Whatever objective one may have, there always will be rules shaping the process. These can be physical laws, the existing jurisdiction, norms, or accepted behaviors within a group.

Our society organizes itself with rules. It makes things predictable. But only to a certain extent as rules can only be designed to address a majority of imaginable situations. Never all of them.

Looking back in history, it has been the ability to imagine new situations that enabled other ways to address rules or to show when they are not applicable.

For a long time, people imagined that flying was restricted to birds. That was until someone showed that the physical laws visible until then weren’t complete or what element in this law had not yet been interpreted well enough.

When it comes to jurisdiction, one field in which the population’s imagination seems to be limitless is taxes. Sometimes imagination goes too far though and people find themselves punished for breaking the rules.

Considering accepted behaviors within a group, one can also think about them using the metaphor of a game. Games have a purpose, of which the idea of winning usually is the most visible. Games also have rules which determine how performance will be measured. When the game comes to an end, the measured performance indicates whose performance was the best. However, the rules don’t make the game, they only contain it. How the game will be won depends on the way one chooses to play the game and thus apply the rules. But what the game is to us will depend on the reason why we play the game. Being clear on one’s purpose to play the game transforms our experience of the situation.

In essence, three important steps are contributing to a transformative experience that can be bold and innovative. One step is to understand how the rules shape a purpose. Another step is to decide how this purpose aligns with the reason we have to be in a given situation. And yet another step is to determine a strategy that eases our ability to stay present with both the rules and the purpose.

PS. This reflection was triggered by the book “The PATH to Strategic Impact” by Dr. Michael Gerharz. Note that the T of PATH means “transformative.”