This is a
rock climbing competition. There are 3 teams participating. Each team has two
participants.
Team 1 consists of participants A and B.
Team 2 consists of C and D.
Team 3 consists of E and F.
The rules
are quite simple:
·
There
is one rope allocated to each team and this can be shared by both participants
·
The
participants in each team can help each other
·
There
is one award each for best individual and best team
Now let us
see what happens when the whistle is blown.
In team 1,
both A and B jump for the rope. It is clear that both are good climbers and
aiming for the best individual award. In the jostle, B manages to get onto the
rope but A clambers on to his leg and tries to climb above B. B tries to get
rid of A and stay on top but B does not let go of A. Both are stuck at the
bottom of the rope and it is clear that there is no winner.
In team 2, C
and D decide to help each other. C manages to climb first with support from D
but he also helps D by pulling him up. D keeps pushing C to help him reach the
top faster. This way both the members climb faster and reach the top. When they
reach the top, C helps D by pulling him and makes him climb to the top of the
rock ahead of him. Once D is on top, he quickly pulls C and helps him reach the
top.
In team 3, E
and F also decide to help each other. E is ahead of F but keeps pulling up F to
carry him along. On his part F too supports E by pushing him up wherever required.
This way, both of them reach the top. E is quick to climb up and once he is on
the summit, he pulls up F also.
Some
questions:
1. Which is the worst team?
2. Which is the best team?
3. Who is likely to be the winner of
individual award?
4. Which team is likely to win the team
award?
5. If you were in the competition, who
would you be amongst the 6 participants?
I shall
leave it to you to come out with your own answers. There could be more than one
right answer to most of the questions.
This example
is given to illustrate the correlation between competition and collaboration.
How do we strike
a balance between both and emerge as winners?
Can one of
these be at the expense of the other?
What is in
it for me?
What is in
it for us?
Where do we
draw the line?
I am not in
the mood to give any answers today. Just look around you and you would find
people ranging from A to F.
What you
want to be is your personal choice.
