Choices, an Object Lesson

by Rick Hicks, Randy Smith Training School

Purpose: To illustrate vision and the need for everyone on the team to have the same understanding of the end goal.

Set-up: Scrap paper (blank page in workbook, notepad, etc.) and pencil/pen for each participant.  Writing surface for each participant.

Activity:  Without providing any forewarning or foreshadowing, ask participants to take out a piece of paper and a writing utensil.  Tell them, "I am going to read some pairs of words or phrases. For each set, please select the correct word or phrase. There is a correct word or phrase in each set. Ready, let's go."

Read each set of choices a couple of times. Answer questions by simply saying write down the correct answer. This will frustrate some people (a good debriefing point that sometimes we get frustrated when we don't understand where we are going - or don't have the complete picture).

Choices

• Cold or blue
• Up in the Air or Down on the ground
• Metal or cloth
• Stars or planets
• Green or red
• Snow or White
• Stripes or Plaid

After you have finished select a couple of people and have them read their answers and tell them how many they got correct.  Ask how people felt (frustrated, confused, didn't make sense).  Ask if anybody knows the answer - often times one or two people will have figured it out.  If not, ask people to sit back and visualize the US Flag. Or show actual flag or picture of flag.  Now quickly run through the choices - with the whole class responding out loud.

Debrief Pointers:

• How easy those choices are if everyone shares the same vision.
• How do we take that back to the workplace (project, team, etc.)
• How it eliminates frustration and anybody who shares the vision can take more complex decisions and make the "right" choice by just focusing on which decision aligns with the vision.