STFU #04 — Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) — When you do the ‘Spaghetti’ Dance

May 25th, 2005. Istanbul.

It was the Champions League Final between 2 Giants — AC Milan and Liverpool. Jerzy Dudek was the goalkeeper, a man risen quickly but from humble beginnings.

Liverpool had been doing quite well that entire season — almost a magical run for them. Until the match began!

51 seconds into the game, Milan scored. This was followed by 2 more goals, minutes before halftime.

At halftime, Liverpool was down 0–3. The team was shattered, almost giving up their dream in their mind.

While most of the 40,000 Liverpool fans were singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, it was more out of sympathy than celebration, more empathy than hope.

Then the second half began.

At 9 minutes, Liverpool scored its first goal. It scored again 2 minutes later, and then again, 4 minutes after that. The score was now 3–3.

The match went into extra time.

Milan was aggressive and probably, a stronger team that day. But thanks to a brilliant couple of saves by Dudek in the last ninety seconds, Liverpool survived the extra time and entered the penalty shootouts.

As a goalie, Jerzy had been practicing for this moment for a long long time — this was his dream. How to move, what approach to use, what stance to take (he was known to stand still until the ball was kicked, and then dove one way or another — every single time till this time).

But then as he was planning to use this consistent approach, defender Jamie Carragher ran over to him, and shouted out a totally different approach, “Do the wobbly legs like Bruce Grobbelaar in 1984!” (Football fans would know this story!)

In the most important moment of Jerzy Dudek’s professional life, even after years of practice, he decided to try something new — using his “Spaghetti Legs”, he started dancing on the goal line for each of the shootouts. Something the opposite team did not expect!

Liverpool won 3–2!

Down from 0–3 till halftime to 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out — what is now called “the Miracle of Istanbul” and a moment that changed the way the world looked at Jerzy Dudek!

When I did the ‘Spaghetti Dance’ at P&G

March 31st, 2011 was my last working day before I jumped out of the corporate world. I completed 12 years yesterday of self-fulfillment (pun intended!)

Before that, I had planned a certain set of steps and structure to leave the corporate world — starting up once I was clear of the idea and business plan. Planning to build a team with my potential co-founder and brother-in-law Sreejith. Classic 101 of the startup plan.

But one fine evening, once I was back from the office, my uncle and I were having a chat about my plans to leave. Suddenly, he animatedly shouted out, ‘ If you want to start up, what’s stopping you? Kar na start! Leave your job!’

I didn’t have any idea what to start on and whom to speak to. But then, something inside me told me this was the approach I wanted to try. The next day I went to my manager and put in my papers. My ‘Spaghetti Dance’ moment was there. It was not taken well by most around me, but then I had to do it and I did it.

Looking back, had I not danced that day, I would have never been able to enter this little startup club with True Elements.

Have you danced yet?

As a start-up, you build your learning over time — you believe there is a certain way of doing things — you can call it your ‘culture’ or ‘principles’ — something that you use more often in your toughest times than the regular ones. You pretty much take a way of working for granted.

And then, one day, someone shouts out a different approach.

This someone could be a person you trust or you respect, could be your teammate, your co-founder, or for that matter, your own alter ego.

The approach could either be anti-gut or anti-logic or just your subconscious shouting out to you, “try this! try this!”.

What will you do? Will you do the Spaghetti Dance?

What if you don’t question it and just go ahead and do it?

In the toughest of moments, we are most vulnerable, we lose hope, and we think of all the worse things that could happen to us and those around us.

We are down 0–3 and we know it’s not there yet.

But then, we all have a Jerzy Dudek sitting inside us — waiting to do his Miracles. We just have to go out there and make those decisions!

Could be starting up or letting go, could be changing course or pivoting, or could be hiring someone or letting go.

Maybe all we need is someone to come over and shout out to us, “Do the Spaghetti Dance!”

Stfu!

[Inspired from a chapter in John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed, Dudek image]

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.