Blog post 6 Inspire

INSIGHT 5 | STRENGTH MATTERS

Ever noticed how easy it is to focus on what you’re good at?

Conversely, self-reflection rarely comes naturally.

Fancy building your own personal visual map?

It can be a revealing exercise.

in⁵ | Strength Matters 

Know your heatmap... Spin your web

It’s incredible to think that despite all our evolution as a species, and the relentless advance of technology and sport science, certain athletic world records can stand for decades. How can that be?

The pursuit of the first four-minute mile, a milestone famously first broken in 1954 by Roger Bannister, proved a benchmark that would unlock human potential.

Why? Incredibly, it was surpassed just forty-six days later, proof that once one person makes the breakthrough, others quickly follow. The floodgates have burst open.

Competitors lying in wait, ready to pounce, not only see what’s possible they act on it, buoyed by your success, you suddenly become vulnerable, exposed. You’ve broken the ground, changed consumer behaviour, pathed the way. Emboldened they set off in pursuit, sit on your shoulder on the final bend before reeling you in down the home straight, pipping you on the line.

In stark contrast there are those who elevate the benchmark to such a seismic degree that the competition is simply overwhelmed, defeated by the sheer scale of the gap they must bridge.

The one that stands out to me, head and shoulders above the rest, is the extraordinary leap of faith made by Jonathan Edwards at the World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, 1995, where he soared 18.29 metres in the triple jump, a world record that still stands today. A beautiful setting for a beautiful moment of pure poetry in motion.

Despite the notion of a discipline rooted in power and speed, Edwards’ leap was the product of calm control and effortless grace, gliding to a benchmark that shattered everything that had gone before, and anything since. Spanning another three decades, only four others have broken the 18-metre mark, all wind assisted, all falling short.

Notably, Edwards was not your stereotypical athlete. Slight in build, short in stature, he cut a figure in stark contrast to his rivals. That alone should remind us that perceptions of success, whether in sport or business, rarely hold true. Innovation rewards individuality. We are each built differently, we think differently, there is no blueprint and that’s the beauty of it.

The power of three runs consistently through this book and here again it applies: the natural correlation between the triple jump technique and your innovation journey.

Peak 1… Hop: the take-off, powered by the momentum of your run-up, energy and intent converted into forward motion.

Peak 2… Step: that crucial transition where balance and rhythm set you up for the final push.

Peak 3… Jump: the last-ditch surge, a leap of conviction that propels you further than logic says you should go.

Jonathan knew and played to his strengths and it’s important that you do too. Sit down with your coach (honestly the mirror will suffice) and reflect where you need support and guidance. We all have a heat map, a colour combination that makes us, and the needs of our business, unique.

To map yours visit my resource hub, complete the task, and act on what you see.

This is a truly invaluable exercise and one which is rooted in some great work by the Manchester Metropolitan University. It’s a practical tool designed to help you map your business health and visualise it as a series of spider webs. I’ve built upon their foundation to create a version that mirrors both your strengths and the areas where extra support will prove beneficial.

All webs are fluid, like any self-respecting spider you’ll build numerous ones, each better than the last. It’s certainly worth spinning a new one as three key aspects grow.

You. The Idea. Your Audience.

Better still ask someone you trust to map your web for you. An honest appraisal from a peer, mentor or collaborator, scored independently against the same criteria, offers a revealing comparison. It is a powerful exercise; one I thoroughly recommend you try and reflect upon.

And as for the next climb? It’s time to start enticing potential suppliers and customers to become gently entangled in your own web of wonder.