Full Frontal Force
Collision Course
As innovative as we humans can be, some of us create things that make others scratch their head and ask, "C'mon man! Did the world really need that?"
Case in point, some people in the land down under have created a new sport comprised of brief matches between two massively muscular men running full speed into each other. That's it. Just...sprint 50 feet towards another human.
No helmet. No pads. No strategy. No thank you!
If I wanted to subject myself to unnecessary pain, I'd chase a plate of Ghost Pepper-coated Buffalo wings with a gallon of water.
What started as "Run It Straight," a social media trend that delivered millions of views and bragging rights to the victors, has morphed into a mainstream phenomenon that has spawned two legit leagues. One of them, the Run Nation Championship (RNC), recently sold more than 5,000 tickets to Aussies clamoring to see a bunch of invitation-only "runners" smash into each other like two rams trying to establish dominance and mating rights.
Are we not entertained?!
I get that society has always had an appetite for watching two people settle something physically, but sometimes UFC events take hours. These matches are over in seconds.
They didn't just shorten the sport — they edited out everything except the part that goes viral.
As you can imagine, this extremely violent sport — and I use that term lightly — is as injury prone as Anthony Davis. The matches carry a significant risk of concussions and other serious brain injuries, which is why some neurologists have been trying to get the sport banned. But the RNC is running head first into the pushback.
While the CEO admits injuries are part of the sport, he also assures they've worked hard to mitigate the severity. They've introduced strict rules, such as allowing only side-on contact, and they ensure a team of doctors, including neurologists and chiropractors, are immediately available to assess and treat injuries.
Neurologists. Chiropractors. Paramedics. They've assembled quite the pit crew.
Apparently "we have doctors nearby" is the new "this is totally fine."
Inspect the Scaffolding
The more you parse the RNC's response to the uproar over safety risks, the more it starts to sound like the corporate version of "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
They didn't make the sport safer. They made it look safer. There's a difference — and most of us know it when we see it. We just don't always say it.
It's like when a company announces a reorg at an all-hands meeting. They slap a new name on an old division, then promote a senior leader to guide the new group to success. It all sounds good on the surface, but for some reason we feel like there's more to the story than what we're being told.
And that's when our anxiety kicks in.
If you've been in the corporate world long enough, chances are you've seen this movie before. You know there's usually a jump scare around the corner, so worst-case scenarios start to run rampant through your mind.
Are they gonna kill my current project?
Will I be buried one layer on the org chart?
Are layoffs coming?
We rarely control the flow of information — and our gut knows there’s more there. The tricky part is that listening to your gut at work feels dangerous. You worry that asking tough questions out loud could make you appear paranoid or disloyal. But there's a difference between paranoia and pattern recognition.
One is fear talking. The other is experience.
The scaffolding — the new name, the promoted VP, the all-hands reassurance — is designed to close the knowledge gap. Your gut knows it's not the answer to your questions.
It's just the thing someone built to keep you from asking.
Question of the Week
When the scaffolding goes up around you, what does your honest read of the situation actually say — and are you letting yourself hear it?
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