Whenever I think of change I turn to courage. Courage is the driving force behind the change, helping you make a step forward. It is my belief that both in private and in professional life you may find a good piece of inspiration in the gaming concept labelled “The Player and the Victim”. The game was developed by Fred Kofman, who kindly gave me the permission to share it on my Website. It’s made of a simple set of questions to be asked whenever you need to make your own ”After Action Review” (AAR). The method is like an examination of conscience where everyone reviews their past actionsa with the future in mind.
You can be a Player and ask:
1. What challenge did I face?
2. How did I respond?
3. What didn’t work?
4. Could I have done something better or with more integrity?
5. Could I have prepared better (to minimize the risk or limit the impact)?
6. Can I do something now to improve the situation?
7. What lesson can I learn from the experience?
Or you may prefer to be a Victim and play the game as follows:
1. What happened to me?
2. Who wronged me? How?
3. What should they have done?
4. What should they do now to fix it?
5. What punishment do they deserve?
It’s up to you to choose your role. Actually this game is one among my favorites. It highlights courage and positive messaging: sometimes you win, sometimes you… learn.
The change is about a desired state and a mindful path toward the goal. In my mind, change is induced through step-by-step and conscious education. The concept comes from psychology and is described as “optimal difference”. This type of variation is defined by the maximum scope of new information which the listener is ready to absorb and internalize at a given point of time. It’s like taming the fox to make friends. You make a step forward every day and the trick is to do it effectively. For that, you need the ability to look a little bit further… For me, slow means fast!
“You must be very patient,” replied the fox. “First you will sit down at a small distance from me – like that – in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye and you will say nothing. (….) . Yet every day, you will sit a little closer to me…”
“The Little Prince”– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
