Change occurs all day every day. How do you adapt to change as a business.

1. Adopting a ‘One
Boat’ Mindset Will
Carry You over the
Finish Line.
By
Tim O’Leary
Leadership and Organizational Adaptability Consultant
With Kyocera Document Solutions

2. University of Washington
1930’s 8 Man Crew Team
Competition
• Traveled from Washington to Berlin for the
Olympics
• They were the true underdog. The British team,
which won the double-scull race and the German
team which had just won five straight races. Those
were the two top teams
• The event was very cold and rainy. 100,000
spectators at the event.
• In minutes, not only had they beaten the British,
they went on to stun the world by defeating the
favored German team

3. What was their
secret?
• Balancing the boat and equally
valuing every seat, each person
doing what’s best for the team
while carrying their own load,
sharing leadership and staying
in sync. In short, they had a
“one boat” mindset.

4. Organizational
Change for
Businesses in
2018
Thinking about the 36 US Olympic Team
winning the gold, I realized that there is
much to learn about organizational change
and transformation from the sport.
The reason is that, unlike in other sports,
rowing relies on concerted, coordinated
effort by people pulling together in the same
direction. Rather than like a quarterback
who has to secure a win has rely on multiple
players doing there job.

5. What
Organizations
Need
Interdependent collaborators
Inquisitive learners
Integration of patterns of future
Multiple perspectives and conversations
Participatory leaders
Collaborative business partners