Competing teams have to build a model and use it to complete a task. In this activity the order of the customer’s priorities that are implicit in the brief are: 

1.Being ready to demonstrate that the model  can used as defined  within 15 minutes

2.Can do this more efficiently than competitors' models 

3.Is made from a minimal number of components.

During the task teams may choose to put inappropriate effort into: the appearance of the model, its robustness, completing the model with time to spare etc. or pay too little attention to: the customer’s priorities, competitors, being able to complete the demonstration successfully.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding customer priorities
• Paying attention to priority issues
• Understanding and meeting quality requirements
• Monitoring competitors.

Teams compete against each other to complete a task. It appears to be simple but teams that dive-in find out that planning and attention to detail pays dividends.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Basics of team problem solving and team working
• Understanding objectives and constraints
• Planning
• The benefits of getting it 'right first time': the cost of errors and re-work

Teams compete against each other to complete a task that requires care in both its planning and execution. It’s apparent simplicity can cause problems if teams don't think ahead.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding constraints
• Importance of planning even when working to a tight deadline
• Working to a deadline
• Cost of mistakes
• Basics of team working

This is an energizing and fun activity during which competing teams have to build and use simple wheelbarrows, but will they be fit for purpose? They are tested in a race.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Basics of team working
• Challenging norms (what is a wheelbarrow)
• Basic quality issues
• Effect of competition and time constraints on performance

Teams compete against each other to make a functional object that can take almost any form. To avoid doing unnecessary and inappropriate work team members need to challenge assumptions and norms, make decisions that some may find hard to accept, and then work to appropriate quality standards.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Basics of team working
• Benefits of getting it 'right first time'
• Challenging norms (what is, or is not, a box?)
• Creative thinking

For teams to perform well they have to invest time in understanding the task and evaluating options before they start work. There are two activity briefs, one being significantly more challenging than the other. Each brief can be used in isolation, or they can be used sequentially to develop the learning further.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding criteria for success
• Understanding constraints and their implications
• Spending time planning vs. fast action
• Achieving a result before the competition
• Breaking taboos (personal space and touch)

Each team has to create a stack using all of their components. The task isn't difficult but the constraints mean that thought, learning through experimentation and planning are all needed. When building the stack team members have to work together, supporting each other’s ideas and actions.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Working together; attitudes and skills
• Introduction to group problem solving
• Testing and revising ideas
• Agreeing on what is achievable: introduction to risk taking

Teams arrange their components so that they cover the minimum surface area. Successful teams will spend time understanding the task, looking for creative solutions and revising their ideas as they work.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding the criteria for success
• Understanding the constraints and their implications
• Creative problem solving / experimenting with different ideas
• Spending time planning and reviewing progress vs. fast action

Competing teams have to build the shortest stack they can using all their components within specified constraints. The task appears to be more difficult than it is because there is a critical objective and a secondary objective. The secondary objective usually takes precedence but is more difficult to achieve. Consequently teams often miss the time deadline. 

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding priorities
• Keeping focussed on priority issues
• Working together to meet identified priorities within a specified time
• Concerns for quality

Teams compete to produce, within a tight time frame, the most accurate free standing weighing system from the materials provided. The winning team is the one that produces the system that is able to differentiate between the two most similar weights.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Problem solving
• Reviewing progress and agreeing acceptable standards
• Team working
• Impact of competition and deadlines

The group has to make specific shapes from the components. Participants need to understand the problem, think logically and creatively, challenge norms and build on each other’s ideas. There are 3 levels of difficulty of the task in this activity: Option A is the easiest, Options B and C are more difficult technically. Because of the quantity of the components available in Option C, individuals can be tempted to work independently and reduce their team's performance.   

Options B or C can be used as a follow-on activity to Option A. 

The Discussion Topics are:

• Group problem solving
• Thinking logically and creatively
• Valuing and building on each other's ideas
• Testing, evaluating and changing approaches

Each team has members on either side of a minefield. Team members on both sides have to work together to complete a task but they have to remain on their own side throughout. There are several ways that the task can be accomplished, but mistakes are penalised severely. Time spent planning, and the careful execution of these plans, is essential.

