Thursday, March 20, 2008

The Riddle Within The Logo

The game of Tic-Tac-Toe has been around since the 50s. In the logo to the right, the game that has begun cannot be won, only tied. In Tic-Tac-Toe, there are three possible outcomes; Win, Lose, or Draw. When both players understand the game however, there can only be draw, after draw, after draw. In this game, a draw is ok because it means you had the best possible outcome you could have.

I have taught many people the two moves seen in the logo. If I hand you a piece of paper with four lines and an X in the corner, if you do not put your O in the middle square, you will lose. So the best outcome of this game is to not expect to win, but to obtain the best possible outcome - A draw - With neither side winning or losing.

Winning is nice, but if you can't win, does that mean you don't play the game at all? In CRM, there is much more value in a "Draw" than in Tic-Tac-Toe.

The message of my research is that we need to fully understand the value in the "Draw" of PACT. CRM users, fully understand the game they are playing, and they know where to put their "O". If they are willing to play in a game that ends in a draw. Are we?



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