More on ‘Why’

Rowing was introduced to the Olympics in 1900. Between then and the 1912 games in Stockholm, Great Britain dominated. Taking home over 40% of all available medals for the era, and a clean gold sweep in Stockholm, had them parading London’s streets as undisputed champions of the sport. But then…. Crickets for almost a century. No podiums at all, and some brutal, back of field losses.

In 1988, the men’s eight came seventh, one of their worst results ever. The team decided to win gold again. The why “A gold medal in Sydney 2000”.

From the why came a beautifully simple filtering question “Will it make the boat go faster?”. From then on, every decision and action became clear and simple. If the answer was yes, we go for it. If no, it has no place in our preparations. Everything from equipment, diet, training, team behaviour and more was filtered through “Will it make the boat go faster?”

The beauty of a clear why, and a clear tactical filter is that anyone, at any level can make a decision and know definitively if it is in line with the strategic direction.

How clear is the why for your team? Do you have a good filter?