Swing is an amazing feeling that really can't be described to someone who hasn't experienced it. Everything just clicks and effort/energy seems to be transferred without friction. Crew is an amazingly competitive sport. You push yourself to the limit, compete against each other for seats in the boat, and then get together as a seamless team to do battle. I still remember those cold early morning workouts and all the powerful lessons they taught me.
The management lessons are particularly applicable for the networked world. Yes, skill is critical - you can't win without it. Strategy is also critical so that you all know what the goal is and how you're all going to get there. But ego, in-fighting, and people that want to win at all costs? That kills swing.
It is better to agree and execute a sup-optimal decision collectively than to have a team of rockstars that all want to convince people to do it their way - even if each one of them is a genius. That reality has huge implications on hiring, performance management, and leadership. It changes our ideas about what it means to be competitive. However, swing is so powerful that it can overcome strength and natural advantages.
I've also noticed the same feeling of swing throughout my career. Moments where individuals pulled together as a team and gave it their all in order to accomplish incredible feats and beat unattainable goals. The sense of team accomplishment is amazing.. nothing beats the power of swing.
"Once they feel the swing, rowers spend many hours trying to recapture the experience." In the business world you need the right company, team and individuals to accomplish it. That's the company I'm looking to work for (or start if necessary).
Have you ever experienced the feeling of swing within your organization? What factors do you think contributed most to the team's success?
Update: Louis Gray wrote a post about the Burning Drive to Never Settle and his drive to win. Unfortunately most friendfeed comments relate to his mention of hours, but I knew what he was describing. The book of my generation was the Soul of the New Machine which covers the race to build the faster computer under impossible deadlines. Tracy Kidder (the author) spoke at my graduation and Data General (the company) was my first job, I wanted to experience that drive but I was too late.
To me it's not about winning or time spent.. it's a passion for success. I want to work with a team that is passionate enough to be willing to sleep under the desk if needed, but efficient and effective enough to never need to. The great thing about software is that each day brings incremental rewards as the pieces take shape, the real win is when the team or customer succeeds.
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