Analysis Of Chess Not Checkers By Mark Miller

Leadership is not something that is accomplishable overnight. In fact, most individuals spend their whole careers attempting to be effective leaders without actually accomplishing that goal. There are many reasons that these individuals fail to become who and what they set out to be. In the book, Chess Not Checkers, Mark Miller explains some of the obstacles that individuals in leadership positions have a difficult time realizing and thus resolving. One major issue that organizations face is learning to play Chess instead of playing Checkers. Miller (2015) dives into the differences between the two games and how the aspect of each game is fairly interchangeable with organizations worldwide.
Checkers is identified as the level that most organizations fall into. These organizations are typically not successful, and if there is a moment of success, the success usually does not last for a long period of time. Organizations that “play checkers” are characterized as being highly reactionary and constantly in a frantic place. These organizations are said to be constantly fighting fires, leaving very little room for logic …show more content…
If an organization excels at what they can do, they will ultimately be successful. In order to excel, organizations must set and measure goals all while communicating the performance in a way so that everyone can see the progress or lack thereof.
Martin (2017) goes further to discuss how to get an organization to have a leadership culture. A leadership culture evolves using emergent leadership to ensure that the organization is constantly prepared for leaders to step in instead of waiting for a miracle to happen. While the process of creating a leadership, culture is nothing more than creating habits among people, few organizations are successful in creating this type of environment due to resistance. By focusing on the leaders of tomorrow an organization prepares for what is to