executing mistakes…
Today’s song probably came to mind first as we started into Surf music. It has been featured in over 20 films and television series since 1964, and at least once a decade since. You probably don’t know it’s name, but the drums instantly identify it as one of the most well-known songs of that era…. and one that all drummers (and frankly guitarists) have to know how to play. It has the infectious driving beat and fun-loving spirit that captures the Surf era so well. So how do we remember when waves are cresting around us, we don’t have to duck and cover, or be fearful… we can Surf?
To everyone still working to plan and execute everything perfectly, this song is yet ANOTHER example of a mistake that succeeded. The band was in the recording studio in Cucamonga, California (…I had to add that detail – yes, there is such a place…) in late 1962 to finish up Surfer Joe (yes, you have, in fact, never heard of that song). Standing in the studio, they needed a B side. On the spot, someone started riffing a standard 12-bar blues riff, and they had the idea to introduce the song with the cracking sound to simulate a breaking Surfboard and a fan yelling. That B-side, composed on the spot, spent 4 months on the Hot 100 reaching #2 in 1963… and again in 1966. The amazing drumbeat – that’s the practice cadence of the drumline in their high school band, sped up. They were inducted into the Musician’s Hall of Fame in 2019 – on this “B Side.”
…is where genius often hides…
Mistakes surround us, yet we are constantly fearful of making…. mistakes. In a study of “great” leaders, they measured their ability to make good decisions. Looking over their careers, their average on any decision was…. 50/50. Literally…. and the same as “poor” leaders. So what was the difference? The great leaders made a LOT of decisions – a LOT more – each of them much smaller, but because their odds were 50/50, they improved their overall output by decreasing the impact of any one decision. We call it “Agile” these days – a cool word – “try something, see what you get, realize what you have learned, repeat.” The key is to realize it is only a mistake if you don’t learn from it – much easier to say than to do.
The physics of Surfing is “simple”. The board is like a boat – it displaces water beneath it… and if that weighs more than you and the board, you “float.” As the wave comes towards you, you paddle to match the forward speed of the wave, and at the right moment, you stand up, now not only does the buoyancy support you, the momentum of the wave pushes you and the board forward – which makes you more stable. Once you gain your balance, the water pushes from behind, and so long as you keep the front up above the water, it acts like an airplane wing, and you “fly” along the surface of the water… Surfing. Easy… only after you make lots and LOTS of runs, and mistakes.
Simple… not Easy Surfing…
The key – you can’t execute Surfing – without waves... and without the momentum they give you. When life challenges come at us, we tend to focus on what they are taking AWAY from us, what they might do TO us, and many times, hold still and sink. Compare that to converting momentum into something that can LIFT us and make us FLY. During the last downturn in 2008, just a few things that Surfed through it: Uber, AirBnB, and the iPhone. Yep – came out just as we were heading into that… and Jobs didn’t lay off a single person – he knew that he could use that wave and Surf it to now being a $2 Trillion dollar company that you are likely reading this on. As you read this, I am putting it into action – trying boat Surfing in Indiana. I will make a lot of mistakes, eat a lot of water, but also… try something slightly out of my comfort zone. Try it yourself… get out there and “enjoy” a Wipeout.
