WK 3 Reading - The Art of Possibility

Clip art from http://www.nist.gov  

It was the end of month 1 of a planned 6 month new medical device validation effort, the tensions were high amongst the 10 validation engineers as the product was full of bugs and was 3 months late getting to the last stage of the development process, validation.  An executive decision was made, the validation team had to reduce their timelines by 3 months in order to maintain the original launch date or heads would roll.  The Director of Validation was witnessing before her very eyes the release of 10 calculating selves lobbying for survival in a world of what might become scarce.  The anxiety of the situation was causing some unacceptable behaviors.  It was competitive, backstabbing and unproductive.  It was time to react or she would not have a team left.  The validation Director not knowing at the time pulled out the 6 ball, Rule number 6.   

From Microsoft Clip Art

The day after to decision was passed down; a chartered bus arrived outside the validation lab promptly at 11:00 a.m.  The Validation Director instructed the team to stop what they were doing and take the gift bags provided to the restrooms and change immediately.  Inside the bags were black long sleeved T-shirts and a note that read “Join me for a bug blasting good time!”  The Validation Director observed the eyes of her employees and listened to the sounds of laughter and delight as they piled into the bus not knowing what lied ahead.  Champaign, chocolate, and treats were making their rounds inside the bus as the bus came to a stop in front of LaserTag.  That’s right; the afternoon was filled with fun, laughter, and stress release as they were given permission to take out their frustrations (inner calculating self) on one another through several rounds of laser tag.   This team-building event released humor and laughter that allowed them to “get over themselves” and brought the team back together, relaxing them, empowering them to take control of their calculating self.  They lightened up and broke the hold of their competitive measurement world.  With these calculating selves revealed and humored, the good central selves were able to shine again.  As stated in Zanders’ book, when rule number 6 is followed, one lightens up and is transported into a remarkable universe, which is cooperative in nature.  The role of the facilitator, the Validation Director, was to promote human development and transformation rather than finding a solution that satisfied the demands of the ever-present calculating selves.   In the end the team was able work together to meet the aggressive 3-month schedule while zapping many bugs along the way and releasing a good product.  Not only did they have a successful validation, they established strong working relationships with teammates and their inner selves.  

Rule Number 6:  Don’t take yourself so goddamn seriously, lighten up!

This is a true story and the Validation Director was myself in 2005.