114 Collaborate: The Art of We
touch the animal. One man touched its side; another, its tail; another, its
tusk; the next, its leg; still another, its ear. When the men got together to talk
about the elephant, which they could now “see” in their minds, there was no
agreement whatsoever. ey described the animal to the others as being like
a wall, a rope, a pipe, a tree, and a hand fan. ey were each partially correct,
but because they did not see the big picture and would not listen to the oth-
ers, they all ended up being completely wrong. e lesson is clear.
De ning and Aligning the Goal
Imagine what would happen if each of the players on a baseball team had
a diff erent idea of the goal and a diff erent sense of its importance? Chances ...