Life is full of challenges. Everything can be a strength or a weakness depending on the environment and context. Height, for instance, is seen as a good thing in general.
But when does it stop being good?
Height isn’t great when squeezing into an aeroplane seat or finding clothes. However, when playing basketball it comes in pretty handy.
In 2011, Sports Illustrated suggested that if you were over 7 foot in the USA you had a 17% chance of playing in the NBA, but if you were between 6 foot 6 and 6 foot 8 you had a 0.07% chance of making the NBA.
So what does being gigantic tell you about being successful?
Get In Where You Fit In
Being gigantic actually tells you nothing about being successful, what this Sports Illustrated story highlights is that you can create an advantage if you figure out the strengths the competition needs.
Simple models tend to outperform complex models. The best-known expression of this is from Occam’s Razor from the 14th century William of Ockham.
The original principle is Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, which roughly translates to “Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity”.
It is also known as, all things being equal, the simplicity explanation is probably the correct one. If you can create a good system you can have an outsized advantage over the competition.
Finding Your Edge
You can find your edge by looking at Information, Analysis, and Behaviour.
Information is the quality of the points of data you are putting into the equation.
Analysis is what you get out of the collection of data.
Behaviour is what you do with it.
If you have terrible information, then your analysis will get you an incorrect idea of the situation.
If you have great information but terrible analysis, you will be led down the wrong path.
You could have the best, most accurate information, and add on top of that the best analysis telling you exactly what to do, but if you don’t change your behaviour then it is all for nothing.
Where To Play
All of this work is not going to guarantee that you win, it will just help decide where you should play and what you should focus on for success.
It isn’t the end of the process, just the start of an iterative process that needs to be refined over and over again.
in 2019, The Bleacher Report looked into these Sports Illustrated numbers and found that now it is only 8% of 7 Footers in the US that are making the NBA.
The game has changed the requirement of the players has changed alongside it. What was once a dominant strategy has been usurped and the players getting drafted have changed to adjust.
Figure out your edge, and then keep sharpening it.
Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe 