HOP and the Jenga Tower

The game Jenga?? involves removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks. Each block removed is then placed on top of the tower, creating a progressively taller and unstable structure until someone’s misstep or mistake (either on removing a block or on placing it unsteadily on top of the destabilizing structure) leads to it crashing down.

This is the perfect analogy for the concepts of complexity in systems, as well as how the HOP Principles can be applied in your system to learn and improve. The common themes are:

Fragility and Stability in Complex Systems

A Jenga tower serves as a metaphor for complex systems, which are often composed of interconnected and interdependent elements. In Jenga, each block represents a component of the system. The stability of the tower depends on the integrity and interaction of each block. Similarly, in complex systems, the removal or alteration of one element can have unpredictable and potentially destabilizing effects on the entire system. This illustrates the fragile balance in complex organizations and ecosystems, where changes in one part can lead to significant and often unforeseen consequences in another.

Change and Risk Management

In Jenga, players take turns removing one block at a time, which is akin to workers or work design and conditions creating changes in a system or organization. This process requires careful assessment of risks and understanding the implications of each move. It mirrors the decision-making process in organizations where people must evaluate the opportunity or impact of their actions, balancing innovation and progress against the potential risks of destabilizing the system.

Adaptability and Learning

As the game progresses, the structure becomes increasingly unstable "brittle", requiring players to adapt their strategies. This reflects the need for adaptability in complex systems and organizations. Organizations that can learn from normal everyday work and past events, and adjust accordingly, are more likely to succeed.

Interconnectedness and Team Dynamics

Jenga is often played in teams, highlighting the importance of collaboration, communication, co-operation and understanding the interconnectedness of work in a group setting.

Thresholds and Catastrophic Failure

The collapse of a Jenga tower can be sudden and dramatic, illustrating the concept of thresholds in complex systems. Systems can absorb change up to a point, but once a critical threshold is crossed, there can be a rapid and irreversible shift, leading to failure or collapse. This concept is important in understanding how systems can deteriorate or fail, and the importance of recognizing and respecting limits in both natural and organizational environments.

Predictability and Uncertainty

While the rules of Jenga are simple, predicting the outcome of each move becomes increasingly difficult as the game progresses. This unpredictability mirrors the inherent uncertainty in complex systems, where, despite having rules and controls, the exact outcomes of interactions within the system can be difficult to predict.

Feedback Loops

The Jenga game demonstrates feedback loops, where each move affects the tower's stability and influences subsequent decisions. In complex systems, feedback loops play a crucial role, where the outcomes of actions can reinforce or undermine the system’s stability.

The Jenga tower is a powerful metaphor for understanding the dynamics of complex systems, emphasizing the importance of balance, adaptability, risk assessment, and the interconnected nature of elements within a system. These concepts are directly applicable to the human performance of workers and the performance of the organization, underscoring the need for awareness, adaptability, and learning of the broader impacts of system work design and conditions in complex environments.

HOP helps us to make the complexity of the system more visible or transparent, and a way to support better work, without too many “uh-oh, I messed up!” moments before the safety system collapses like a game of Jenga?

Brent Sutton, is a HOP Practitioner and author of a series of books on HOP, Learning Teams and the 4Ds.