Walking the Tightrope

Posted on by Scott

Karl WallendaLast week, I wrote about Jean Francois Blondin, the first person to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls. As I thought about his story this week, I was reminded of another famous tightrope artist – Karl Wallenda. He and his family, known as the “Flying Wallendas,” were famous for their trapeze and tightrope routines. Their signature act was walking the tightrope as a team – stacked on top of each other in a pyramid.

Karl was not only the leader of the Wallenda clan; he was a daring individual tightrope walker as well. He was known for performing high above the ground without a safety net. He felt the net gave him an excuse to be less than perfect. He knew that the key to a successful walk lay in keeping his focus on his goal at the other end of the rope, not on what could happen if he fell. Falling was simply not an option for Karl Wallenda.

Wallenda used to perform shows where he’d walk across a tightrope stretched between two buildings. His last stunt occurred in Puerto Rico and involved a walk between the city’s two tallest buildings. But something was different this time. Wallenda overheard some people talking about another tightrope walker who had recently fallen and he began to focus on that. He began to worry about what could go wrong and on the day of the stunt was preoccupied with checking the ropes.

Halfway across the rope, Wallenda lost his balance and fell to his death.

When leaders start focusing on what they have to lose versus what they have to gain, the only direction they can go is down. The result may not be physically deadly, but the consequences are still dire. Projects stagnate, innovation dies, and communication stops. Forward progress comes to a halt as everyone either adopts the leader’s myopic focus or opts out.

To move forward, you have to look ahead, not down. You can’t blaze new ground if you’re busy building fences. You can’t WOW your customers or employees if you’re worried about the potential downside.

I’m not saying you should be reckless. You can’t ignore obvious dangers. But there’s a balance that needs to be achieved. No great achievement is without risk. But nothing great is ever achieved without it.

Climbing Into the Wheelbarrow

Posted on by Scott

Jean BlondinIn 1859, Jean Francois Blondin became the first man to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. As the crowd watched, he stopped halfway, sat down, and pulled up a bottle from the water below. After refreshing himself with a drink he stood and executed a back somersault before walking the rest of the way across.

In later stunts, Blondin walked across the falls blindfolded, in a sack, rode a bicycle, walked across with his hands and feet in cuffs, on stilts, and even carried his manager across on his back. Once, he even stopped in the middle to cook and eat an omelet. With each crossing, the crowds grew in expectation of his latest amazing stunt.

Then came the day when Blondin walked across the falls pushing a wheelbarrow. As he finished the walk, he addressed the crowd of 25,000 people. “Who here thinks I can walk across with someone sitting in the wheelbarrow?” The crowd exploded into cheers and applause. But when Blondin asked for a volunteer, the crowd fell silent. Finally, after a few tension-filled moments, one man quietly stepped out of the crowd and climbed into the wheelbarrow.

This is a story about three types of people. The first is the tightrope walker – the innovator. Many dream of playing this role – the one with the big idea who achieves fame by turning conventional thinking upside down. The notion of being the next Steve Jobs is attractive and the world definitely needs those people. We need individuals who raise the bar and blaze new trails. But people with the skill, daring, and resources to fill this role are few and far between.

The second role in this story is the crowd. Most people are content to be part of the crowd. They cheer on the innovator, watching in awe as he introduces radical new concepts. They buy tickets and watch the show from the sidelines.

What the world needs is more volunteers – people who make the decision to step out of the crowd and become part of the larger story. It’s a scary move. Think about the volunteer who stepped into Blondin’s wheelbarrow. What if things had gone wrong? Now, admittedly most risks we take aren’t life threatening. Typically the things that hold us back are embarrassment, fear of failure, apathy and even resentment.

But without the volunteer in the wheelbarrow, there’d be no story. Successful innovation requires people willing to play a supportive role. It requires members of the team who can participate without necessarily taking on the lead role. When people are willing to lead by following they allow great things to happen. Besides, the best view of Niagara Falls that day was from the wheelbarrow.