More Pickleball

For the longest time, the "best practice" in pickleball was to hit a drop shot on a third shot. This video (click here) shows you the evolution of a point where the third shot is dropped over the net into the "kitchen" or "non-volley zone".

And then a Mom/Daughter duo changed the game ... applying what is called a "third shot drive" paired with a "shake and bake" where the partner aggressively attacks on a fifth shot. Watch this video for an example.

When you play tournaments here in The Valley, you'll see how the Mom/Daughter duo changed the game.

• Players 60 years old and older play a style that relies on the third shot drop.
• Players 59 years and under play a style that generally relies upon the third shot drive paired with a shake-and-bake.

If you are me ... and you've been taught to rely upon a third shot drop ... well ... it is really uncomfortable to be stuck in a tournament playing somebody with the drive / shake-and-bake strategy. It completely takes you out of your comfort zone.

I bring this up because this happens in marketing all the time. Older generations do what historically worked, younger generations create new styles of marketing that flummox older generations.

• I can't tell you how many meeting rooms I've been in where a fifty-something leader squelches the creativity of the 31 year old marketer.

When the world changes, change with it. Try not to impose the tired line of "that's the way we've always done it." Give a young employee a chance to change what you've always done.