In an earlier post we wrote that to get step-like improvements in performance, you need to dramatically change your process. Our example was the Fosbury Flop, the standard high jumping technique popularized by Dick Fosbury in the late 1960s.

Here’s a little something most folks don’t know about his innovation. Not long before he introduced the technique, the high jump landing areas were changed. Instead of jumpers landing in a sand pit, they would now land in a soft bag. Imagine trying the flop if you had to land in sand? Ouch!

The point is that sometimes outside changes facilitate new ways.

The same is true of Flowcasting. Recent advances in computing juice have made it possible to process the large volumes of data in retail.