Small games, big lessons

Recently, Leshou Agricultural and Pastoral Group organized a "Management Training" session.

What is management? And how exactly can you become a great manager?

During a management training session led by Mr. Feng Jinchen, Vice President of Leshou Agricultural and Pastoral Group, he effortlessly unveiled the essence and true meaning of effective management—using just a simple little game to make it crystal clear for everyone.

This is a paper-tearing game. Each of the 65 participants has 5 sheets of A4 paper placed on their desk. The goal of the game is for everyone to tear their A4 papers into a single, unified shape—under the unified command of the leader. Here’s the rule: Throughout the game, everyone must keep their eyes closed and refrain from speaking or engaging in casual conversation. Participants should simply follow the commands issued by the leader.

The first round of the paper-tearing game has begun. For now, Mr. Feng is acting as the leader, issuing a unified tearing command to everyone: Fold your A4 paper in half, then fold it in half again, and once more—then tear off the top-right corner. After that, rotate the paper 180 degrees and tear off the top-right corner again. Once finished, everyone opens their eyes and proudly presents their "hand-torn" creations. Surprisingly, the shapes turned out wildly different, with everyone managing to produce no fewer than seven unique designs. But here’s the real question: Even though everyone followed the exact same set of instructions, why did the final results end up looking so diverse?

The participants engaged in thoughtful reflection and discussion, and everyone agreed that the unclear and overly vague instructions for tearing the paper had led to this outcome. So, after selecting a leader from among the trainees, the second round of the paper-tearing game began. This time, thanks to the leader’s detailed explanations and careful guidance, the results significantly improved—though the group hadn’t yet achieved a perfectly unified pattern, the variations in the torn shapes were noticeably reduced, bringing them closer to a more cohesive final design.

Thus, the paper-tearing game was played over four rounds, with each round showing significant improvement compared to the previous one. By the final round, most participants had nearly synchronized their results—except for one student whose creation differed in shape from everyone else. Still, everyone wore expressions of relieved and satisfied smiles. The game was a success!

While rejoicing in the game's success, the greatest takeaway from this little game is the wisdom it embodies and reveals—something that has sparked deep reflection among everyone. Though each person may have their own unique insights and interpretations, there’s at least one common ground we can all agree on: these two key points below.

First, to achieve a common goal, all team members must follow unified instructions that are clear, standardized, and data-driven. This clearly underscores the importance of having robust and consistent management systems—systems that are formalized, streamlined into processes, standardized in their execution, and ultimately translated into digitized, actionable data. Only then can management deliver the desired outcomes effectively.

Second, communication and feedback are crucial in achieving goals. The reason this game was so challenging yet ultimately completed relatively smoothly lies primarily in the game rules, which strictly prohibit anyone from speaking. This limitation inherently restricts communication and feedback between those issuing commands and those carrying them out. Without the ability to exchange information or receive feedback between superiors and subordinates, misunderstandings naturally arise—leading to multiple interpretations, divergent directions, and ultimately, a multitude of possible outcomes. Clearly, timely communication, feedback, and open dialogue are essential components of effective daily management!

I thoroughly enjoy this process of learning by doing, gaining insights through experience, and refining my skills as I reflect—plus, I’m eager for more engaging, thought-provoking training sessions like these to be offered to our managers.