Take the Granny Shot
Be brave enough to go against the norm, this is where the true leaders lie.
Ok, here is an experiment. Look at these two lines and choose which letter most closely corresponds with the bar on the left.
Super tricky, right?
Of course, it’s not. Everyone gets the correct answer — C.
However, what would you do if everyone around you said the correct answer was A? Would you be willing to stand your ground stick your answer?
The researcher who first performed this experiment hypothesized that most people would keep their correct answer. And the researcher was wrong.
Dr. Asch thought that most people would not conform to something wrong, but the results showed that only 24% of the participants did not conform on any trial. Seventy-five percent conformed at least once, 5% conformed every time. When surrounded by individuals all voicing an incorrect answer, participants provided incorrect responses on a high proportion of the questions (32%). Overall, there was a 37% conformity rate by subjects averaged across all critical trials. With no pressure to conform to a wrong answer in a control group, only one subject out of 35 ever gave an incorrect answer. Source
Of course, you would stand your ground.
Here’s another question for you — what is the best way to make a free throw in basketball?
In the podcast. “Revisionist History: Big Man Can’t Shoot,” Malcolm Gladwell analyzes what is often called the most incredible single basketball game performance in NBA history. The player Wilt Chamberlin scored a record 100 points — by himself, something no individual NBA player has come close to this since.
In that game, Chamberlin, out of nowhere, improved his free throw shot from an average of just 51% to 83%.
How did he improve so dramatically?
During this game, Chamberlin used the “granny shot” technique, and his percentage shot up.
Research shows that using a “granny style” underarm technique is the best way to take a free throw in basketball.
Madhusudhan Venkadesan, who led the work at Yale University, said: “Our mathematical analysis shows that if the thrower is capable of controlling the release angle and speed well, the underarm throw is slightly better for a basketball free throw.”
So, the research shows that the “granny style” is the better technique, and it was proven by one of history’s best players.
So why aren’t you using this technique? Probably for the same reason Chamberlin stopped. He abandoned the method after that season and never used it again. He later wrote that the reason he stopped was that “I felt silly, like a sissy.”
Other basketball stars also used this technique informally, including Shaquille O’Neal, and they proved to themselves on the practice court that they made more free throws with this method. However, when pressed, they admitted they were too self-conscious about using the technique in a real game (in front of people!) because of the “granny shot” stigma.
There’s a saying, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” But what should we call finding a solution to your biggest problems and then reverting to your old less effective ways?
Most people don’t feel comfortable going against the norm. Whether it is standing up for your correct answer in the lines, question, or continuing to shoot the research-backed method that works best even if society says it looks silly.
Be brave enough to think differently.
Stand firm in your conviction.
This is where the true leaders stand.
