skipping rope and innovtion

it's child's play really

Simple thing, like jumping rope are easy to dismiss. We reject such activities as mere ‘child’s play’.

For children, play is serious business. It’s through play that we make sense of the world.

Far too often though, we don’t learn what we can from simple things. People frequently get ‘simple’ confused with ‘simplistic’

Take jumping rope for example. It’s a ‘simple’ activity. The rope swings. People jump it. What to do is obvious to anyone watching. A ‘simplistic’ understanding of jumping rope is that one swings a rope and jumps over it. This explanation ignores important complexities, nuances, and subtleties.

While jumping rope may appear simple at first glance, it involves a combination of physical skills, coordination, timing, and endurance.

Jumping rope requires precise coordination and timing between hand movements and footwork. It involves synchronizing the swings of the rope with jumping in a rhythmic pattern. This coordination can be challenging, especially when attempting more advanced techniques like skipping double dutch.

Timing is essential in jump rope, as it influences the rhythm and success of each jump. You must anticipate the rotation of the rope and time your jumps accordingly.

When I trained in Paris we spent a lot of time jumping rope. Every morning we’d start as a group, two people would turn the rope, the rest would jump.

At first we’d go in and jump once. The next person would follow, only jumping the rope one time. Once the entire group made it through like that, we would jump twice then exit. We’d repeat this process until eventually we screwed up somehow and broke the chain of people.

Timing in a game like this is essential. Things got pretty intense. You had to move and take the opportunity at exactly the right time. Sure, there was always room for

Big social changes and innovations happen like a group jumping rope. The people who reaped the rewards from many of the the technological innovations that took off over the last twenty five years were jumping rope at the right time. They entered and exited at the right time.

They were part of a group swinging a rope and moving together.

From the outside?

It likely seemed pretty simple.

Inside, there are so many other forces at work.

What are the swinging ropes around you right now either culturally or in the business world?

Are you sitting on the sidelines afraid that if you enter, you’ll screw things up?

How can you connect with the rhythm of the current movement and join in its flow?

What are the complex factors that you need to be able to adapt and attune to in order to make magic happen?

So.

Go.

Change the world.

It’s as simple as jumping rope.