The Boomerang Theory

It was my end term exam and I was sitting on the desk, flipping pages of the question paper which had small case-lets varying from interviews to frameworks and theories. What was asked from us was to come up with our own versions of the shared literature. And for the theory build-up, following was what I came up.

boo·mer·ang

noun /ˈbo͞oməˌraNG/ 
boomerangs, plural

•  A curved flat piece of wood that can be thrown so as to return to the thrower, traditionally used by Australian Aborigines as a hunting weapon

A boomerang is a throwing device known to have been invented by the aborigines. Its main purpose is understood to be used as a tool for hunting, although it has become a part of modern sports with a lot of competitions being organized for it. The fact for which the boomerang is known for is its ability to swerve back to the thrower during flight. This property makes it an unusual weapon for hunting.

My theory takes into account the flight trajectory of the boomerang and tries defining the addressal of a situation in the corporate world. I bifurcate the path of a boomerang in flight in three stages, namely:

1          .       The Throw

2          .       The Hit

3          .       The Return

Based upon these three stages I’d try to resolve a situation.


The Throw

Any problem when approached should be done in a manner such that it receives the right amount of attention and impetus from one. Just like throwing the boomerang, if the force with which it is sent off in air is not appropriate, it might not attain flight. Moreover, it is very important that the manner with which the problem is approached is correct. If during the launch, the angle of release of the boomerang is not correct, it might return back in a wrong and wayward manner and might even hurt the thrower in process. Thus, both these things should be kept in mind while approaching the problem and addressing it.

The Hit

The crux of solving a problem lies in the accuracy of the solution and its impact. Again drawing analogy with the boomerang, if the target is not hit with required precision, results might not be achieved and another throw might be required. If there is inaccuracy in impact, the results obtained might be half baked and inefficient. Moreover, for readressal, another throw would entail spending of energy and resources which is wastage when the same could’ve been achieved through a single throw. Hence, the hit should be accurate and precise to achieve required results.

The Return

This is the most important part of the flight of the boomerang and lends it its characteristic. Thus, any shortfall in this renders the boomerang useless. Here, I’d like to compare this with the feedback that is required after the solution is provided. This is because it is the feedback which reinforces the effectiveness of the solution and also identifies any faults in the provided solution. If the boomerang fails to return to the thrower, following might be the reasons:

           a)      The force of the throw is not apt i.e. the problem was not approached correctly

           b)      The angle of the throw was not correct i.e. the manner of approach was faulty

           c)       The flight was interrupted by the wind i.e. impact of external factors

Thus, all of these tell us the impact of the solution to the problem. Any event of no-return would require us to either fetch the boomerang or to use another one to hit the target again, which can be understood yet again as wastage of resources. Thus, a correct feedback ensures the effectiveness of the provided solution and avoidance of wastage of resources.

Thus, one can approach a problem using the analogy with the flight of the boomerang and achieve better results.