setting others up for success

Mile Markers and Belief

If you are hiking a mountain trail and come across a sign marking the distance to the destination (or the number of switchbacks remaining to the summit), is there a total that is too overwhelming to consider? Does the knowledge of how much work is left become discouraging if it is too much/many? On occasion, we might believe we are setting people up for success by marking the intervals, but in fact, some individuals find the information supplied to be discouraging. How might we mix sharing what we need to share with a confirmation of belief in those who are mid-journey?

Assurance

Seeing a sign, marking, blaze, trail, or symbol that confirms we are on route builds confidence. Even with digital maps, receiving real-world feedback that our navigation remains correct is empowering.

How might we leave the right blend of clues and wayfinding symbols to help those who follow stay on course? How might we assess if we need to leave an uninterrupted painted line or if we need markings at appropriate intervals?

Battleship Strategic Planning

If your strategic planning attempt reflects playing the strategy game Battleship, then the prospects of success are limited. The possibilities of arranging the ships on the board are vast. This is akin to selecting the strategies and goals in a traditional plan. Then, we must start guessing in some methodical or random order to hit the correct positions and create an impact. The calculations behind the probability are significant.

There are a surprisingly large number of ways that the ships could be arranged: for example, a blank board with the usual 5 ships has 30,093,975,536 possible configurations. Source C.Liam Brown

Credit

What if we adopted a more durable approach? What if our goal was not to ‘win’ strategic planning but to remain in the game (and mindset) of planning and amending. What if the act of thinking strategically was a sign of progress? What if we collaborated with others instead of playing in a silo? What if we relied on others to succeed so that we could thrive?