Olympic Level Efficiencies!

Efficiency is doing better what is already being done. – Peter Drucker, a writer and management consultant widely considered the father of modern management. He predicted the emergence of the information society with its necessity of lifelong learning.

We are only days away from the start of the Beijing Olympics and the headlines are covered with the stories and predictions of what’s to come. The greatest part of this event is when the amazing stories of the athletes’ arduous journey to the top emerge. For me this time, there is none more compelling than that of Dara Torres, a member of the United States women’s swimming team. Walking into my office one day, I noticed the cover of the new Time magazine graced with the picture of this 41 year old phenom. When I tell you this woman is a physical specimen, I would be doing this picture an injustice. Dara gives the term “six pack abs” a whole new meaning. If you have ever endeavored to get into great physical condition, you can appreciate how difficult it is to even find your abs beneath the layers of several ice cream parties gone wild! So at 41 years old, where the world scoffs at the ability of an athlete to even get into the game, Dara, also the mother of a two year old, has already made us sit up and take notice. By the way guys…this is not for the ladies, it’s for all of us, so pay close attention.

The obvious notable about Dara is that she must have worked very hard to be ready to compete and qualify for her fifth Olympics, something no other U.S. swimmer has EVER done. Further investigation reveals that a typical workout includes not only rigorous weight training and obviously swimming, but also two hour sessions where a two person stretch team works on her body mechanics. The total cost of all her training is estimated in the $100,000 range! Yet even though all of this is quite remarkable many of us would rather grab our favorite “blankie”, roll up on the couch and just watch someone like this do their thing! Why? Because we think that kind of performance is beyond us or that we just would never care to compete like that. Well, maybe so, but what was most remarkable to me about this story was a simple quote in the Time article that might have gone unnoticed by many but was screaming for me to exploit it! “In the water, it’s not about power but more about making my stroke more efficient.” There it is…after 21 years as an Olympic level competitor she reveals that getting better over time is really about finding more efficiency, or as I like to say making infinite distinctions! Just when you think you know how to do something well, is exactly the time when you should begin to make further distinctions…because they are endless.

What does that mean to you? Maybe it’s expanding your vocabulary even though you speak your native tongue fluently…how about learning a completely new language? Maybe you’re a great parent already…but what else could you teach your kids? Maybe your business is profitable…but what if you went looking for the holes that always exist even though they are tiny? Of course we could go on forever with these distinctions and you might even run away from the discussion claiming that thinking like that is reserved for the obsessive and you are much more relaxed than that…okay then, how about studying the many relaxation techniques of the great masters? See what I mean…it goes back to my discussion about that fact that there is always more and that’s the true spice of life. Along the way, be a realist. None of this journey along the road paved with distinctions is perfect or forever easy; even Dara Torres battled through the challenge of bulimia. Yet you must keep moving forward because that next golden nugget of knowledge is just inches away and once discovered goes right into your box of thinking tools that you can call upon any time you need to!