Good to Great: The Board Game!

I really, really dislike most books on leadership and management.* Far too many anecdotes about fighter pilots and Jack Welch. Still, my former faculty colleagues who read this post will realize that I have totally gone native in my new environment.

Jim Collins' Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... And Others Don't is a very popular book, and my boss loves it. I think there's a lot of interesting and useful stuff in there, and she's okay with the fact that I have some major criticism about it. It's my turn to lead a discussion about it at our team meeting, so I decided to make it fun. I've been playing lots of board games with my kids lately; this game I designed is based--in part--on games such as Sorry! and Candyland (with a little bit of Life and Monopoly thrown in). Check it out:

It looks like I spent more time on it than I really did; most of it was done in my head before I started. To check style and organization of other board game instructions, I found this really cool web site called Game Cabinet.

Good to Great: The Board Game!
A fun game for the whole COMPANY
(or ORGANIZATION for game play in the social sectors).

2 – 4 players.

OBJECT: Move through the five levels of leadership by getting the right people on and the wrong people off your bus—the first to achieve a breakthrough and move from good to great is the winner!

EQUIPMENT:

• Good To Great game board
• BUS player pieces (each has 6 spaces for “people” pegs)
• LEADER PEGS (one for each player)
• PEOPLE PEGS (green = RIGHT PEOPLE / red = WRONG PEOPLE)
• Good to Great CONCEPT CARDS (see below)
• Optional set of stickers to place over the ECONOMIC ENGINE spaces for game play in the social sectors.

SETUP:

1. Assign each player a color-matched BUS and LEADER PEG (these come in orange, blue, yellow, and green).
2. At the beginning of play, all leader pegs are to be placed on LEVEL 1 of the LEADERSHIP PYRAMID on the upper left corner of the game board.
3. Shuffle the CONCEPT CARDS and place them in the box near the lower right of the game board
4. All BUS player pieces begin on the START space of the BUILDUP section.
5. The highest ranking executive player goes first; play continues clockwise.

GAME PLAY:

1. On your turn, draw a CONCEPT CARD and move your BUS along the game board according to the instructions on the card. Place discards in the STOP DOING pile and shuffle as necessary.
2. Each time your BUS completes a circle on THE FLYWHEEL, move your LEADER PEG up one level.
3. Move the RIGHT PEOPLE (green pegs) and the WRONG PEOPLE (red pegs) on and off your bus according to the instructions on the game board spaces. NOTE: You may not take on a new person peg if there is no space available on your bus.
4. You may exit THE FLYWHEEL section of the game board when you have:

a. Moved your LEADERSHIP PEG to LEVEL 5 (i.e. completed five circuits of THE FLYWHEEL)
b. Have at least 4 RIGHT PEOPLE (green pegs) and no more than 1 WRONG PERSON (red peg) on your BUS.

HOW TO WIN:

The first player to exit THE FLYWHEEL, proceed through THE BREAKTHROUGH, and reach the GREAT space is the winner.
 
CONCEPT CARDS

There are 7 different types of CONCEPT CARDS in the deck; all have numbers that correspond to the movement of your BUS along the game board. Below is a list of the CONCEPT CARDS with their values and actions.

MIRROR [-4]
You’ve identified a problem and discovered your own role in its creation. This is good leadership, but it’s still a setback. Move your bus back four spaces.

WINDOW [+6]
You’ve identified an achievement and congratulated the members of your team most responsible. Excellent leadership! Move your bus forward six spaces.

AUTOPSY [+1]
You and your team have just gone over a recent failure in detail without blame or finger pointing. Move your bus forward one space.

HEDGEHOG [+5]
Your team is pushing forward with its core strength inside the three circles. Move your bus forward five spaces.

FOX [-2]
You think you’re doing great but have moved away from your hedgehog concept. Move your bus back two spaces.

FLYWHEEL [+11]
Your team continues to push the flywheel toward greater momentum. Move your bus forward eleven spaces.

DOOM LOOP [lose a turn]
You’ve attempted to launch a dramatic restructuring and/or change program. Now you’re caught in a doom loop and you lose a turn.
 
SAMPLE GAME BOARD SPACES

Below is a sample of the actions printed on the game spaces found in the BUILDUP, FLYWHEEL, and BREAKTHROUGH sections of the game board. You arrive on these spaces by following the directions on the CONCEPT CARDS.

• FIRST WHO… THEN WHAT. Add a RIGHT PERSON peg to your bus.
• BRUTAL FACT. Things just aren’t working out for one of your departments. Remove two WRONG PEOPLE from your bus.
• FLYWHEEL BUILDS MOMEMTUM. Add a RIGHT PERSON peg to your bus.
• VISIBLE RESULTS. Add a RIGHT PERSON peg to your bus.
• BEST IN THE WORLD. Add two RIGHT PEOPLE pegs to your bus.
• ECONOMIC ENGINE (RESOURCE ENGINE in the social sectors). You have the resources you need to move ahead—draw again.
• DEEP PASSION. People are attracted to the success of your team. Add a RIGHT PERSON peg to your bus.
• LEAD WITH QUESTIONS. You’re doing the right things as a leader. Add a RIGHT PERSON peg to your bus.
• DIALOGUE/DEBATE. Your team is coming together as a cohesive whole. Remove one WRONG PERSON peg and replace it with one RIGHT PERSON peg.
• RED FLAG MECHANISM. Your team has identified a sensitive issue that must be handled delicately. Add one RIGHT PERSON peg but lose a turn.
• TOO MUCH DREAMING. Your team is getting side-tracked by your lack of focus. Remove one RIGHT PERSON peg and replace it with a WRONG PERSON peg.
• LACK OF DISCIPLINE. Your team has lost its hedgehog concept. Remove one RIGHT PERSON peg from your bus.
• WRONG TECHNOLOGY. You aren’t equipped to move forward with the tools you need. Lose a turn.
• TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATOR. You have what you need to succeed. Add a RIGHT PERSON peg to your bus and draw again.
• ENGINE TROUBLE. Your team just lost valuable resources. Remove two RIGHT PEOPLE pegs from your bus.

* here's a link to a great book that I really do like: Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. It's a meta-analysis of most of the literature on organizational development and leadership with a really balanced approach.