Technique Before Technology
Why shouldn’t runners use a treadmill?
It’ll get them nowhere.
I was lucky to spend the winter out by Fort Myers Beach, Florida. My husband, our two dogs and I walked the beach pretty much every morning (klutz alert: rolled my ankle - again - so I’m not running right now). It was soothing, lovely and interesting. When we are at home, I run or walk the private trails behind our cabin, and I rarely see other folks, and the only changes are those of nature, unlike FMB where there is so much going on.
Every day, we marvelled at the progress of rebuilding FMB, which was devastated by Hurricane Ian, and coming up, I’m going to blog about some lessons I observed we can apply to our firms' growth.
The other thing I found interesting was the approach folks took to their mornings on the beach.
There were lots of “shellers”, something I will never understand, but it was cool to watch them and wonder what made one shell worthy and others not
Of course, there were the metal detecting people, again odd to me, but smoke-em-if-you-got-um
There were many dog walkers, and seeing all the different pooches and our dogs' reactions to them was fun
Tippet and Sharky live leash-free at home, along with a dozen other dogs in our community, all forming a tight canine village so this many unknown dogs was a new thing for them
And there were the runners, which are always fascinating for me to watch. I took Phys-ed Science at university (dnf - but that’s a whole other story), and I was a Certified Sports Trainer and had coaching certs for a few sports (I did complete those 😎); one of which was running. I am highly tuned into technique and marvel at the technology that people deploy to get through their runs.
There was one fella in particular that struck me. I had to quell my urge to give him advice - a big win for Advice-Kellie - because his technique was so off, yet he had all the tech. And I mean all the tech: a Camelback, designer clothes, Garmin watch, heart monitor, hip holster water bottles, Hoka runners…
Some of the tech was fun, and why not - nice clothes and tracking devices add an element that motivates you out the door. Some of the tech was an impediment - the hip holsters meant he couldn’t swing his arms properly, the Camelback was too loose possibly causing chaffing, and his shoes were the wrong type. I could tell his shoes were wrong, and doing his body damage because I study the gait of almost every runner who passes me. This man was pronating hard (feet roll inwards) and had chosen a shoe that suited supinators (feet roll outwards). Which will cause foot problems, put extra pressure on the inside of the knees and create issues upwards in the body.
Choosing the right shoe is critical and individual, just like choosing our business technology. It’s not one size fits all, and we need to analyze our needs to make sure we not only have tech to further our goals but to ensure it’s not harming them.
The real thing that stuck with me about this runner was that his technique sucked.
His arms were too tight and swinging far over his midline
He was leaning forward with hunched shoulders rather than stacked in a relaxed but straight line
He was looking directly down, not out to where he was headed
(Special note: I’m not judging this fella - he was one of a very few out there, in the heat, running - I was simply concerned for him.)
He had invested in all this tech but not in learning about running techniques. Solid running style is way more core to success than really nice hats or a Garmin. You won’t be running for long and achieving whatever goals you have set out if your technique is so flawed that running is not sustainable. The injury and discomfort associated with poor technique will bring you down faster than fun tech will lift you up. Add poorly aligned tech and you are setting yourself up for failure.
We see this very same thing with businesses.
They spend countless hours playing with technology, paying for tech, and worrying about automation, yet they haven’t honed their technique - best practices, processes, systems and workflows. I’m not saying not to have fun with technology - in fact, I think fun in the workplace is underrated. But don’t lose sight of the fact that technology will not help you achieve your business goals if you haven’t nailed down the basics of your business techniques.
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“Putting on your shoes is the hardest part of going for a run.”
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