Valley Crossing - Lec05-06

Let's start this post with a small musical video made at NITIE, Mumbai. Here is the youtube link of the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TCVtgBneFU

- This is called "Crossing the valley' exercise.

It may look a bit easy task which can be performed with just a minimal amount of precision. But let me tell you, it involves a lot more than what you may be thinking. Going ahead, I will present some more insights into it which may or may not make you think !!

Some of the basic ideas which need to be implemented while performing this exercise can be:

a) Speed of the 3 valley crossers should be synchronized.

b) Real Time Communication should be there among them - where they could communicate to each other how and what steps to be taken while crossing the valley. Also this would help them be on the same platform of thoughts which is of utmost importance in this task.

c) Gap Size between any pair should be same/uniform/equal.

d) Closed Feedback Loop must be present (more or less the same as point b) of Real Time Communication).

 This simple looking activity involves as many as 8 steps to be carried out with a lot of precision, synchronization.

I will put these 8 steps using the below symbols:

S - safe (if the person reach on land completely - both feet)

R - risky (person completely in the valley)

HS - half safe (one feet in valley - one feet on land) 

Start of the exercise - Step 1 : All Safe

Step 2

Step 3 (The first person being in completely risky situation)

 

A few management principles which I learnt via this exercise are:

a) Load Sharing: This activity involves sharing of the load among the three valley crossers. This is the same scenario we face in the corporate world where load needs to be shared among the team members working towards a common goal. The roles and responsibilities have to be divided among the members by the manager. Hence the task of the manager is very critical because that will drive the final output, the project and indirectly the organization as a whole.


b) Simplicity in Design: The design of this example is very elementary but of profound significance as we are seeing via discussion of these principles. This is how the design should be done in industry also - keep the design as simple as possible and work towards its implementation.


c) Efficiency - usage of minimum resources: Minimum amount of resources with minimal wastage forms the core of management. In the market, scarcity of resources is always there and one should always try to minimize the resources. Then only management is actually successful and drive itself towards excellence.


d) Interdependent Roles: As we observed, the role of each person in this exercise is interdependent on the other person role. So the roles are actually interdependent and not disjoint.


e) Systems of Excellence: This and many other examples are nothing but system of excellence.


         Excellence = Efficiency X Effectiveness (So both are needed for the system to achieve excellence)


f) Walkable Gap: More than 1 step and Less than 2 steps is the walkable gap which should be there between any pair.


g) Synchronization (Cohesiveness): The feet movements of each person must be synchronized. This is how the industry works. All the efforts of the team members must be in perfect sync for the achievement of the common goal.

These were some of the management principles learning I had through this Valley Crossing Class and I wanted it to share it with you all.

##Waiting for your valuable comments## 

!!!!!HAPPY LEARNING FOLKS!!!!!