Chess vs Jenga

Photo by Syed Hasan Mehdi from Pexels

In chess, you command an army with a rigid hierarchy and attempt to destroy your opponent’s forces. It’s confrontational, it’s zero-sum. The more of your opponent’s stuff you destroy, the more likely you are to win. I think this mirrors the prevailing ‘Western’ approach to life, particularly to business.

Jenga, by contrast, is more collaborative. You play to win, but you also collaborate with your opponents to build an ever-growing tower of blocks. Although ultimately there can only be one winner, it’s less of a zero-sum game than chess.

The world would be a better place if more people approached life like a game of Jenga: play to win, but work with the other players to make the game as beautiful as it can be.