THE BIGGER THE WAVE, THE BETTER THE SURFING…IF YOU’RE A BIG WAVE SURFER.
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Change/innovation is easier when you learn to surf the big waves.
“They make it look so easy. Paddling past the breakers, reading the waves, standing just as a swell begins to build. Walking on water.” — writes Lane DeGregory.
“Big waves and the fear that comes with them are largely relative. While it might take a massive Mavs bomb to get Aaron Gold’s blood pumping, for the beginner surfer who has only been at it for a few months, a head-high wave can feel huge.” — writes David Kelley from Hawaiian South Shore.
Ready or not… the waves of change will never be this small or this slow again. If change is hard for you, you’re doing it wrong and you’re gonna get pummeled. Take a deep breath — you’ll need it when the waves hold you underwater longer than you ever expected.
Bennies (rookies) are gonna get worked(pummeled) by the big waves.
YOU AND I ARE NOT BEGINNERS & THIS ISN’T SURF CAMP
I’m no “Benny, Shoobie, HODAD, Barney or Rockaway Jake”. (I don’t particularly subscribe to these pejorative terms, but supposedly these are surfer references to “non-surfers” according to the internet.) You and I are not naive rookies or interns dabbling/hacking at some hobby that we may or may not ever get paid for. This isn’t surf camp. We are world-class leaders of business with world-class responsibilities. We have other world-class leaders and communities counting on us. We represent world-class brands, competing at world-class levels.
We are experienced big wave surfers in the context of business. Pre-crisis and post-crisis we are always pursuing mastery in our leadership, expanding our capabilities, readying ourselves, our teams and our companies for the next set. Our colleagues are all big wave surfers too. We are all in the heavy water.
Last week we held another virtual session with around 100 global leaders of a Fortune 500 company, to help them be at their best. This was a group of big time, big wave surfers from all over the world. We worked on how to stay even more focused and centered to make…
