The Five Tenets of Innovation

It has been a thrill to publish a second series of Innovation Interviews on the “End of the Island” Podcast. I spent each day of the Henley Royal Regatta walking along the towpath and in the boat tents, speaking with former rowers and competitors about innovation in rowing. It has been an honour to meet so many of you, and I thank you for your open hearts and generosity of spirit. You have all shared with me your personal journey as rowers – your hopes, dreams, successes and disappointments and I honour the words you have so freely given. 

I have come to appreciate that we find innovation difficult in rowing. All too often, we are in the same boat as our competitors, using the same oars and having done the same training but expecting to outperform them. It is no secret that adopting innovation is a key component of winning in sport, and rowing is no different. Through my interviews, I have identified five key areas that help me understand what innovation looks like in rowing and what it takes to win a coveted red box at Henley. 

Many of us row for all kinds of reasons. These Five Tenets are from those who have reached the very top. 

Innovation One – Finding Personal Meaning in Rowing

For those who want to reach the very pinnacle of our sport, you need to be honest with yourself: how much do you want this? If you are not chasing victory in every aspect of your life, you’ll never find it. Winners clearly define their goals and are prepared to make extreme personal sacrifices. Champions meditate upon their goals every day. Chasing a red box is what makes the journey real, and if you’re not real, you’ll be rowed through by those who are. 

Innovation Two – Family support

You cannot achieve your goals on your own and must have the support of your family. You need to share your goals with them and specifically ask them to support you on your journey. Your struggles will become theirs, and so will your triumphs. Never underestimate their importance or take them for granted, as they will be there in the darkest times, often asking hard questions or saying just what you need to hear. Your family will be picking up the pieces that you leave behind. It’s the little things, like driving you to training in the dark, having a hot meal ready or folding your washing. Therefore, you need to show them that you love them and tell them so. Always take an interest in their lives and plan ahead, for although you cannot be at Aunty Nora’s birthday on Saturday, you’ll have a card written. 

Innovation Three – Becoming Crew

It is the stuff of Hollywood that there is no “I” in “TEAM,” and that you are “not a team of champions but a champion team.” It is easy to feel that when you have been selected for a crew, you lose your individuality and must become one with the team. Yet it is only through the crew’s responsiveness to each individual’s very needs that you gain a winning edge. The crew must empower each individual to have agency to achieve their own personal excellence. Personal goals must align. Within the crew, there is a collective responsibility to uphold each crew member as an individual. The training sessions and nutrition guidance should be individualised and targeted, especially adjusted for recovery and injury prevention. In turn, it is the responsibility of each individual to do the training, eat and sleep well, recover, avoid illness, maintain their equipment, and be properly set up in the boat. The crew is there to carry each individual across the finish line, so the trust of each individual in all other individuals is paramount. 

Innovation Four – Equipment selection and modification

To be the fastest, you must never stop seeking potential speed gains by differentiating yourself from your competitors. Establishing a culture of measurement and evidence-based decision-making will result in optimised high-performing equipment. At this moment, very few programs are using telemetry and those that are mainly use it for selection and data recording purposes. Very few are measuring equipment performance. The boat off the rack is the default and the beginning of many modifications, enhancements, tweaks and adjustments that are available. It’s about optimising existing equipment and utilising new possibilities like video biomechanics and synchronising force curve peaks. You need a coaching team that is doing the work to set up, swap out, and trial and test variations of equipment that is available, running the numbers and fine-tuning. What is the current research saying, and what has not been considered? Innovation of equipment is all about integrating data analytics into training and performance.

Innovation Five – Perspective 

Don’t let your heart chase for gold corrupt your spirit. What you ultimately get out of rowing is far more valuable. A champion finds meaning in the endeavour regardless of the decorations acquired. The truth is, most medals end up cluttering around in your sock draw. The importance of perspective to innovation is best understood when you encounter the unpredictable nature of sport – when luck, circumstance and a photo finish don’t go your way. Finding a deeper meaning in rowing will help when you hit the booms ten strokes before the finish line. Perspective will help you take everything as it comes and help you make the right decisions about your life, your family, those you love, and your career, as well as steady you for the next race, season, or Olympics.

If you want more details, I recommend following the podcast series and listen to their words for yourself.

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Ian Randall

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