Today marks the close of the 2010 Winter Games. The winter games are for engineers - - technology and the “need for speed” dominate the games - - from curling brooms to bobsled aerodynamics to skis with “Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems.” The winter games place a focus on training, skill, attitude - - and innovation. Engineers standing in the shadows behind the metal podiums - - whispering “equipment matters.”
The winter games are also marked by individualism - - in many cases rugged individualists. Bode Miller is the poster boy for individualism and independence. You can’t argue with his success - - five Olympic medals, five world-championships, winner of 32 World cup races - - he has been on the World Cup podium 68 times. He is unquestionably the greatest male skier in United States history.
Bode, along with many other winter Olympians (Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, and Shani Davis), operate outside the traditional mainstream. Their focus is on reinvention combined with a mindset that envisions an alternative reality. In many cases, Bode has extended the idea of thinking outside the box to thinking outside the building. Bode and others have jumped out of the box and left the entire building - - fostering innovation with a focus on impact, not inputs. This year for example, Bode began skiing with a computerized system in the tails of his skis designed to give them more stability and speed. The technology essentially stiffens the ski on turns, enabling the skier to push harder. Miller also switched from a rigid buckle on his ski boots to a “spine-flex” buckle that has a wire running through it, making it more flexible. The flexibility allows the buckle to conform to the hard shell of the ski boot, giving the foot a more locked-in feel. Individualism combined with out of the building thinking and innovation - - sometimes management is about having the good sense to just stay out of the way.
The winter games are also marked by individualism - - in many cases rugged individualists. Bode Miller is the poster boy for individualism and independence. You can’t argue with his success - - five Olympic medals, five world-championships, winner of 32 World cup races - - he has been on the World Cup podium 68 times. He is unquestionably the greatest male skier in United States history.
Bode, along with many other winter Olympians (Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, and Shani Davis), operate outside the traditional mainstream. Their focus is on reinvention combined with a mindset that envisions an alternative reality. In many cases, Bode has extended the idea of thinking outside the box to thinking outside the building. Bode and others have jumped out of the box and left the entire building - - fostering innovation with a focus on impact, not inputs. This year for example, Bode began skiing with a computerized system in the tails of his skis designed to give them more stability and speed. The technology essentially stiffens the ski on turns, enabling the skier to push harder. Miller also switched from a rigid buckle on his ski boots to a “spine-flex” buckle that has a wire running through it, making it more flexible. The flexibility allows the buckle to conform to the hard shell of the ski boot, giving the foot a more locked-in feel. Individualism combined with out of the building thinking and innovation - - sometimes management is about having the good sense to just stay out of the way.
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