It's about time that progress and growth were Win-Win
January 8, 2010Property expert, great teams, business growth and cycling
January 13, 2010In my spare time I’m a rock climber. Now, I’m no elite climber but I do love the sport and try and try to get better as much as I can. A large part of that comes from going to the climbing wall with friends to train on a regular basis and then getting outdoors to take on new routes.
Yesterday, I was at the climbing wall training with a few friends and we were having a laugh and I said:
You know, this climbing year is going to be all about failing a lot as its only through failing that I know that I am pushing myself and getting better.
Then one of my friends (he’s a Bruce Lee fanatic) said:
But don’t forget to learn the lessons.
to which I replied:
Yes, Sensai. 🙂
Now I think there are two or three distinct lessons for climbing and growing a business:
- Make mistakes: If you’re not pushing yourself, trying new things and, maybe, making a few mistakes along the way then you’re not trying hard enough.
- Use protection: Manage the risks that you take to protect yourself. At the climbing wall, we train on harder routes using a ‘top rope’ which allows us to limit how far we might fall to a couple of feet as we are secured to a rope above us. Check this out for a better explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_roping
- Learn the lessons: This is a must because if not then may be destined to miss the opportunity to get better or just go mad. Einstein said it best: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Onwards and upwards!
KN3R4APXC6QW
5 Comments
Adrian's Blog: Lessons from the climbing wall about growing your business; http://bit.ly/5MhAvg
RT @adrianswinscoe: Adrian's Blog: Lessons from the climbing wall about growing your business; http://bit.ly/5MhAvg
Adrian,
As a fellow rock climber also attempting to make a living with my own business, your article has a lot of resonance for me.
Pushing yourself to failure is actually quite easy, both as a rock climber and with your business. In fact many of my fellow climbers repeatedly fail at the same sort of climbs year after year without actually progressing.
What can be harder is identifying why you fail. You need to focus your training to tackle your weaknesses. For example, do you fail on steep routes because you can’t keep your feet on the holds, or is it because you climb too slowly?
To improve, you need to understand your weaknesses and identify how to address them. You also need to continue training your strengths so that they do not become weaknesses.
Quite often I hear climbers say something like “Oh, I don’t climb cracks because I can’t jam”. Not surprisingly, they don’t get any better.
The key to sustained progress is a systematic approach to identifying your weaknesses and strengths, planning your training, monitoring your progress and then adjusting your plans in response.
Have a good 2010!
Pete
Hi Pete,
Great comment…..I’d expect nothing less from a seasoned cragger like yourself. Thanks for the added value. Let’s catch up soon,
Adrian
RT @adrianswinscoe: Adrian's Blog: Lessons from the climbing wall about growing your business; http://bit.ly/5MhAvg