Innovation and Risk Brings Gain
Thursday, January 18, 2007
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There's an article in Fast Company this week that might have some interesting parallels to ministry. It talks about chess and business, from one of the greatest players in the world.
JGUltimately, what separates a winner from a loser at the grand-master level is the willingness to do the unthinkable. A brilliant strategy is, certainly, a matter of intelligence, but intelligence without audaciousness is not enough. Given the opportunity, I must have the guts to explode the game, to upend my opponent's thinking and, in so doing, unnerve him.
So it is in business: One does not succeed by sticking to convention. When your opponent can easily anticipate every move you make, your strategy deteriorates and becomes commoditized. So, yes, a sort of courage is paramount. But that courage must be tempered by other less-glamorous qualities.
For one thing, the game requires the discipline to think beyond the present -- and beyond yourself. You must consider not just your side of the board but also your opponent's. For every move you ponder, you must mentally calculate your opponent's response -- not just the immediate one, but those 10 or 15 moves ahead.
At the highest levels of chess, before you touch a piece, you are playing out an entire game of moves and countermoves in your head. In effect, you are thinking for two people. In business, too, successful strategists think not just about their own new products, pricing, and marketing but also about how their rivals will respond -- and how to respond to them. Can you imagine not doing so?
posted by Unknown @ 9:27 AM |
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