Norway vs England

(The Real Match)

Back in 1975 I had the honour of representing Northamptonshire Scouts at the Scout’s 14th Jamboree in Lillehammer, Norway. The event which hosted over 17,000 Scouts from almost 100 countries was held on the shores of Lake Mjøsa.

The three biggest highlights for me.

First, that our Northamptonshire camp was in subcamp Teno, next door to Morocco’s which was visited by Crown Prince Mohammed VI (now King). We got to say hello and were rewarded with a crate of the tastiest oranges. Nothing I’ve had since has been as good.

Second, the two-day hike in the rugged landscape, carrying everything we needed to survive. It was scorching hot, not unlike the weather in the UK right now. We were organised into mixed nationality groups of eight Scouts. My group was led by a Scout from Finland who cohosted the Jamboree along with Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland.

And third, the self organised football matches. And playing against teams including the Norwegians camping nearby. These of course were the real games. Jumpers on the floor as goal posts. Skins vs shirts to distinguish teams. The scores… honestly I can’t remember but it doesn’t matter because the camaraderie was what counted the most.

Looking back, those football matches had no external interference. No whistle. No half-time team talk. We worked out how to play together by playing.

Nowadays that's what I encourage when I'm mentoring business developers. Not more knowing from books or lectures. That's like reading a theoretical book about football.

Instead we work on practices they can use in the field, doing their real work. That's like jumpers on the floor for goalposts, skins against shirts to tell us apart. They learn more about application and improvisation through mini-missions than any classroom teaches.

The best business developers I know learned the way we learned at Lake Mjøsa. In the game itself. Under a bit of heat. With people they didn't fully understand yet, working out the rules as they went.

You can't coach that from the sideline, or the front of the room. You have to be on the pitch.

That's it, until next week.

Clive