Insight · Organizations & Teams
The Jungle Analogy
A simple analogy for understanding the three activities every team needs — execution, support, and strategic awareness — and why self-organized teams rotate through all three.
Too long; did read
- • Every team in a dense jungle needs three activities: chopping the path (execution), managing supplies (routines), and scanning from above (strategy).
- • If everyone chops, the team burns out. If everyone looks around, nobody moves. Balance is the point.
- • In self-organized teams, these are not permanent roles but moments in time — offsites, routines, and daily work.
- • Over time, trusted individuals may gravitate toward a permanent lookout or support role — but only after the team earns that trust together.
- • The analogy maps directly to the Heart Beat Hustle: Choppers = Hustle, Support = Beat, Lookouts = Heart.
Three Activities, One Team
The Choppers
Without someone chopping away the greenery, nobody goes anywhere. This is execution: shipping code, closing deals, building product. It's the daily work that creates momentum. But if everyone is constantly at the front chopping, the team burns out quickly.
Self-organized equivalent
Day-to-day sprint work, feature delivery, customer interactions — the output that moves the needle.
"In a self-organized context these roles are not permanent positions — they are points in time when the team jointly performs these exercises together."
How Roles Evolve Over Time
Permanent Lookout
Over time you may leave one trusted person above the treetops — the one who is best at 'reading the jungle' and spotting sudden changes like a storm heading their way.
Dedicated Support
The team may leave the 'best cook' running the supply area — the person with the operational knack to keep the routines running smoothly.
On-Call Chopper
During offsites, you may leave someone on the ground to react to sudden operational needs — like keeping customer support running while the rest recalibrates.
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