Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Bode Miller. When America first cast eyes on him during this Olympics, it was as though we had the wrong guy. Surely this was not the surly skier from Olympics' past. This could not be the Gen X borderline Y who figuratively gave the Olympic world the finger as he partied and consequently under performed time and time again.

WOW. Four years and an attitude adjustment resulted in a medal by 9/100's of a second. Now the most decorated American male alpine skier in history. What happened? How did he go from petulant child to record-breaking icon?

It's not about the skiing. Statistically he is not as good a skier as he was four years ago. Four years is a lifetime to a skier's knees. The Olympics for the most part are about youth. And while experience counts, usually not as much as youth. Just ask Olga Korbet how experience worked out for her when she went toe to toe with the younger Nadia Comaneci in the 1976 Olympics. Here is a hint: youth won.

It is about value. Bode Miller performed this year because he took steps to protect his value. Life, on or off the slopes, is about correctly identifying your value, communicating that value, and protecting your value. Gone are the stories,

True or urban legend, about his partying on nights prior to an event. Gone is the, "I didn't have time to shower" look cultivated in past Olympics. He even talked about how nervous he was, a far cry from the iceman cometh.

Bode is now not only a multi medal winner. He is packaged as a multi media spokesperson.