The Pace of Change

Greetings.  Ever think that it's difficult to make change happen in your company, organization or industry?  If so, you're definitely not alone.  But you can take heart from a simple change that is occurring in the world of competitive bowling, where Australian Jason Belmonte is turning the sport on its head (or its thumbs) as a two-handed bowler.  In the process he's reinventing the way people–or at least adults–bowl and achieving remarkable results…twice being named the "Bowler of the Year" and currently ranking No. 6 in the world.  Yet his technique is not much different than the way all of us bowled as young children when we were compelled by the size and weight of a bowling ball to roll or heave it down the lane with both hands.  That was until we became big and strong enough to get with the program and follow the norm of bowling with one hand.  A norm established over literally hundreds (or possibly thousands) of years that culminated in the development of a set of standard rules in 1895.  Only now, Belmonte and an ever-growing number of followers are refining a two-handed technique that significantly increases ball speed and the all-important RPMs that knock pins down.

Needless to say, many of the world's elite bowlers are more than slightly skeptical about this "new" technique.  But a few are expressing real curiosity and even a bit of optimism about its potential to improve performance and inject new life into a sports that generally falls under the radar.  And some are giving it a go as they try to improve their game.  They include renowned Finnish bowler Osku Palermaa and the Bolivian national bowling team.  

Now you're probably wondering why the land-locked nation of Bolivia even has a national bowling team.  And you might even be imagining that every Finnish bowling alley comes with a sauna.  But, in fact, bowling is just one more example of the nature of innovation and the shrinking size of the world and the interests we share.  As for the relevance of bowling to your world, think about this quote from Jason Belmonte:

"The greatest thing about bowling is there is no one way to do it.  You can do it any way you want to do it."

Then think about how it applies to achieving the unique potential of your business or organization.

And if you have a few extra minutes, you and the geniuses you work with might really enjoy this wonderful segment from ESPN on Jason Belmonte, bowling and his simple and remarkable innovation…

We win in business and in life when we try to do familiar things in different ways.  And sometimes when we simply rediscover the the power of refusing to grow up.

Cheers!