The Week They Kept Moving the Goalposts

Kaizen Snapshot

Setting: Worthington Armstrong Venture (WAVE) management development program

Challenge: Learn a new management philosophy through a week of constantly changing, unpredictable team exercises.

Stakes: Develop leadership skills, adapt to a new corporate culture, and learn how to lead effectively when plans don't go as expected.

Approach: Experiential learning, team challenges, unexpected changes, and continuous reflection instead of traditional classroom instruction.

Outcome: A completely different perspective on leadership, teamwork, and facilitation, one that has influenced every Kaizen event and leadership workshop I've led since.

Key Lesson: Great leaders don't avoid uncertainty. They learn to thrive in it.

The Week They Kept Moving the Goalposts

The Situation

A little over a year after becoming a plant supervisor at a small Armstrong World Industries facility near Chicago, my career took an unexpected turn. Armstrong and Worthington Steel formed a joint venture called the Worthington Armstrong Venture (WAVE), and I was transferred to a larger manufacturing facility near Baltimore as the Industrial Engineer and Quality Manager.

As the new organization began adopting Worthington's culture, I was selected to attend the company's management development program. I expected a typical week of management training with classrooms, lectures, overhead transparencies (no Power Point at the time), and a few role-playing exercises.

Instead, I found myself living at a camp in Ohio with managers from across the company. It wouldn't take long to realize this wasn't going to be anything like the management training I had experienced before.

What Was Getting in the Way

The first exercise seemed straightforward. Our team was asked to design and build the best suspension bridge possible using a limited set of materials. Like any engineering team, we quickly organized ourselves, assigned responsibilities, and developed a plan.

Then everything changed. About fifteen minutes into the exercise, an instructor walked into the room. Without warning, our team leader was removed. Someone we had never met was assigned to replace him. We weren't allowed to start over. We simply had to adapt. At first, it felt frustrating, then confusing, then interesting.

What We Did

As the week continued, the pattern repeated itself. Every time we thought we understood the assignment the rules changed, the team changed, the priorities changed, or the circumstances changed.

Every exercise included an unexpected twist. Eventually, our conversations shifted. Instead of asking, "Why do they keep doing this to us?" we began asking, "What are they trying to teach us this time?"

Without realizing it, we stopped expecting stability. We started expecting change. Something remarkable happened. We became much better at helping one another navigate uncertainty.

The Breakthrough

By the middle of the week, I realized this wasn't management training. It was adaptability training. The instructors weren't evaluating our original plans. They were watching how we responded after those plans stopped working.

Some participants struggled whenever a curveball appeared. Others became frustrated when their carefully constructed plans suddenly unraveled. I found myself naturally stepping into a different role. Helping people regroup, refocus, stay calm, and remember the real objective.

The goal had never been to build the perfect bridge. The goal had been learning how to lead when the unexpected happened.

What Changed

Looking back, that week changed the way I viewed leadership. It taught me something I've carried throughout my career. No matter how well you prepare, something will change. A key leader won't be available. Equipment will fail. Priorities will shift. Weather will interfere. Someone will challenge the plan.

The organizations that succeed aren't the ones that avoid those moments. They're the ones that adapt to them. That lesson has shaped every Kaizen event, workshop, and leadership engagement I've facilitated ever since.

The Takeaway

Today, people sometimes ask why I stay so calm when something unexpected happens during a Kaizen event. The answer goes back to that week in Ohio. I've learned that the plan is never the goal. Learning is the goal. The plan is simply where you begin.

Why This Matters

Organizations spend enormous amounts of time developing detailed plans. Planning is important. But no plan survives unchanged once real people, real equipment, and real business pressures enter the picture.

The strongest teams don't panic when circumstances change. They adjust. They learn. And they keep moving toward the objective together. That's one of the most valuable leadership skills any organization can develop.

Ready to Build Teams That Thrive Through Change?

Transformation rarely follows a perfectly written script. The organizations that consistently improve are the ones that develop leaders who remain calm, keep people aligned, and adapt quickly when the unexpected happens.

Whether through a Breakthrough Assessment, a Kaizen event, or leadership development, building that capability may be one of the greatest competitive advantages your organization can create.

One of my favorite sayings today is: "It's not a great Kaizen unless something goes sideways." I don't say that because I expect failure. I say it because some of the greatest breakthroughs begin the moment the original plan no longer works.