The Discussion Topics are:

• The importance of monitoring progress and revisiting plans
• Team working
• Team problem solving
• Effects of obvious competition
• The cost of simple or careless errors

Teams have to design and test tasks which are then ‘tried for real’ and evaluated. The activity has 6 phases: Task Design, Learning Review, Test 1, Review, Test 2, Review

The Discussion Topics are:

• Sharing, respecting and building on each others' ideas
• Learning about each other as people

The group(s) have to develop a system of transporting a large marble as far as possible along a static human chain. There are constraints which challenge each individual and the teams.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding constraints
• Agreeing and working to plans
• Individual contributions to a team effort

There are three parts to the activity. In each part individuals work within groups to achieve the highest score they can for themselves (not the group) by building stacks. The rules for scoring are different in each part of the activity. These differences raise questions about individuals’ approaches to, and understanding of, success when working with others.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding success: personal drivers and attitudes
• Beating others vs. doing as well as you can
• Co-operation vs. competition
• Attitudes to risk taking

‘Spinning Your Web’ involves designing and building a structure that they then use in a competition. The two parts of the activity (designing and competing) are quite different so they generate quite different learning opportunities.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Planning in a competitive situation
• Setting achievable persoanl goals
• Team skills (sharing and building on ideas, reviewing, communicating)
• Concern for, and encouragement of, each individual
• Trust

'Caught in a Web' is a more complex version of ‘Spinning your Web’. In it the actions of team A has a direct bearing on the success of Team B and vica versa. Each team has a dilemma: to win it has to outperform the other team, but both teams must complete the task before either can succeed.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Attitudes to others who may affect your success
• Setting achievable personal and team goals
• The cost: benefit of reviewing progress and re-planning
• Team skills (sharing and building on ideas, reviewing, communicating)
• Concern for, trust in, and encouragement of each individual

Small teams (pairs or threes) work to achieve the highest score they can for their team whilst working alongside competing teams. Co-operation between teams can increase their scores, but this will enable competitors to increase their scores as well. How do teams succeed when team members are likely to have very different personal attitudes to, and measures of, success?

The Discussion Topics are:

• Success means different things to different people
• Personal attitudes affect decision making and actions
• Planning for personal and team success
• Developing alliances and making agreements
• Trust

Competing teams have to use all of their components to create the shortest stack they can. Teams work against the clock, but the task is complicated by constraints and time penalties for missing quality standards which create conflicting pressures, i.e. reducing time spent understanding and solving problems, planning and monitoring quality vs. getting the job done quickly.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Clarifying objectives and constraints
• The cost: benefit of thought and planning vs. action
• Reviewing progress against objectives
• The cost of failing to understand and reach quality standards
• The impact of competition and time constraints

Taller Stack is a competitive two part activity. Initially groups work to complete a task that requires some thought and planning, then fast teamwork. However, before they finish, group membership is changed, ‘formal leadership’ introduced and the activity restarted with additional constraints.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Valuing and working with others’ experience and ideas
• Gaining and demonstrating commitment to others’ ideas
• Challenging the way a group is approaching a task
• Managing changes in group membership
• Working with / as a leader

The leader(s) have to work through their teams to complete the task which needs careful work. There are different constraints on leaders and team members which demand excellent verbal communication between the leader and the whole team as well as individual team members.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Preparing to lead a task
• Identifying and using a team's resources effectively
• Using a team to solve a problem and implement the solution
• Effective and precise verbal communication

The activity is in two parts. During the first five minutes the team members work individually (supported if necessary by their leader) on their own section of a task. Subsequently everyone works together under the direction of the leader to complete a 'jigsaw' which has a correct solution.

If more than one team is involved competition can be introduced.

The Discussion Topics are:

• The fundamental elements of leadership required when leading a team in which each individual brings something unique and vital: direction, planning, communications, resources, encouragement etc

The activity is in two parts. The first five minutes is spent with leader and team members working in separate rooms. They then come together under the direction of their leader to complete a predefined model.

If more than one team is involved competition can be introduced.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Elements of leadership required when leading a remote team
• Effective verbal communication

The leaders of one or two teams are given a series of tasks that have to be completed by their teams, as well as a confidential task that must be done by them alone. The pay that team members and the leader receive is affected by the decisions the leader makes and the successful completion of the task.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Motivating teams to work effectively against deadlines
• Balancing personal workloads against leading a team
• Understanding standards of performance
• Coping with change and revising plans in line with progress
• Attitudes to risk taking

Teams are competing against each other to complete a task that appears simple (making a necklace that will encircle the whole group). However team members soon find it needs creative problem solving, care in planning and quality checks when executing the task. Constraints within the task make it much more challenging than it first appears.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Basics of creative problem solving in teams
• The benefits of turning a problem around
• Thinking ahead can identify key problems and avoid waste
• Realising the cost of ignoring problems.

