the correct attitude of mind

Until the mid-1950s, the four-minute mile was regarded as beyond human achievement. Even medical journals judged it unattainable. Yet, in May 1954, a medical student named Roger Bannister smashed through the barrier with a time of 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. In his memoir, Bannister explained he did what was once thought impossible by spending as much time conditioning his mind as his body. He wrote, “The mental approach is all-important… energy can be harnessed by the correct attitude of mind.”

What is perhaps more amazing is that two months later, the four-minute barrier was broken again, by Australian John Landy. Within three years, 16 runners had followed suit. So, what happened here? Was it a sudden spurt in human evolution? A new super-race or genetically engineered runners? Of course not. It was the same physical equipment, but with a different mindset: one that said. “This can be done.” No doubt there are some “four-minute mile”-like mindsets sitting beneath the behaviors you see in your organization that, if broken trough, will unlock a whole new level of performance in a similar manner to Bannister's effect on the running community. 

Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger

Beyond Performance 2.0: A Proven Approach to Leading Large-Scale Change. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2019