What’s the game?

It is a fairly standard question when a deck of cards comes out. It is less common at the start of a strategy or planning process.

That can be a problem. Without a shared understanding of the game we are playing, we can end up with people responding to the same situation by different rules. Like someone calling “Snap!” in the middle of a poker hand.

A clear vision helps us understand the outcome we are working toward. An honest view of our capabilities, resources, relationships, and constraints tells us what is in our hand. But neither is sufficient on its own.

We also need to understand the environment in which we operate: how predictable it is, what is changing, who else shapes the outcomes, and how much influence we have over the future of our sector or industry.

That is how we understand the game.

The way we develop strategy, build team capability, and design systems should reflect both:
- the hand we hold; and
- the game we are actually playing.

Before deciding what to do, it is worth asking: Do we understand the game?