12 Aug 2 truths and a lie about business analysis
Have you ever played the game “2 truths and a lie”?
If you’re not familiar (or if you are) the basics are as follows:
You gather a group of people together and have each person prepare three statements, two of which are true and one of which is a lie.
Each person then takes their turn at sharing their statements to the group. The object is for the group members to agree upon which statements are true and which are lies. That’s it.
context and perspective
Or, you know, maybe not.
Ice breakers are always hit or miss, by a widely swinging margin in my experience. Facilitators think they’re great but they can be rather exclusionary and wasteful.
And flat-out cringey, depending on context and perspective.
It is exactly these conditions—context and perspective—which got me thinking on one of my professions in relation to this game.
I’ve got years of business analysis work weighted on my back and embedded in my gut. So many years of experiences and observations, teachings and mentorings, conflicts and confrontations, failures and successes, and creativity and stagnation resting in my fingertips and on the tip of my tongue.
All of this bundled together affords me a uniquely sophisticated and discerning context and perspective on the profession.
Two Truths and A Lie
So here is my ice breaker for the wayward neophytes and the self-proclaimed “thought leaders” under the business analysis banner. The mischievous artisans and the overly fluffed elders. For everyone beside, on top, underneath, and in-between the confused world of business analysis who thinks they know what it is all about.
So here are my two truths and a lie; are you savvy enough to separate truth from fiction?
It is the intellectual equivalent of emptying a box candy-coated chocolate into your warm palm, holding tight for 1 minute, and then opening your fist to reveal the results.
It is the emotional equivalent of setting up a row of dominoes then discovering you have one domino slightly out of place, ruining the entire run down.
It is the psychological equivalent of Sisyphus labouring to get that boulder up the mountain only to see it tumble right back down again.