Sponsor: How did you resolve the problem?
Leader: I did nothing.
Sponsor: #@! What are we paying you for?
Leader: For solving problems.
Sponsor: And you did nothing to solve it?!
Leader: That’s correct, I DID NOTHING.
Playing MIT Sloan Project Management Simulator
As part of a leadership training, I had a chance to play the MIT Sloan Project Management Simulator and observe individuals and various groups, from different countries, and in different roles, making project decisions.
Among many insights, the one I want to highlight here is the art of proactive decision-making.
As our brains evolved to put attention to change, to what’s moving, we also naturally appreciate the reflex and agility of our minds doing it – a lot is happening, like juggling dozens of balls!
And isn’t it like the best leaders in action?
Busy Leader Archetype
- Lightning-fast email replies
- Running from one meeting to another
- Sprinting to the restroom
- Firefighting projects
- Living a 30-hour day
- Making dozens of million-dollar decisions every minute
- Hyper-tasking: writing, driving, calling, eating…
- Making stock traders look like they’re in slow-motion…
And that’s what I observed with people playing – many decisions, many changes, back and forth. Most were not needed at all, and many were hurting the project. And the right ones weren’t taken. But no one could blame the players for doing nothing. They did a lot.
Value of Business Simulations
With experience, we learn what’s important, and what could be ignored – so we keep only the gold, shiny balls in the air, learn to dance on the stage, and shine a light on our performance.
And so the project management simulation results get better… potentially saving a lot of effort and money in future real projects – that’s the great value of playing serious business games to understand the system dynamics!
Systemic Leader Archetype
What does the game teach me?
That there are always many options, many opportunities to make adjustments, to react to the current situation, to improve something.
However, if you really understand what’s going on, then most of the time the BEST decision is to: DO NOTHING. You let people work, because you’ve ensured they are on a path to success.
Instead of reacting, you give your full attention to the few important changes that will make the project successful in the long run. It’s this type of understanding that makes a proactive leader, who anticipates potential problems, and simply – doesn’t allow them to appear in the first place.
It’s not that I did nothing, it’s that I chose to do nothing, because it was the best decision.
Learn to Appreciate the Execution
However, we are very keen to reinforce the culture of heroes doing project firefighting and we want to see people busy working, as then it appears that a lot is happening. But this is showbusiness, it’s entertainment.
If your sponsors want a live comedy show, they should hire comics – not leaders. The real value is in thoughtful system-aware decision-making.
References
- Burak Gozluklu, John Sterman (2022, February 26). System dynamics to understand and improve the performance of complex projects. MIT Sloan School of Management. https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?PublicationDocumentID=9700
- MIT Sloan Project Management Simulator. Forio. Accessed November 9, 2025. https://forio.com/store/mit-project-management-simulation/
