Your remark about ending when “there ain’t no game no more.’ Made me think of Simon Sinek’s latest book on gaming theory. It occurs to me that transformation is truly an infinite game. It’s realistic to see the fits and starts. It’s not realistic for orgs to set this up as a project or as a game with clearly winnable rules. I’ve had great success with internally lead transformations that are more emergent. In short, these are much more focused on the journey than the destination. I find success more challenging the more I’m expected to be “the expert”. This sets up a game I can’t win.
You’ve really helped me understand why experts and playbooks do not work. And , why I’m much more comfortable partnering with folks to explore solutions than I am reading a playbook with their solutions.
This is because transformation isn’t a simple game you can win. Perhaps another name for an infinite game is a journey. Long term, strategic change is the only viable way to look at this. In a transformation, there isn’t a destination to arrive at, merely a place to camp before continuing the journey.
Organizations can benefit from someone who can help make the journey easier and not an expert who knows where we’ll end up. perspective makes this easier: the role of a coach is not to know the destination; but rather to make the journey better, to help people find persistence and to keep going.
This is true even when we think we’ve arrived ... perhaps a friend to walk with is more important when we reach any base camps; because, inevitably, the journey continues and we need more encouragement to keep going at those times we’re fooled into thinking we’ve arrived.
Perhaps the most dangerous part of transformation is when you think you’ve arrived ... when you think you’ve won an infinite game and, instead, you’ve merely reached a place to camp and rest before continuing the next step of the journey.
Your remark about ending when “there ain’t no game no more.’ Made me think of Simon Sinek’s latest book on gaming theory. It occurs to me that transformation is truly an infinite game. It’s realistic to see the fits and starts. It’s not realistic for orgs to set this up as a project or as a game with clearly winnable rules. I’ve had great success with internally lead transformations that are more emergent. In short, these are much more focused on the journey than the destination. I find success more challenging the more I’m expected to be “the expert”. This sets up a game I can’t win.
You’ve really helped me understand why experts and playbooks do not work. And , why I’m much more comfortable partnering with folks to explore solutions than I am reading a playbook with their solutions.
This is because transformation isn’t a simple game you can win. Perhaps another name for an infinite game is a journey. Long term, strategic change is the only viable way to look at this. In a transformation, there isn’t a destination to arrive at, merely a place to camp before continuing the journey.
Organizations can benefit from someone who can help make the journey easier and not an expert who knows where we’ll end up. perspective makes this easier: the role of a coach is not to know the destination; but rather to make the journey better, to help people find persistence and to keep going.
This is true even when we think we’ve arrived ... perhaps a friend to walk with is more important when we reach any base camps; because, inevitably, the journey continues and we need more encouragement to keep going at those times we’re fooled into thinking we’ve arrived.
Perhaps the most dangerous part of transformation is when you think you’ve arrived ... when you think you’ve won an infinite game and, instead, you’ve merely reached a place to camp and rest before continuing the next step of the journey.