Dan stood on a flood-lit stage, trying not to think about the crowd on the other side of the 1.5 metre high basketball goal in front of him.
‘What do you see Dan?’, asked Eliza Fawsson, renowned author, and facilitator of this conference session.
‘Hundreds of iPhones about to embarrass me on social media?’ Dan responded.
Eliza grinned and shook her head. Once the crowd chuckles had subsided, she mocked, ‘Here, you can share the box of chocolates they’re giving me for the speaking spot.’
Dan wasn’t sure where it came from, but he followed along, ‘Turkish Delight?’
‘Sorry, Maria’s claimed those.’
Maria was the other of Eliza’s “volunteers”. She was standing next to Dan with a matching basketball goal.
‘What do you see Maria?’, continued Eliza.
‘A dad waiting for the five-year-olds to arrive?’, she jibed in Dan’s direction.
Eliza, and the crowd, were loving this. ‘You two could have a comedy show.’
Eliza addressed the crowd. ‘So, here we have two fine organisations, aka basketball teams. Both looking to triumph. The Dan Dynamics are the veterans, firmly established, mainstream, perhaps traditional. Maria’s Marauders are emerging – the disruptors who are grabbing all the attention.
Dan’s team don’t talk about the opposition, no doubt because they didn’t feel they needed to before. Maria’s team is hanging on to their innovative solution with both hands as it launches them up the ladder.’
‘Maria’, said Eliza, handing her a small toy basketball, ‘I want you to score two points against Dan’s team.’
Maria dropped the ball through Dan’s teams’ net. It was bouncing off down the stage in no time, and Dan was wishing the backboard was high enough to hide his face.
The buoyant mood encouraged a crowd member to try for three points in returning the ball to the stage. A moment of chaos ensued as it was returned to Eliza.
Eliza looked at Dan again, ‘Sorry Dan, Maria’s team is doing new things. They’ve moved the goal post.’ Eliza moved Maria’s goal a few steps to one side and handed Dan the ball, ‘Take a shot.’
Dan thought he was a 50/50 chance from that distance, and, to the cheers of the crowd, the ball went straight through.
Eliza ramped up her commentator act. ‘Well, what a boilover folks!!! Maria’s Marauders – the underdogs, the outsiders – have brought their A game and set themselves up to make history against the Dan Dynamics. Has his long-term success lead to arrogance? Will experience triumph or is this the year the rookie breaks through? Well, we’re in sudden death, any score will win it and the Marauders have a free throw!’
Eliza grinned at Maria and back at Dan, ‘The stakes couldn’t be higher, and you have no defence Dan’. She handed the ball to Maria, who was still within arm’s reach of Dan’s basketball hoop.
Several questions could be asked at this point. Would Dan have written the question if he’d known how Eliza Fawsson would deal with it? Was Maria about to win the game, and did anyone really care? Did Eliza have a secret ambition to be a sports commentator?
AND…what on earth did a silly basketball game have to do with organisational success?
But there was no time to answer any of the questions right now.
The buzzer was about to go.
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