A House of Cards : Stronger than you think
It’s been a whirlwind of a week at Upepo! While we stayed focused on strengthening our planning, our strategies, and more for the past few weeks, we had some unanticipated challenges and had to quickly adapt and think on our feet!
This made me think of how in the early stages, building a company often feels like building a tower of cards. And that made me think about the expression ‘A House of Cards’.
A brief history
It turns out that the earliest use of the phrase dates back to 1645. The dictionary defines it as “a structure, situation, or institution that is insubstantial, shaky, or in constant danger of collapse”. It also has references to shaky structures in architecture, arguments and so much more.
The earliest record that seems to exist is one of Victoria Maitland’s 15-story structure.
The current record is even more astounding.
I fell in love with this particular image of cards supporting a cement brick.
Who said A house of cards is unstable?
Makes me think about how perhaps structuring our own work at Upepo carefully can help us be more tolerant to varying conditions.
Sit down with your family, friends or just yourself and try building one yourself this weekend!
Here’s how mine turned out
They usually ended up like this :D
Try out building card castles and you’ll realize it’s an amazingly addictive activity! It lets you exercise your mind, your hand-eye coordination, dexterity and gives you a greater understanding of how different forces hold the structure together.
Go further
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/science_ideas_for_young_children_stacking_cards
If you create interesting structures do let me know!
Have a playful weekend!
Prasanth
References:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/house%20of%20cards