Set a record, or break your neck?
by Jevon MacDonald
(Cheesy analogy alert!)
In 1968 in Mexico City, Dick Fosbury did something great. He did the high jump backwards, and confused a lot of people. They called it the “Fosbury Flop”
It took almost 10 years for the rest of the elite group of jumpers to start using the flop, by then it was too late for many of them.
It turns out that jumping backwards over a pole, at 2.24 meters isn’t that dangerous. Sure, to get to 2.24 meters, you have to be a pretty great athlete, but you and I can probably clear a pole 30% higher than we typically could. If we could just go over backwards.
It sounds simple enough, especially if there is going to be a nice piece of foam on the other side of the pole. When Dick Fosbury first did the flop, the mat was not the thick one we see today, it was simply a mat with enough thickness to replace sand as the landing surface, but it was enough to enable Fosbury to land on his neck.
I bet he was pretty nervous the first time he tried it.
In 1968 and for years to come, many would-be Fosburys were just too afraid, many were worried they would hurt themselves, but eventually they came around, by then younger generation of Fosbury jumpers began destroying the records set by their mentors.
Take the Jump?
If you saw someone achieve great success, I bet you think you would learn from it, but the truth is that many, many people will not be able to learn. Social Media and Social Principals in the enterprise are already transforming some of the world’s greatest enterprises, yet so many executives, managers and employees are just sitting by.
Try it once, just close your eyes and have faith. You may hit the bar your first few tries, but you won’t break you neck.
