Sometimes knowing your strengths can triumph over overwhelming odds
So there I was on my long bicycle ride of the weekend. It was a very hot Saturday with temperatures in the mid 90’s with a humidity index in the mid 100’s. I was making my way to my daughter’s soccer game that was to start at 12:30PM.
I had started at around 10AM when the heat was still manageable and the route that I had picked and that I knew well, called for an ascent from the Potomac River in Washington DC into the suburbs of Virginia and past the infamous beltway. (The rise in elevation is not easily discernable in a car but - trust me - it is quite discernible in a bicycle in a hot day.)
In any case, as I was trudging along and struggling up a particularly steep climb, two riders passed me as if I was standing still. (I was so proud of my progress until that point). Based on their attire (both wearing the same) it was fairly obvious that they were pro’s or semi pro’s
After passing, I decided to try to keep up with them to see how far I could go. As we moved along I noticed that I was able to considerably close the gap in the curves and they were able to pull ahead on the straights. I started to think as to why this was so and quickly realized that they did not know the trail as well as I did. This thought was affirmed when I saw them turn around and come back to a turn they had missed.
In the ongoing effort of trying to keep up, I used this newly gained knowledge and for the next couple of miles I was able to match their pace and shorten the distance to nothing. Then, however, came a long straight in the blazing sun and they quickly became distant caricatures in the trail horizon.
While the insight seems trivial, it is worth expounding on it. Innovation is about DOING the new. And, in the process of inventing the new and maximizing resource effectiveness, it is also important to know your enterprise’s strength propositions. These could be complex systems, they could be processes, and they could be inherent leadership qualities. It could be many things…
The job of an innovator is to find these propositions. And, who knows, it could be as easy as knowing the way better than your competitors.
I had started at around 10AM when the heat was still manageable and the route that I had picked and that I knew well, called for an ascent from the Potomac River in Washington DC into the suburbs of Virginia and past the infamous beltway. (The rise in elevation is not easily discernable in a car but - trust me - it is quite discernible in a bicycle in a hot day.)
In any case, as I was trudging along and struggling up a particularly steep climb, two riders passed me as if I was standing still. (I was so proud of my progress until that point). Based on their attire (both wearing the same) it was fairly obvious that they were pro’s or semi pro’s
After passing, I decided to try to keep up with them to see how far I could go. As we moved along I noticed that I was able to considerably close the gap in the curves and they were able to pull ahead on the straights. I started to think as to why this was so and quickly realized that they did not know the trail as well as I did. This thought was affirmed when I saw them turn around and come back to a turn they had missed.
In the ongoing effort of trying to keep up, I used this newly gained knowledge and for the next couple of miles I was able to match their pace and shorten the distance to nothing. Then, however, came a long straight in the blazing sun and they quickly became distant caricatures in the trail horizon.
While the insight seems trivial, it is worth expounding on it. Innovation is about DOING the new. And, in the process of inventing the new and maximizing resource effectiveness, it is also important to know your enterprise’s strength propositions. These could be complex systems, they could be processes, and they could be inherent leadership qualities. It could be many things…
The job of an innovator is to find these propositions. And, who knows, it could be as easy as knowing the way better than your competitors.
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