Today, more than ever, we acknowledge that our fellow ICCTians and faculty members are looking for meaning in the work they do. Our Gung Ho! club culture (based on the book by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles), aims to help provide more meaning at what we do and for inspiring and motivating our club members at all levels.

Gung-Ho! comprises of three most important principles that can make us etch our way towards success. These principles reflect the key qualities of three animals and how they are in nature.

THE FIRST PRINCIPLE IS THE FOUNDATION OF GUNG-HO: THE SPIRIT OF THE SQUIRREL

In autumn, we can see squirrels busy preparing for winter by gathering acorns. How come these squirrels are so eager? They have a goal which they value. They need the acorns to survive winter. This goal motivates the squirrels to work so hard, it makes the work they do worthwhile for them.

The spirit of the Squirrel is focused on the need for a sense of community. In our club, the spirit of the Squirrel translates into the following:

Club members know their job contributes to something important outside the chessboard.
They are working together to a common goal.
Everybody plans and acts based on common norms and values.
The difference between goals and values is that goals are focused on the future (where do we want to go) and values represent the now (the way we behave and expect others to behave).

Club leaders and coordinators should be focused on what happens on the chess board instead of acting based on numbers which show up on a scorecard. Leading based on numbers is like watching soccer game by only looking at the scoreboard instead of the players and the ball.

THE SECOND GUNG HO PRINCIPLE IS THE WAY OF THE BEAVER

When club members have the spirit of the squirrel which gives them purpose and direction, the way of the beaver describes how work should be done.

Beavers build their home with an entrance under water to protect them from harm and a dam is built to keep the water at a certain level to prevent the entrance from running dry (the goal of the beavers). When the dam is broken, all beavers immediately start repairing it. There are no beaver telling others what to do and nobody undoes the work of another beaver. They trust each other in their dedication towards the common goal of the group.

Three suggestions for implementing the way of the beaver in our club are:

Provide clear boundaries within the team can act.
Listen and act upon thoughts, needs, feelings and dreams.
Make sure team members are both competent and challenged.
Club leaders and coordinators should include all team members in improving processes because they always know their working environment better than the leader does.

THE THIRD GUNG HO PRINCIPLE DESCRIBES THE GIFT OF THE GOOSE

When you see a flock of goose flying, you always hear them croak. They croak in the water, in the air, and there is always more than one goose croaking. What message are they sending each other? They are cheering one another, a gift us humans can learn a lot from. Cheering is free and leads to intrinsic motivation.

Next to cheering, congratulating for accomplished success is an important instrument to intrinsically motivate people. Three suggestions for implementation the gift of the goose is:

Making sure the congratulations are TRUE (Timely, Responsive, Unconditional and Enthusiastic)
Keeping scores to know when to congratulate who.
The understanding of the following creative interpretation of Einstein´s formula E=MC2 (Enthusiasm = Money x squared congratulations).

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