The duck dive is an essential part of being a competent surfer. But your style better be on point. Did you know its technique can also help organizations confidently dive through and conquer their mounting waves of paper documents?
Before we get started, I’ll openly admit when it comes to surfing I’m a Barney, and a bit clucked when it comes to big waves—especially when sailing on an ever-dangerous and highly-demanding ocean cruise. As a cruise is about as close as I’ve been to the really big waves, I have always admired the tenacity and fearlessness of the surfers who ride them.
Surfer dudes are NUTS! As legendary big wave surfer Buzzy Trent put it, “Waves are not measured in feet and inches, they are measured in increments of fear.” Real surfers know the fear of waves is more than offset by the exhilaration in riding and conquering them. They know exhilaration is also measured incrementally—increments of euphoria that few will risk experiencing.
So what the heck is duck diving? ... and what in the world does it have to do with a Document Management Project?
I'll admit the correlation is a reach, but bear with me. The fundamentals of mastering the duck dive are quite similar to a masterful Document Management implementation. In a previous blog, The Document Management Decision—The Stats That Say Just Do It, we outlined a variety of concerns that companies have with getting started with a Document Management engagement. The one factor we inadvertently left out was fear.
Yes, fear.
And we’re not talking about the fear of actually riding the waves … we’re talking about the fear of getting through the wave(s) to even begin the ride.
For all of you surfing experts and mathematics wizards you already know that:
wave energy = wind speed (x) wind duration (x) fetch distance.
For you novices and not so enlightened readers (like me), the easier formula is:
wave energy = will (+) kick (+) your a**. (Pardon the French!)
When you look at the force and power of the wave, I'm not sure it's fair to criticize customer hesitation—a big wave of paper documents can most certainly kick your butt. The bottom line is if you're gonna tackle the wave you've got to be brave leveraging a really good approach and a really good partner. When it comes to those gnarly waves of documents crushing your business workflow and office space, you're going to need some instruction. Count on it!
Let’s take snow skiing (something you may find more familiar). You shuffle to the lift line, relax while it brings you to the top of the mountain, and then enjoy your run. Now, you need some instruction to ski and avoid trees (or other skiers), but it’s an easy ride to get there. Here’s where the analogy to Document Management kicks in.
Wanna surf? Before you can experience the euphoria of riding that barrel wave, you have to first push through the punishment head on to get to where the waves are.
So consider the duck dive, or at least, the principles of the duck dive technique. If you think you can just swim around the incoming waves (which is just shy of impossible), you will certainly exhaust yourself, limit your rides, and minimize the enjoyment. It's kind of the same with implementing a document management system.
So how should you approach the wave (the project)?
The duck dive is an essential part of being a competent surfer. Applying its technique can also help organizations confidently dive through and conquer their mounting waves of paper documents. Here are six abbreviated steps from the surfing/duck diving experts for approaching your first or next document management project:
- Watch … First off, be on the lookout to discover a mounting wave of unruly documents in your office, identify it, and pick an instructor (i.e. technology partner) to guide you to it and through it.
- Commit … Go all in on the project and know, if half-hearted, you're gonna eat it.
- Momentum … Begin your approach towards the wave early, building up speed in the process. (Do not hesitate as timing is everything, and the wave will only get bigger.)
- Nose down … With the wave approximately a boards length away, sink your nose down (the nose of the surfboard) and your nose to the grindstone.
- Sink yourself ... Once under, sink your body down by pushing on the back of the board with your foot or knee. (The only way to get to the depths of your broken processes and origins of your document disarray requires pushing deep to real causes. That’s the only way to produce the best results.)
- Hold on … Finally, increase your grip on the board (i.e. your technology partner) and as the wave passes overhead, angle the nose of the board back up towards the surface. (The buoyancy of the board and the expertise of your instructor will propel you upward to success.)
So "dude" and "dudess", remember that the fear and struggle is all part of the reward that comes later when you’re gliding across a wave of insurmountable documents, harnessing its energy instead of feeling its wrath. If you do it correctly, a duck dive can seem effortless since the flow of water will help you surface on the other side. In the end, that's the kind of exhilaration you should expect when wrapping up a challenging Document Management implementation.
How about riding that wave with Datamax?
Get Started with A Document Workflow Assessment From Datamax! ›
Thanks to mellow-waves.com for their insight on the subject.
Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAvKjikGuzQ