focus on speed without thinking of it as a side effect of team precision. Recce allows the co-driver to collect all the required information to deliver next steps fast, and process them before the race so they are tailored for the driver to execute.
Recce is important to drivers as well: it allows them to mentally prepare for real speeds while executing at a fraction of those velocities.
The process
During the first pass “Observation”, the team focusses only on data collection. The driver calls out how he feels about each detail, and the co-driver takes notes. The focus here is to identify the optimal path to maximize speed and control—speed is nothing without control—while also recognizing hazards and surface conditions that can impact the performance of the team.
The second pass “Refinement” is about fine-tuning. Editing notes, calibrating for accuracy and clarity.
There’s a final step, usually considered post-recce, where the team reviews the process and its results, and adjust technical and human aspects of their collaboration to improve.
3 Lessons from recce to apply when pairing
1. Invest in predictability
Don’t leave success on luck. Your success depends on your preparation and on the maturity of the pairing team. Prepare wisely, taking the time to understand the places in code you’re going to be working on and identifying any potential blockers or hazards along the way. Sometimes it’s worth taking the time to perform a scratch run—similar to the scratch refactoring suggested by Michael Feather in “Working Effectively with Legacy Code”—where the goal is to get familiar with the code and come up with a clear route map of what to do and how. Then, you throw away that code and start over with all that experience factored in!
2. Know your peer
Rallying teams have the benefit of always pairing with the same person, and having roles well defined. This is not—and should not be—the case with pair programming: you want to rotate driver/navigation roles often to prevent boredom, and swap pairs constantly to break silos of ownership. This does mean that you need to know your peer and establish clear goals on how to collaborate before you start working together. Don’t assume the other person will do things your way, or the way another person does it. Ask them what they feel comfortable doing and what they do not enjoy, coach them closely on the things they struggle with so they can grow. Always commit to finding the best way to collaborate towards the goal safely and with speed.
3. Reflect on the pair and in yourself to become better
We’re not perfect, and we shouldn’t aim to be. Be open to reflecting on what was right and what was not so right about your collaboration. Can you change something in yourself for the next time? Be open and ask for feedback at the end of each session, and even share some if there’s something you’d like to change for the next time. Understand this is a skill-developing process and it takes time and correction to get to your best self—I’m saying best, not perfect here.
Final thoughts
The world is full of opportunities to learn and calibrate our day-to-day work, inspired by awesome teams and professionals. Always keep an eye open and investigate the processes and thoughts of the people who inspire you! Live their lives through their work and enrich yours.
More data about recce and rallying: Learn more about the recce process here: https://www.canevarally.com/recce-the-essential-pre-rally-ritual-for-victory/ Learn more about co-driving here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIlSXacFmXM