The Bonnet War Game

Life is a journey, so I will begin by telling a few stories about what happens on the road.

A few months ago, the VP of TQM was driving me down to my client’s office in Ahmedabad. We were having an interesting discussion on the importance of discipline in sustaining quality initiatives.

As we were driving, I noticed a very peculiar phenomenon: every “char rasta” (four-way intersection) had a small traffic jam. The length of the jam was only 4 or 5 cars deep, but it would take about 5 to 10 minutes to get through. The reason was that cars would regularly get into a gridlock. After a while, I commented about the fact and said, “I wonder how many of the cars have senior managers in them.” My host turned to me and said, “I am driving a little gentlemanly today because you are with me; I know what you will say! When I first came to Ahmedabad, I was very frustrated by this. But I learned the “bonnet war game,” and I enjoy it now! All you have to do is find enough space for the bonnet of your car to go through, and you quickly get in. The quickest guy wins!”