Chess, engagement and a six year old coach
My six year old son, Greg, taught me how to play chess. At college my friend John tried though I just couldn’t get all the tactics and so I gave up. Seventeen years later Pete, another friend, taught Greg and the very same day Greg taught me the basic moves in simple terms and without the clutter of tactics.
Chess is a complex game; two people, 32 pieces and apparently over three million options for the first three moves. There is no single ‘solution’ to chess – its complexity has much to do with the number of variables and the incredible unpredictability of the two humans on each side of the board. With my limited skill chess is about making progress move by move and figuring out where to go next without causing too much damage.
Two players, 32 pieces, three million options ….. chess is complex. Now imagine the complexity of running a construction business or project involving thousands of people, millions of pieces and an infinite number of moves. And yet the project manager or main board try to figure it all out on their own. Mindful of this complexity it now seems ridiculous to me, bordering on arrogant, that as a PM I tried to work it all out and then tell everyone what to do, most of the time. In my case that was a long time ago though it seems the ‘work it out and tell’ approach is still alive and ‘kicking’.
Every time a project or a business under performs it is the result of a complex web of millions of difficult to predict interactions and yet the few still try to work it out and then tell the rest.
I haven’t got an answer to this, it’s too complex, though engaging (intensely involving) people massively helps. And just as my six year old son proved fresh minds, unburdened by experience and tactics can, given the chance, help unblock all kinds of things.
By the way, I am working with the Board of Clancy Docwra – they are developing a new five year plan and in May are going to engage all of their 2500 people in its launch and implementation – how brilliant is that!