In Karate, as in all striking arts, there’s something called Striking Distance. This may not be the official term for everyone, but it’s a crucial idea.
The idea is that when you execute a technique—a hook punch, for example—you need to be just the right distance away from your assailant for the technique to work most powerfully.
If you’re too far away and you throw the punch, strike, or kick, it won’t land on the target, OR it will just graze the target and be a waste of energy.
If you’re too close, you’ll be jammed and the technique won’t be able to fully develop. You’ll need to use another technique if you’re too close to your target.
You have to be in that sweet spot, that perfect striking distance, in order for the chosen technique to be most powerful. The assailant needs to be in that technique’s “wheel house”.
Picture the target (or you) moving: too far away=red light . . . in the sweet spot=GREEN LIGHT . . . too close=red light again . . .
I’m talking here about TIMING.
This is a continuation from my last blog post on Strategy. Go read it if you haven’t yet, but here’s my point today: you may have chosen the correct strategy AND you may know how to execute that strategy in a competent manner.
However, you need one more thing to make your strategy effective—PROPER TIMING.
Are you a salesperson wanting to close the sale? If you try to close too early=no sale . . . if you’re in striking distance and your prospect is “ripe”=SALE . . . . if you close the sale too late=no sale.
Are you a teacher trying to help your students learn a new idea? If they haven’t had enough time to learn, digest, and fully understand the dense material you just gave them, then you’re not in striking distance. Your teaching will fall on wooden ears and will be a waste of your breath.
If your goal is to work out an interpersonal issue with someone, timing is very important. If you try to have that conversation too soon, when someone is still too angry, you won’t get any traction because the person isn’t ready to talk (or CAN’T talk) in a constructive manner.
And, of course, if you wait too long, bigger problems may develop in the meantime.
Are you a political candidate running for office? We’ve all seen examples of politicians with good campaigning ideas who blow it because of poor timing—they’re too quick to do something out of over-eagerness, or too slow to do something out of inexperience, anxiety, etc.
Are you a CEO trying to figure out when to do layoffs? There’s a timing element to that. Will you just “slash and burn” without fully thinking it through, acting out of anxiety, and cut your workforce in half overnight? Or, will you wait too long and not pull the trigger on something that is inevitable and needs to happen?
Timing is all about “pulling the trigger”. If you’re a deer hunter, again, you can’t pull the trigger too early or too late. You have a great rifle, you can knock a tin can off a fence post at half a mile, but if you don’t know WHEN to pull the trigger, none of the other stuff matters.
So consider your timing. You may have a beautiful strategy and a brilliant plan, and it can all go down the tubes if you’re timing isn’t right.
When you’re in the sweet spot, STRIKE!
--Sean Cox, Chicago