Comments

Maybe asking, "How do you get the nerve to do such a thing..." is the wrong question because it implies that change is the exception rather than the rule. We should be asking, "What on earth makes people want to stand still when we all know standing still is really falling behind."

Posted by Mark JF at June 18, 2008 2:47 PM

I must say it would be difficult to get a foursome together from the tpc! family. Fortunately, Erik and I could accumulate enough strokes as a twosome to actually look like a pretty good foursome. How Tiger got the nerve is exactly the right question if you consider the circumstances of his first complete retooling of his swing. Legend has it (as reported in Golfworld magazine), he was watching a replay of the Masters where he had just set the record for the largest stroke victory. He turned to his friend watching the replay with him (David Duvall) and said "my swing sucks!". Butch Harmon told him he would have to be prepared to start losing tournaments if they did a major overhaul...Tiger pointed out it might cost him a season, but gain him a lifetime. I do believe that change is the exception when you are clearly at the top of your game. And just today, Tiger gave up the rest of the season to have major knee reconstruction rather than play at less than 100%. He is courageous..

Posted by Mike Neiss at June 18, 2008 3:41 PM

I remember a reporter asking Tiger Woods why he would change his swing when he just won The Masters (With a record setting score no less) and his answer was telling... His goal was not to simply win The Masters (or 2) but to eclipse the career record books set by the other greats. To accomplish that would require a swing that would endure for 20 years. What he wanted for his career would be measured over a long period of time. To push the business analogy further, it would not be measured by quarterly results.

A lesson in there for businesses of all shapes and sizes that want to become legend. Probably not for the ones that exist to be sold.

Posted by Howard Mann at June 18, 2008 4:21 PM

Speaking as a very average 14 handicap golfer I would say Tiger is an absolute genius. I feel honoured to be able to say to my grandchildren in years to come that I was around when Tiger played. We are witnessing the life of perhaps the greatest posting legend of all time in my humble opinion. I am so sad Tiger is not able to come over to Britain - the home of Golf - and play in our Open next month. As he has just won the US Open, playing as a cripple, I do of course excuse him. I had the joy of following Tiger for 12 holes in the British Open at Muirfield, Scotland in 2002. Let’s not kid ourselves he is a genius because of focus, dedication, hard work and practice. He is a wonderful role model for any profession whether that is business or sport. I cannot find enough superlatives in my limited vocabulary to describe the man. I am not surprised he has completely redesigned his swing and I suspect he will carry on doing that if his standards slip. I agree with Mark – changing stuff should be the rule not the exception.

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 18, 2008 4:27 PM

Tom... Some time ago now I heard a ripper of an interview with Tiger's bag man Steve Williams (a Kiwi sporting legend now himself)... Steve was asked many questions about the way Tiger plays - one truly insightful question was 'do you and Tiger remember the best golf shot he has ever hit?' Yes! Steve instantly replied... Tiger was way behind in the tournament he was in the rough and he had an impossible shot to the green... Most pro golfers would lay it up by hitting a shot to the middle of the fairway - not Tiger! Steve and Tiger by working together envisaged an 'excellent' golf shot - what was clear was how much a team these two are out there on a golf course (and in life too)... He then executed it... They both had goosebumps as they looked at each other... The interviewer was impressed that he could be so clear about this particular shot - he asks 'so what did that tell you and Tiger about his game?' Oh clearly he can get better - we definitely have not seen the best of Tiger Woods... When he excels at executing the shots he sees inside his head there is no one that can beat him (or words to that effect) is what Steve says in a very matter of fact kind of way....

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at June 18, 2008 4:58 PM

The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Picasso, Apple, Sir Alex Ferguson .... never satisfied, reinventing and changing and winning again and again and again

Posted by Six Strings at June 18, 2008 11:21 PM

Answer is in "Spiritual Intelligence"!!!

Posted by Prakash Gupta at June 19, 2008 2:55 AM

If folks at the top haven't read Schumpeter or Hayek or Taleb it won't happen. Get the butter, they're already toast.

Posted by Steve Waugh at June 19, 2008 4:48 AM

I don't usually like sports / business analogies but Richard's story about Tiger & Steve really chimes with me. It illustrates

Strategy: to envisage something most others either wouldn't see or would dismiss as impossible.

Execution: the ability to pull it off.

Feedback loop: that says to stay at the top (i.e. build to last) you've got to got to re-evaluate and re-engineer the processes to see things you can't see yet and then execute them.

Apart from the word "execution" that summary must contain every word that's anathema to a lot of posters on this site... and yet Tiger does it! Great story, Richard.

Posted by Mark JF at June 19, 2008 10:24 AM

The Accenture Ad makes sense now :-)

canadian viagra pack Jay, from Bangalore
http://ideaburger.blogspot.com

Posted by Jayakumar Hariharan at June 20, 2008 4:10 AM

Why? Leadership and confidence...

Posted by Dave Wheeler at June 20, 2008 8:09 PM

"How do you get the nerve to do such a thing..."

Another example of how we've got to shift our thinking from "reinvention as something that is done sporadically and only in times of crisis" to "reinvention as a core function of leadership-something that is part of our daily business".

Look at nature. Continual creation and destruction takes place as part of existence. Over time, things evolve to be stronger, more adaptable, and resilient as a result.

Look at kids playing with blocks or Legos. Creating something and leaving it "as-is" is boring. It's their job to build and tear down over and over again!

The nerve to do this can only be acquired by:

1. Controlling your ego.
2. Cultivating non-attachment to results.
3. Cultivating a level of comfort with constant change.

(The "nerve" comes from work you can only do yourself, on the inside, and can come with practice!)

Posted by Manoj Pawar at June 21, 2008 12:48 PM

Tom, I used this post as a point of departure for one of my own, here:

http://is.gd/EOh

It attempts to answer your "How do you get the nerve?" question by tying Woods' performance to Prof. Carol Dweck's findings in her book Mindset.

Posted by Tim Walker at June 24, 2008 11:34 AM