Learned a new thing this week.
And then had a million thoughts as it pertains to our industry…
First, what is the Red Queen hypothesis?
Twitter good guy Oliver has a thread on this, but this tweet is most helpful in making the definition land in your brain better:
The Red Queen at Michigan
A great example of the Red Queen is the Michigan hockey team.
Without getting too lost in the details, the HC, Brandon Naurato taught a masterclass in offense this year. It was the central focus.
Last season, they led the country in goals for.
They also gave up a lot of high-quality chances against.
Everything in life is a trade-off, and if your plan is to win games 7-5 some nights, you’re going to give up chances.
But with the success of the team, the Red Queen states that this team can’t rest on what made them successful last year.
“Not making the leap, means falling behind.”
How did they leap?
2 hires.
Matt Deschamps and Kevin Reiter.
This quote from the press release puts the Red Queen as concise as it can be:
"Last season we led the country in goals for," Naurato said. "And with the addition of Deschamps and Reiter, they are going to make the defensive side of our game that much better and it will have a huge impact on Michigan hockey."
The offense will still be high-powered, but now they don’t need to teach as much to as many players in year 2. Therefore, they afforded themselves the ability to add a layer.
Instead of trying to win 7-5 and losing 6-4 because you didn’t get one timely save or a bounce, you can win with more margin of victory by keeping the O and adding the D.
Prediction: Less 7-5 and more 7-2 wins in their future.
P.S. Want to listen to more on the Red Queen?