"You Should Learn To Play Chess"
Becoming A Strategic Change Grandmaster
Sitting over a coffee with a client earlier in the week, we were discussing the promotion of one of her leadership team. The key call out was that her focus needed to shift from activity to strategy.
“You should learn to play chess” was the advice that my client had given her report - and for good reason. Chess is the archetypical game of strategy - after all, it’s well known that in chess you have to think multiple moves ahead, which means anticipating your opponents moves.
But there’s also far more we, as strategic change leaders, can learn from chess.
The Opening:
How you start will determine how effectively you finish. In chess there are a bunch of openings you can choose - however they are all weakened when you don’t commit to one and play it through.
The same is true in our projects.
There’s a bunch of ways you can set up and define a project - project briefs, benefits realisation maps, program logic, OKRs, proof plans etc. It’s not the how that matters here, it’s the clarity and consistency of thought.
The strength of your opening moves in both change and chess are based on your ability to choose a clear and valuable path and consistently rally behind it.
Your takeaway: Get clear on the value. Really clear. Then pick a toolset and just start moving.
The Middlegame:
The middlegame is where it gets messy. “No plan survives first contact”.
In chess, the middlegame is all about control. Strength and stability, no matter the resistance and attacks thrown your way.
Strengthen weakness, and counterattack threats. Never lose focus of the goal - the king.
In change, the middle-game is where the work happens. Things are built, tested and fought against. Again the goal is to strengthen weakness, and persevere despite adversity - keeping your eye on the goal (target value).
The strength of your middlegame in both change and chess is based on your ability to anticipate and persevere through areas of resistance, while never dropping your focus from your end goal.
Your takeaway: Build, test and remove areas of weakness. Anticipate and proactively resolve resistance. Keep your eyes on what matters - value, not delivery.
The Endgame:
The end game is where most of the work is done. Momentum slows and it’s all about bringing it home with slower, carefully considered moves.
In both chess and change, it’s about doing the best with what’s left - and not tripping at the finish line. This is where you realise your target goal. Whether that’s checkmate or $100M in efficiency savings, you must remain focused on the target all the way through until it’s done.
98% of the projects I see just deliver the work and then just close up shop and move on. In chess, that’s the equivalent of taking all their key pieces and then just leaving the board.
The strength of your endgame in both change and chess lies in tactical resource management. Most of your budget, momentum and capabilities have been spent. You need to prove to everyone that you can finish the job with what’s left.
Your takeaway: Finish the job. Bring it home. Prove it worked to everyone.
PS.
Sometimes in chess you can finish the job in the middlegame. If it’s clear you can achieve your target value with only 50% of the work - don’t keep working!
See you all next week.
BB