#ThinkfullyHabit: Raise the bar
When things are established, familiar and work well, it’s rare to question whether there’s an alternative that may prove better. Yet, experimenting and trying new things without an obvious need can sometimes result in a step change. Radical innovations often start off being dismissed, ridiculed and prove less effective, but over time what appears to be a flop may become the superior choice.
“Hell, there are no rules here ‒ we’re trying to accomplish something.”
WHY?
In the 1960s, an American high jumper tried to perfect the scissor style jump (feet first) and the straddle technique (forward), but the existing techniques didn’t help him progress any higher. His personal best remained at 1.63 meters. He returned to the scissor style jump, and experimented with it; squeezing himself as he lifted his hips. This brought about a rather different personal style of jumping - going over the bar backwards. He was ridiculed by onlookers, the media and the wider high jumping community. It wasn’t an overnight success, but he continued to develop the technique. As he explains, “All the time I was doing it by feel as there was no model to follow. I was creating it as I went.” Gradually he started to produce results. The high jumper was Dick Fosbury and luckily he didn’t care what others thought.
In 1968, Dick Fosbury made the US high jumping team at the Mexico City Olympics. With the bar set at 2.24 meters, an Olympic record height at the time, with his third attempt, Fosbury jumped his way to gold with his unique backward style. It became known as the ‘Fosbury flop’. Fosbury revolutionised an entire sporting event and became one of the most influential athletes in history. What started out as completely unorthodox, became completely universal.
The step change came about because the typical advice from coaches wasn’t working for him. He was frustrated. He never meant to be radical, it was his love of the sport that drove him on. He took it upon himself to search for a better way. He kept experimenting and adapting, all the time being happy to be different.
It's a reminder that it’s not a waste of time questioning the tried and tested. A good place to start is by making explicit the current rules that are being applied to what you’re doing. Then, systematically exploring what it would look like to break each rule one-by-one, to try something different, make adaptions and see how they play out. Many of these ideas may instantly flop, but sometimes they may fly.
REFERENCES:
Durso, Joseph (October 20, 1968). “Fearless Fosbury Flops to Glory”. The New York Times.
Dick Fosbury Interview: 12 Feb 2011:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az18y2AJFyY