Individuals or pairs work to solve a series of problems that involve arranging 6 similarly sized girders so that they have specified numbers of contact points. The initial problems are relatively easy, but they get more challenging as participants proceed.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Personal blocks to problem solving (getting stuck in a rut, thinking in 2 dimensions, not isolating and identifying the key issues, saying ‘I can’t, or worse, ‘it isn’t possible’ etc.)
• Lateral and logical thinking
• Learning from experience, not being limited by experience
• Trial and error.

The activity is in two parts. During the first five minutes, team members prepare for the task on their own; they then come together to pool their resources to complete a jigsaw.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Preparing to work effectively with others
• Sharing and utilising others’ knowledge and skills
• Thinking together, building on each others’ ideas
• Recognising and using everyone’s unique and vital information
• Creating a positive working environment.

Competing teams have to stack their components within specified constraints. The task is much more difficult than it appears: usually teams focus on the height of their stack instead of identifying and solving the major stumbling block which involves the colours of the components. Failure to identify and resolve this key problem can stop teams completing their task within the specified time

The Discussion Topics are:

• Identifying and understanding (customer) priorities
• Homing in on the key problem that can prevent success
• Avoiding distractions and secondary issues
• Working together to complete a task within a tight time schedule
• Attention to detail and quality.

The task is to build a tower and use it to support cups of water within given constraints. The winning group is the one that completes the task in the fastest time, but there are penalties for errors so they must plan, group problem solve and work with care.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding and working to constraints
• Planning, even when under time pressure
• Working together to agreed plans
• Reviewing progress and re-planning

Competing teams score points by passing a tray though a frame. The greater the number of components carried by the tray and the greater relative size of the tray to the size of the frame, the higher the score. The problems the groups face are: understanding the implications of the brief, designing and building a tray and a frame that will attract as many points as possible, passing the tray safely through the frame. 

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding the context
• Identifying the critical issues (sorting the wheat from the chaff)
• Targeting effort where it can provide most benefit
• The benefits of using different approaches to problem solving
• Making good use of team members’ differing skills.

There are 3 stages: 

1.four groups produce instructions for the assembly of four sections of a model

2.paired groups take turns to assemble a section and observe each other assembling

3.The whole model is completed by members of each group working to verbal instructions.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Accuracy in communication: the cost of errors
• The importance of clear and unambiguous instructions
• Verbal vs. pictoral vs. written instructions
• Detail in communication: what is and is not required
• An introduction to standard operating procedures
• Observing the impact of your actions

This is a team problem solving activity with a definite end point. It requires effective communication, logic, patience, accuracy and co-operation. There is no construction involved.

The task has similarities with activity 6 ‘Seeing Red’ but ‘Sorting Shapes’ is much easier. The two tasks can be used sequentially.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Accurate verbal communication
• Clarifying understanding
• Attention to detail
• Team problem solving
• Logical thinking

Group members have to create simple structures that will enable them to move an object as far as possible. The task involves a planning and an implementation phase. During the implementation phase half of the members of each group have to wear eye-shades.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Agreeing and working to plans
• Verbal communication
• Understanding and working with others’ limitations.

Individuals score as many points as they can by taking part in a relatively simple task. However, as the task proceeds they have to disclose information about themselves. The nature of this information is dependent on the decisions made and actions taken.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Learning about each other, their personal views and ideas
• Attitudes to, and value of, personal disclosure
• Sensitivity to others

Two teams working in separate locations are inter-dependent. Both have to complete a task which, through effective written instructions, will enable the other to complete a second task.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Identifying and communicating key information
• Communications between remote teams
• Producing clear written instructions
• Inter-dependent team working
• Working under time constraints

This is a competitive task during which team members have to interact throughout. Everyone has to: develop a common understanding of the problem, communicate their ideas clearly, think logically together, implement agreed actions carefully, and keep each other updated with progress. All communication has to be verbal. 

The task has similarities with the task in the activity ‘Sorting Shapes’, but this one is much more demanding. The two tasks can be used sequentially.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Using verbal communication alone to develop a common understanding of complex issues
• Thinking through problems logically with others
• The effect of competitive pressures on accuracy
• Attitudes to cheating the system (sometimes!).

This task involves effective communication at two levels, within and between pairs. To be successful individuals must work effectively giving and receiving clear instructions, whilst the pairs must work together to produce a single product: everyone has to be fully involved.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Communicating and appreciating the big picture
• Effective two-way verbal communication
• Appreciating and working with others’ restrictions
• Giving and receiving clear instructions
• Team problem solving.

