This week’s focus: I am spending the week in France, skiing with my family and friends. To be honest, as an intermediate skier, my technical ability has not improved much in years. I stick to the runs I know I can master and, with a vivid understanding of the risks, am loathe to try too many knew things.
My sons have a different approach: they want to do something new and different – all the time! Black runs, off-piste sections, jumps, rails, backward skiing, one-legged skiing, and flat-out races are all on their list. They make many mistakes, but their development is dramatic. Yesterday, even my 8-year old son gave me some tips on how to ski better and faster (my skis were too far apart, apparently).
A survey of successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs concluded that it was their ability and willingness to ‘experiment fearlessly’ that marked them out from their less successful competitors. As with my sons’ approach to skiing, it is they are willing to take on new challenges, acquire new skills and accelerate their organisation’s development and growth.
What kind of organisation are you leading? Are you running a business that takes it carefully on the well-groomed green and blue runs, or are you higher up in the mountains, tackling more demanding runs and off-piste sections and accelerating your growth through fearless experimentation?
Off the record: Dancing In The Trees by Barefoot Truth
So you breathe a sigh of relief
Because now is the time to fly
Will you fix your eyes on that sea of powder?
And you kiss the clouds goodbye
© Stuart Cross 2014. All rights reserved.