We thrive on consistency. Settling into a routine can be comfortable and not without its benefits. But blink and you may soon notice a pattern that seems to simply rinse and repeat, month after month. On the plus side, you have figured out what works. However, introducing variations in one's approach to the standard modus operandi can prove to be a valuable and insightful exercise.
As part of our QBR (Quarterly Business Review) meetings, where we highlight and communicate the collaborative efforts of the company, I've introduced and run critical thinking workshops (not to be confused for lame ice-breakers) challenging us to solve a given problem while often working in teams, building both skills and comradery that also influence the office culture. My hopes is for participants to have learned something about themselves, how we work together, but also to simply have some fun. The challenges, while relevant and relatable, shouldn't ever feel like actual work. Here are some of the one's I've run along with downloadable resources and assets so you too can adapt these for your own organization.
The Marshmallow Challenge
This is a fantastic group activity that also has many educational benefits. Participants should walk away reflecting on their planning process, how decisions were made, time management, creative approach, and the benefits of early stage prototyping. The results, delivered in this fascinating TED Talk, will surprise you. This article may help you understand the objectives pretty well but you should watch this TED video first.
Design Thinking Mini Workshop
Design thinking is an approach to innovation, integrating problem solving, and prototyping to understand the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success. Think of this as a quick problem solving design competition with a rolling clock to keep the action moving. The subject we decided to focus on was a doctor's office. To identify pain-points and introduce solutions that can be visually modeled.
Family Feud
The key to Family Feud was making the theme relevant to our audience. It asked how well each participant was informed of both our own business and the industry at large. In our case, all "surveys" surrounded Home Improvement, used annualized data from the previous year (since this was an annual business review) and industry statistics.
To keep real-time score, I created a shared Google Doc displaying the team names and scores from a large screen at the front of the room. Using another laptop, one person updated the scores from within shared document as we moved along, which updated the score on the large monitor at the front of the room.
We used this Powerpoint template for the game play and found these buzzers online for the face-offs. I made this name tag template in Photoshop and team podiums out of rigid insulation wrapped in large-format paper to give the game a more authentic feeling and to ground the teams in one place.
Master Chef
Our Master Chef was unique in that it challenged participants to draw upon several business disciplines, potentially outside their comfort zone. With a stocked kitchen, each team of 3 had to decide on a dip (salsa, hummus, pico de gallo, guacamole, etc.), create the dish, pair it with an appropriate chip or cracker, plate it, and clean their station.
Teams were also tasked with creating a brand marketing solution for their dish. Using whiteboards, each team needed to come up with a name for their dish, a brand positioning tagline, and 3 key features as selling points for their product. With a countdown timer, teams had 45 minutes to complete the challenge from start to finish. Each team was given the opportunity to present their dish, selling the audience on it’s unique value and key features. Finally, each participant was given two tokens for the taste test, using the tokens to vote for their two favorite dishes.
Takeaways from this activity surrounded communication and strategic planning under time constraints. But mostly provided unique insights into marketing and sales techniques. Participants were required to quickly come up with a memorable brand along with key product selling features and marketability strengths, all while having to decide on and prepare a tasty dish with a 45-minute rolling clock.
Minute To Win It
For this activity, teams had to quickly determine which member possessed strength and skills that would lend best to the given challenge. It also pushed individuals who may tend to shy away from the spotlight, to step up in the heat of the adrenaline driven atmosphere and have a moment to truly shine.
Games were explained, demonstrated, and timed using a YouTube playlist displayed on a TV. The playlist was organized by having each game explanation video followed by a countdown timer video playing dramatic music to set the pace.
Team scores were tracked on a whiteboard and given to each team that completed the task before the 60-second timer expired. First place was awarded 4 points, second place was given 3, third place was given 2, and fourth place was given 1 point.
Lost At Sea
In this game participants are to assume they are lost at sea in a raft. Using this worksheet, they are asked to individually (and privately) rank a list of 15 items in order of priority under these circumstances. They are then divided into groups of 4-5 and asked to perform the same ranking but as a group. Everyone is then shown the official rankings provided by the US Coast Guard. Finally, individual and group score are calculated by taking the numerical difference in ranking value and tallying them separately. This becomes the individual score and group score, respectively.
The activity culminates in a shared presentation on how one’s individual and group scores represent their strength in group discussion. This can lead to determining the quality of the environment that exists and whether discussion was productive given the opportunity to listen to others and have constructive conversation.
- Download my original Keynote here
- My leader notes and concepts here
- Here is a video of our team Performing this workshop
Scavenger Hunt
When the weather is nice, consider an outdoor activity like a scavenger hunt. We used this website and accompanying mobile app to host our scavenger hunt. The game went off very well and proved to be a lot of fun. I limited our game to 90 minutes but you can run it for as long as you wish.
We created our own list of goals that kept everyone searching our local neighborhood for historic and current (arti)facts. Make sure you communicate all the rules, safety reminders, and expectations ahead of time. I've included a link to download the deck I created to introduce the game to our team.
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