Why Giving the Right Impulse at the Right Moment is More Effective than Continuous Effort
When it comes to achieving results, it is more important to put the right effort at the right moment than to row continuously up to exhaustion.
That is what I learnt when I was lucky enough a few weeks ago to experience rafting in the Alps mountains. How does that work? You let yourself flow down a torrential river on some air filled rubber raft. As a beginner, you have to follow the orders of an experienced helmsman.
The way it worked was very instructive: most of the time we just let ourselves be taken by the flow (which was a very pleasurable moment); only at determined moments was decisive effort required to maneuver in rapids, in a concerted and quick effort. And even when it came to avoid an obstacle, the point was to strike an effective compromise between effort and letting oneself be pushed by the flow. And all in all, it was more effective to row powerfully at short, decisive moments, than try to row hard all along.
This event was a teambuilding with a client, and as such this was a great learning point for all sorts of organizational change: the point is not to try to try to constantly try to go against the flow, nor to exhaust oneself trying to resist the force of the organization’s natural evolution. The point is to identify the short moments of intense effort that are sufficient to bring the boat to the chosen safe trajectory. It is about knowing that you need to let go most of the time except well chosen, intense moments. Great learning!
