I considered myself very fortunate to grow up in a town that had a roller rink, a bowling alley, and a lake that freezes over in the winter for ice skating.
My hometown in northern New Jersey, formerly a farming town, was now part of the growing suburbs outside of New York City.
In late grade school and in high school, my friends and I would occasionally gather on Friday nights at the roller rink. After tying up our rented skates, we’d make for the rink. Large and oval, we’d skate round and round at the perimeter. The caller is live on the mic. They’re responsible to play the music and make the announcements to lead the myriad of skating moves used to entertain us and to create fun and variety.
Changing from activity to activity keeps the skating fresh and interesting. To the thumping music, there are solo skating, couples, trios, limbo, reverse direction, wipeout, jam skate, fast skate and more.
Then there is Free Skate. This is skater’s choice.
For me, there was something always so soothing about Free Skate. You get to do what you want to do. How you want to do it. It felt like a relief. No constraints.
Free Skate was freedom. Your choice. Released from a command.
What if you adopted Free Skate in the business of running your teams?
What happens when they become autonomous, self-governing, self-determining.
Call Free Skate. See what happens when you do.
(The new CEO of Barnes and Noble was breathing life into a dying business. One that was seriously on its last gasps. He went out to the workers in the stores and relied on them to help with the turnaround. He called Free Skate. Put it in their hands. And to great results.)
Photo credit: Lukas Schroeder, Unsplash
