The Barrel Analysis

The fact that we give attention to all four Ws and not just one reminds me of a simple yet profound illustration a Russian colleague once shared with me. He had studied in a Russian agricultural school and shared a simple model his professors used to help students understand how crucial it is to pay attention to all parts of the system to generate development.

The barrel analysis, as it is called, invites one to look at a barrel which is comprised of different staves of unequal lengths. The amount of water that the barrel can hold is determined by its shortest stave, not its longest.


Therefore, pay attention to the length of all the staves especially your shortest or weakest one! Lengthening your longest stave does little to help the barrel hold more water.

What has this got to do with GOs? Actually, this is a 3-D version of the Spider graph. I normally just use a paper cup instead of a barrel. It's a lot easier to get hold of, and it is wonderful tool for group collaboration which lead to personal involvement and ownership of ideas, visions, and missions.