Go Back to Basics

I injured my ankle badly in November 2017, when I started training for my first marathon. After a tough uphill slog on a sunny Monday morning, I was careening down a rocky trail at Battle Hill when I lost my footing and popped my right ankle.  

The most interesting thing about recovering from that injury was the focus of my rehabilitation. My physio was clear: I had weak core muscles, which was putting strain on all my other joints. If that accident hadn't taken me done, another would have.  

I had to get to work on stabilising my core. The core is your body’s entire support system – not just for getting strong and running marathons, but for staying upright at all. Core weakness is the single biggest risk for potential injuries. 

I’ve been reading a great book lately, which has informed some of the work we’re doing to reshape our practice, and support our clients to plot a post-COVID reality. In Dual Transformation: How to Reposition Today’s Business While Creating the Future, the authors talk about how we become the next version of ourselves. "Transformation A" is about maximising the resilience of our current system to suit our new environment. It’s left me thinking how easy it is to get swept up in the excitement of change – but that it doesn’t work when we start from shaky ground. 

When we’re doing important work, we have a responsibility. We don’t get to just drop everything and change. Transformation A asks us to strengthen and reposition our core activities, while we get busy gearing up for the future.  

This week, I’ve been spending time getting my family – and my leadership teams – back to basics. Clear focus, time management, active communication and meaningful relationships. 

How strong is your core?