Serious students of swimming know that the biggest gains in the pool come not from the equipment you train with but from stroke mechanics. I can recall dozens of times where I was working out in the pool and pushing myself hard, only to see other swimmers who didn’t “appear” to be in as good of shape as I, glide past me lap after lap with seemingly effortless ease.
Man, that really irritated me!
But after some professional evaluation, it was clear that my technique was holding me back. My stroke, no matter how hard I worked on it, was fundamentally flawed. The harder I swam, the more I created drag and resistance. Sure, the pull buoy and paddles help with balance and strength, but only to a degree.
Fundamental to swimming is your stroke and if you really want to improve, you have to focus on making adjustments. A minor adjustment to your technique consistently applied can yield major improvements in your performance.
But of course that’s not just true for swimming. It’s a principle that can be applied to leadership and performance in whatever you do.
As a businessman, your business fundamentals are your stroke.