2 Skills of the Truly Elite

There is a principle at work for the very elite in every industry and discipline. It consists of two things:

1. The ability to anticipate the movements of your opponent, thus enabling you to be there before they arrive
2. The ability to manufacture the space required for your opponent to occupy, which leads to the outcomes you desire.

Peter Aerts is a master at number 1. Nicknamed “The Norwegian Lumberjack”, Peter is regarded as one of the greatest kick boxers of all time. People observing him often think that he is unbelievably quick, especially for a man of his size – over 6’ 3” tall and 231 lbs. Those that fight against him contradict this notion – they state that he isn’t very fast at all; he is incredibly adept at reading intentions and getting in position first.

In business, what value can be gained from turning inside of your competitors’ turn? What if you could consistently be there, ready, before your opponent ever arrives?

Marcelo Garcia is the Michael Jordan of Jiu-Jitsu. He is a master of nuance and training in transition. He intentionally broadcasts his sparring matches before major fights – essentially inviting his opponents to study the moves he is about to use against them. His logic?

“If you are studying my game, you are entering my game; and I will be better at it than you.”

Marcelo intentionally applies pressure, then releases, giving his opponents the openings that he wants them to take, luring them into submission or knock-out.

Are we mastering our craft to that level? Elon Musk recently open-sourced many of Tesla’s patents. He’s openly inviting his competitors to get familiar with his IP. Maybe Elon is to car manufacturing what Marcelo is to Jiu-Jitsu.

“Music is the space between the notes” - Claude Debussy

I have some questions that I have posed to myself, and I now pose them to you:

• Are you thinking about the transition space?
• What are you doing to create space in your interactions?
• Are clients drawn toward you when you are not speaking?

If you are asking the right questions, there should be some silence before the answer. The best answer we can ever hear is, “I never thought of it that way before”.