Beating Goliath

Malcolm Gladwell has put together another little gem of an article - how do you win against a much stronger opponent who has more power, more resources, and more skills. This is a vexing problem that one encounters regularly in business, sports, and other walks of life.

Gladwell's key point is that the underdog needs to go beyond the accepted set of rules, work harder, and not be concerned about the "social consequences" of his/her actions. Goliath usually has to play by a set of rules, often assumed. Goliath also sticks to socially acceptable behavioural patterns, which restricts their options.

Gladwell illustrates these concepts with brilliant examples from recent and past history. One of the most compelling examples around which his article is built is how a really "weak" Junior Basketball team executes a unique strategy to consistently beat much stronger opposition.

The entire article is at: http://www.gladwell.com/2009/2009_05_11_a_david.html : a highly recommended read.

Welcome back Juan Martin

The big hard-hitting Argentine metronome Juan Martin Del Potro is back in the limelight with a 3rd round encounter with Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.

Del Potro came out of nowhere and won the 2009 US open. OK, no one really comes out of "nowhere" to win a big sports event - there is years, even decades of hard work behind it. What I mean is that he was a relative unknown when he won the US open a couple of years ago.

What took my breath away when I watched him in late 2009 was the consistency of Del Potro's hitting. He hits the ball extremely hard and low over the net, yet was very consistent. After that huge win, he slowly faded away due to injuries. I watched him play Djokovic at Roland Garros in an unfinished match yesterday - Juan appeared to be coming back to his best. The match was tied at one-set all, to be resumed today. What a mouth-watering battle this is, early in the draw. I think Del Potro could cause a huge upset today in the three set shootout that remains.