Merge

Today I participated in the PULSE Pace Setters retreat, where part of our afternoon was group initiative team-building exercises.

One of our challenges was to pass a tennis ball around the circle in a particular pattern. We were given the guidelines, and then we were challenged to see how fast we could do it. Our first attempt was 30-some seconds. Our second attempt was 15. Our third, 4 seconds. Our last, 1.5 seconds.

How did we get to from 30+ seconds to less than 2 seconds?

We challenged the assumptions. We realized we were playing the game by several unspoken rules that never existed, but nonetheless, the group unconsciously enforced them.

Don't we do this in life? Don't we live by a set of rules that don't exist (you must have a TV, cable, two cars and a house--who says)? Don't we do this in business (you must answer your phone anywhere and at all times, you must play the sales game, the customer is always right--who says)?

We're following a set of rules, consciously or not, that dictate our actions. But don't we, on the other hand, admire those who don't follow the rules? Those who say, "I don't care what everyone else is doing, I'm doing it this way." They are the rebels, the mavericks, the entrepreneurs (Steve Jobs, Richard Branson). Look even at the web business. Don't 99% of web sites look alike? How could this be unless we're all following some set of spoken or unspoken rules, even if we do label them as "best practices?"

The Bottom Line: Great Companies realize there are no rules. They recognize that there are merely guidelines, and those who challenge assumptions and therefore ignore unspoken rules will win.