“Son, you better KNOOOOOW your limitations….” My father would often say this when I tried to compete or wrestle with him.  Depending on your perspective, it is a statement that can be interpreted as ‘have a healthy case of fear’ or ‘find a cradle full of courage.’  As I think back on that saying now, I connect more with the latter interpretation.  I continue to see stories or have experiences that support the idea that a little courage, a lot of crazy, and a little faith are needed to ‘knooooow your limitations’, and then innovate, shift, or Leap beyond them.

Self-monitoring can help us understand where our sweet spots are, this isn’t a new concept.  During the process of trying to discover our limitations to move them positively forward, we discover more about who we are and who we can be. Large impacts can be experienced from small courageous steps and the progress of one person can be a part of contributing to progress bigger than themselves.  We ALL count.

Here, are simple stories of courage, resiliency, and faith to connect thoughts and reinforce the ‘know limitations’ belief.  Now or later, the landscape of more things can change in a positive direction with courage, maybe a little crazy, and a little faith.

From Thought to Experiment to Potential Solution
Limitations that are explored today, may lead to potential solutions many years from now.  For example, ventilators were designed to help one person at a time, until some radical doctors considered how to maximize ventilator use in emergency scenarios.  Supporting four people with one ventilator was an experiment conducted back in 2006 by Dr. Greg Neyman and Dr. Charlene Irvin Babcock using lung simulators.

The experiment that was explored 14 years ago is becoming more relevant now during the current Coronavirus pandemic.  The idea really isn’t so radical…. is it?  One might consider this as an idea that has been restored from an example where 5 fish and 2 loaves provided for about 5,000 people.  Using what is present, with a little faith, to do more with less.

From Athlete to Architect to Design Icon
Tinker Hatfield was an amazing athlete who also wanted to pursue a career in Architecture.  Coaches considered this an odd combination and didn’t take him seriously as he was being recruited; however, there was one coach who actually took him seriously.  Coach Bill Bowerman, a co-founder of Nike, knew Architecture would be tough, but saw Tinker’s potential to be a national champion and Olympian.  Bowerman also wanted well-rounded athletes that would go on to do amazing things after they’re done with sports.

One of Tinker Hatfield’s events was the pole vault.  If you’ve seen this event, you understand it is dangerous and requires courage.  Tinker believed that “if you don’t have a real strong sense of ‘I’m committed and doing this’, then you could really get hurt.” Well…. he was committed, but still ended up with an injury that shifted his future to Architecture and design.  First, building buildings for Nike and then realizing his skillset could be applied to designing shoes.

Tinker thrived on his ability to think creatively and vault new ideas forward.  It was thought that he pushed things too far initially.  It seemed like he didn’t consider the limits of the current or “normal” designs. Members of Nike thought his designs were too radical. They would ask questions like “Why would anyone want to peel back the layers of a shoe and expose what is on the inside…wouldn’t that make it look fragile, weak?”

Needless to say, the AIR Max took off and customers liked the transparency of the air bubble in the shoe.  It was a risk, and it almost cost him his job, but it changed shoe design.  Later, Tinker was credited with saving Nike by being able to establish a relationship with Michael Jordan and create disruptive designs that Jordan liked.

Next Steps
What thought, or step can you contribute to keep moving your needle of progress forward?  What are the potential benefits or challenges of solutions that may fit our current environment?  Who does it impact?  How do you build support for it?  How do you test it?  How and when do you share it?

I encourage you to commit to knowing your limitations, pushing yourself, and finding resources to move thoughts forward in the pursuit of progress.

Resources:
4 Strategies For Introducing New Ideas At Work
14 Barriers To Ideation And How To Overcome Them
Sharing a single ventilator between 4 patients is possible. But it could be disastrous.
Interview with Tinker Hatfield