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Lesson from a high jumper: Innovation is key to survival

Lesson from a high jumper: Innovation is key to survival

If you are a track and field fan, you probably know all about the “Fosbury Flop,” a story that tells a world of things about innovation, persistence and a burning desire to win.

Dick Fosbury was a good high jumper and he seemed to have reached the maximum height his body could clear. But he kept an open mind and began to experiment with every different way a body could be propelled over the bar.

The style he finally developed was different from anything anyone else had ever seen. The jump is done head first, with the flat of the back clearing the bar. Then the knees are drawn up, jackknife fashion. When people first saw Fosbury do it, they went away shaking their heads.

But in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, Dick Fosbury set a new Olympic high-jump record and won a gold medal for the United States. It was a triumph born of fresh thinking and dogged experimentation. Today, many of the world’s best high jumpers base their jumping style on the “Fosbury Flop.”

Innovation is what drives our country. Look at all the great innovative companies, such as Bill Gates’ Microsoft, Steve Jobs’ Apple and Howard Schulz’s Starbucks. These innovative leaders found a new or better way of doing something.

Domino’s Pizza shocked the industry with the original idea of guaranteeing pizza delivery in 30 minutes or get $3 off.

Amway introduced multilevel marketing and turned a garage-based company with a quality product, unique packaging and distinctive labeling into a corporate giant.

Innovations don’t always come from big companies though. I saw a study that listed 61 basic inventions, and only 16 were discovered by big companies.

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