ANCIENT& not so ancient WISDOM
offering a weekly positive perspective

April 21, 2005

"There is no accurate balance between efficiency and action, only decision."

- Jeffrey Hansler (1957 - )

We all know kids learn when they play. So it stands to reason as adults we should still have the ability to learn as we play. I mention this because this week’s Ancient Wisdom references surfing and it’s about work. 

I often work very early in the morning and then take a morning break to exercise (OK, surf). Yesterday was small surf from a diminishing swell so I took out my high performance longboard (It’s like two boards in one: longboard front for nose riding and wave catching; and shortboard back for wave carving.) to get the most out of my time in the surf. 

A new swell had arrived and on the front end of a storm coming in. The waves were choppy, sporadic, and bigger. I missed several sets of waves because my judgment of them was influenced by my surfing on the prior day (a very good day for me surfing). 

I finally picked up a good wave and had a great ride. The wave was similar to the prior day’s waves, so I paddled out to the same spot. Meanwhile, the sky was darkening and the wind was picking up. I was too far outside to catch most of the sets and although I was adjusting my position because of the current, I was returning to the spot I choose and not the spot where the waves were breaking more frequently. 

Finally, I moved to were the wavers were breaking for today, and noticed a wave breaking were I had been. I tried to paddle back to the spot and missed the wave and turned around to see a wave breaking where I had just been. I laughed at myself and picked a new spot to wait for the next set. 

It was awhile before the next set. I eventually caught a wave. In fact, it was so good, that even though I should have gone in to get back to work, I paddled out for another. I ended up waiting a long time. Meanwhile, the storm was picking up momentum. 

Finally, on the outside a good size set was coming in. I paddled out and tried a quicker turn than usual to set up for the wave and ended up off balance on the board. As the wave jacked up, the nose of my board pearled (went under the water), and I did a header in front of the board. Two, even better waves, which were behind the one I fell on proceeded to toss me around on the inside. 

I paddled back out and after awhile caught a wave big enough to get me into shore. This surf session wasn’t very good for me …. It still was beautiful. The skies were gray, but the wind was dying, and there were rays of sunshine coming through the clouds, turning the water an emerald green. 

Things could have been more efficient with a different board and a different position in the line-up. It was a better decision to take action than worry about the efficiency. 

Lessons 

• There are multiple benefits to everything we do.

• Markets and environments are changing so rapidly what was a good choice yesterday is not as efficient today.

• Past success slows our reaction to change.

• We look for patterns that we are familiar with and miss new patterns that would be more fruitful.

• If we make a change without 100 percent commitment, we miss out on all opportunities.

• The market, other people, and all other forces are in constant motion whether or not you’re ready.

• Life is made of experiences and what you do with those experiences. The labels we put on them like play or work or good or bad are all our choices.

• In the fast pace of business, efficiency may need to take a back seat to action more often than in the past.

Wishing you great experiences every day.

Sincerely,

P.S. You may enjoy a recent article on Return on Investment