Run & Relax
My grandmother (wiser than seven management books put together) used to say: "el que mucho aprieta, poco abarca." She had cleverly flipped the traditional Spanish saying, and would explain it to seven or eight-year-old me: "child, running faster won't get you there sooner." It's curious how this stuck with me, and when I came across this story I'm about to tell you, the dots connected and I suddenly saw her again, like Ego in Ratatouille. The Story behind Usain Bolt I promise that bringing Usain Bolt here has a reason, you'll see. Glen Mills already had an established career when Usain Bolt approached him back in 2004. The coach immediately recognized the massive potential of the young prospect. However, he also identified a significant problem: Bolt's sprint mechanics were deficient. The athlete was trying too hard, tensing his muscles and maintaining a rigid position that, paradoxically, slowed him down. Mills' solution wasn't more training or greater effort. It was surprisingly simple: relax. Well, let's be realistic, I'm probably swinging wildly here and it turns out there are a thousand other things apart from the sprinter's own ambition, but it's my narrative, let me take it where I want. There's Science Behind the Paradox When we tense up, we lose range of motion. Tension interrupts fluid movement in athletes, reducing flexibility and natural flow. This same relationship exists between the cognitive tasks we perform daily. Stress deteriorates our decision-making and limits our creativity. The strange conclusion is that sometimes, less effort can lead to better results. Do you see how well everything is connected 😎? The Early Celebration In the famous photograph of the 100-meter world record (9.69 seconds), Bolt began celebrating after 70 meters. While his competitors were visibly straining, he was running relaxed. Despite the early celebration, his time from 70 to 90 meters was practically identical to his later fastest races. The 90% Rule and "Good Enough" Engineers aren't the only ones who tend to fall into the perfectionism trap, however, I do believe that statistically speaking we might be in the upper range of this "never enough" spiral. And while attention to detail is important, perfectionism can lead to diminishing returns and missed deadlines, therefore, to creative environments that aren't very relaxed. I'm not telling you anything you don't know; the Pareto Principle exists for a reason. "Good enough" requires critical thinking about the product we're building. It doesn't mean settling for something mediocre, but creating something we're proud of but that's sufficient to deliver value. It's key to identify and focus on these high-impact elements, as they can produce better results and will allow us to face the challenge with the right tension so as not to ignore our creativity. Historical Examples of "Good Enough" The Sony Walkman didn't have perfect sound quality, but it was portable: the first time we had truly mobile music. Amazon's first website was basic, but it allowed the company to start selling books online quickly. The first iPhone lacked features we consider basic today: it didn't have copy and paste, or 3G connection. However, it was good enough to change the entire smartphone industry. Dropbox started as a simple file synchronization service, but it was good enough to validate their idea and grow rapidly. Recognizing Good Enough I could expand this article talking about Idea Generation, Analogical thinking, Problem Solving, Project Management, and how everything I've discussed applies to engineering, but that would be falling into the very trap I'm talking about. I learned long ago when something is good enough. My grandma taught me that.
