Month: November 2015

I went to a very interesting group session about trying to make us more innovative at work. There was lots of discussion about what the organisation can do to be more innovative but it all centred around doing things in our usual way; set up a working group, appointment a manager, have monthly meetings.

I think that being innovative needs an innovative approach, it can’t be achieved by doing things the same old way. I also think that as an organisation we need a clearer idea of what we mean by ‘innovation’, what we want being innovative to look like, examples of innovation both inside and outside the organisation.  

Of course, at the opposite end of the scale you could argue that innovation comes from within an organisation by people fighting against the established systems and trying to find solutions to problems. Maybe it’s for the individual to just go ahead and be innovative without having to wait for the organisation to create a framework for them to be innovative within.

Men, driving is not a reflection on your masculinity. You are not less of a man if another driver gets in front of you. You are not more of a man if you drive close to the car in front and pressure them to get out of your way. Give up on the self-induced illusion of superiority that you get from the selfish approach to driving. Make driving about all drivers helping each other get where they want to go by ensuring the flow of traffic, rather than being about you getting what you want regardless of others. Driving shouldn’t be an opportunity for you to seek emotional fulfilment, it should be approached rationally. Driving should be collaborative rather than competitive.

“What is most important to the heart of a warrior?” The answer is, “To desire with one’s very soul every second of every day to accomplish one’s aim.” A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.

Skateboarding has been accepted by the IOC into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on the back of an application made by FIRS (Fédération Internationale Roller Sports, the world governing body for roller sports (well, speed, artistic and hockey skating, not street, park or downhill skateboarding)). This is a great opportunity for Skateboarding to progress as a sport but has also generated the predictable backlash of skaters saying that skateboarding should remain true to it’s counter-culture roots and not get involved in what they see as selling-out to the mainstream. This knee-jerk reaction shows how elitist and isolationist some skaters are about their sport, and how narrow-minded they are about what it could be. For them, skateboarding is how they do skateboarding. Their way is the right way, and although they might agree with grass roots initiatives to get more kids into skateboarding, they really don’t like the idea of big business (it really isn’t all that big) diluting the purity of their chosen activity. It’s an understandable position as the reason they are into skateboarding in the first place is because it isn’t mainstream and offeres them a small community to belong to, but what they don’t seem to want to admit is that a sport without money dies very quickly, and that a sport can exist on many levels without interfering with itself on any other levels. What skateboarding is to them doesn’t have to change just because some skaters are also doing it in the Olympics.

There is also a ‘discussion’ among skaters about which governing body should control and manage the implementation of skateboarding as an Olympic competition as the surrounding activities such as selecting the competitors, run drug-testing, etc. So, which organisation should be responsible for implementing skateboarding in the Olympics? Simple, the organisation that is most capable of making it a success.

Having cycling in the Olympics proved a huge boost for Road Cycling. Managed correctly the Olympics can do the same for Skateboarding.