Volume 8, #2 Late February 2010
Olympics as Metaphor
What Snowboarders Can Teach Product Developers
By Sheila Mello
The Superbowl is over, but February has more than enough athletic pomp and circumstance in the form of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. While I was saddened by the tragedy that preceded the opening of the games, I have found some valuable lessons for product developers in the Olympic experience.
Getting there is a long-term proposition. Never mind the fact that the Olympic Games happen only once every four years. Most of the athletes have been training since early childhood to achieve a spot on an Olympic team. (In fact, research bears out the necessity of this. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell references Dr. Daniel Levitin's work showing that "This idea – that excellence at a complex task requires a critical, minimum level of practice – surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is a magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours.") Building a company to create great products and serve customers won't happen overnight (even in our super-accelerated, 24x7 world) and you won't succeed if you focus on this quarter's results at the expense of long-term gains.
Success is not a solitary pursuit. At medal time, we see the lone athlete ascend the podium. But behind that ascension is a cadre of trainers, coaches, family members, teammates, doctors, massage therapists… A great product may begin as a single person's inspiration, but bringing a great product to market takes a (cross-functional) team all working toward the same goal.
Know what the people want. Military patrol was a medal sport in the 1924 Olympics and became a demonstration sport for several Olympic Games before being replaced by the biathlon in 1960. Ski ballet event was demonstrated in 1988 and 1992 but became less and less popular until professional competition ceased in 2000. Now that television coverage brings a wider audience -- and potentially lucrative advertising -- the International Olympic Committee has to pay careful attention to the popularity of sports included in the games. And the TV networks that sell those ads need to understand who is watching. You, too, need a deep understanding of your customers and why they buy.
Understand risk. There is still controversy surrounding the tragic death of the young luge athlete from the Republic of Georgia. The track was fast; the New York Times reported that there had been concerns over safety before the training run (Fast and Risky, Sledding Track Drew Red Flags.) While no undertaking can be guaranteed as 100 percent risk-free -- and thankfully, most corporate risk is not life-threatening -- you need a way to realistically assess risk before launching a product.
Have a little fun. Olympic competition is serious business and some top competitors can finance their participation through sponsorships or winnings from other events. But a majority of athletes -- who are all amateurs, after all -- scrape together money and time for training and travel. Why do they do it? Because they love what they do. Passion and commitment can actually produce a better product. (Take it from entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki or figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, who came out of retirement because he couldn't stand not competing.) If you're not "feeling it," do what you can to get that intensity back; customers will notice.
Are you looking for that Olympic edge? Contact me to find out how to apply these ideas to your product development organization. Call (617-723-1150) or e-mail me.