Competing teams score points by setting themselves and achieving targets. Teams monitor their progress against the competition and revise their plans to help them achieve their goals.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Defining and agreeing objectives and plans
• Redefining plans with new information
• Decision making
• Evaluating risks.

There are three parts to the activity. Pairs or threes work within a group to achieve the highest score they can for their pair or three (not the group). The rules for scoring are different in different parts of the activity. Decisions within the pairs/threes are based largely on individuals’ approaches to, and understanding of, success when working with and in competition with others.

With 8 or more people two groups work in parallel. This introduces additional dynamics which increase the learning opportunities. 

The Discussion Topics are:

• Understanding success: beating others vs. doing as well as you can
• Thinking through the implications of decisions and actions
• Revising decisions with new insights or information
• The impact of personal attitudes on decision making and success
• Departmental vs. organisational success.

Teams plan the assembly of simple products (in difficult circumstances) and prepare financial forecasts. Each has 3 attempts to improve its profitability and the accuracy of its forecasts. Time constraints are tight and penalties harsh. Forecasts vs. actual costs are compared and their significance reviewed.

The Discussion Topics are:

• The value of accurate planning and forecasting
• The cost of not meeting customers’ expectations
• Evaluating and learning form others’ approaches
• Making best use of individuals’ qualities.

The decisions involved in completing the task are complex. Pairs work to develop their strategies which have to be implemented by individuals whilst working alongside their competitors, not their colleagues. Pairs can discuss and develop their strategy at specified times during the activity but as they are unlikely to achieve similar results, tensions can develop. There are opportunities for everyone to make and break agreements.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Assessing and making the most of opportunities for success
• Monitoring progress then utilising individual initiative vs. sticking to the plan
• Coping with different levels of performance in a team
• Developing and managing alliances
• Ethics and values.

Teams set up and run businesses that make money by producing square, rectangular, trapezoid and triangular holes. They have to keep track of finances and produce a financial statement. The facilitator is assisted by two group members, one working as a customer, the other a supplier.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Financial awareness
• Cash flow
• Profit
• Business planning
• Workspace organisation

Competing teams have to establish customer needs by questioning you the customer, find ways to meet these needs and make sales presentations.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Questioning the customer to identify needs and priorities
• Agreeing how to meet the customer’s needs
• Making a customer presentation (the principles behind a value proposition)

The cost of shipping goods is dependent on the way they are assembled and the size of container that must be used. There is an infinite number of ways of packing the goods, but teams have to consider their options, create their structures and calculate the costs, which should, of course, be as low as possible.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Setting and agreeing achievable targets (there will always be scope for improvement)
• Managing complex problems
• Developing and evaluating options
• Reviewing progress, revising plans and targets if necessary
• Estimating.

Competing teams make money by trading their components and selling products to the customer (you the facilitator). Each team has a similar store of raw materials, but different product ranges and therefore differing needs for raw materials. 

Participants have to work out the relative profitability of their products, trade raw materials with other teams, and negotiate payment for replacement raw materials.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Financial awareness
• Focussing on priorities
• Making sales profitable
• Negotiating

Teams have to establish customer needs by questioning, you, the customer to find a way to meet these needs profitably and to make a successful sales pitch using a model to back up their proposals.

The Discussion Topics are:

• Questioning the customer to identify needs and priorities
• Adapting the sales offering to meet these needs
• Costing the product
• Developing and presenting a value proposition

2 teams work in parallel on a task which is 3 parts. Aim: to refresh and develop skills that are fundamental to team leadership, identifying, clarifying and working to objectives and priorities, developing and delivering instructions to others, motivating others to achieve a goal that may be at odds with their personal objectives and to understand the implications of not recognising and utilising the team members' abilities.

Three sub-teams, each with their own team leader, work in separate locations on interdependent parts of the same task. The overall leader has to provide direction and support to all three teams at the same time. It is a challenging and dynamic role as new problems are never far away!

The challenging activity is in 3 stages, each with its own learning opportunities:

Stage 1: Leaders work closely with their teams, interfering?

Stage 2: New information is introduced. Leaders must make time to re-evaluate tasks with new information, and preparing others to lead on their behalf.

Stage 3: The task involves new leaders leading new teams but, as much of the learning will build on the individual learning realised during Stages 1 & 2, and those areas where there is scope for further development, the detail will vary from group to group.

Participants are exposed to common problems with project management in this two part activity. The written objectives are clear but the priorities less so. Only when participants recognise the importance of understanding and meeting the customer's needs can they begin to make progress by breaking the task into parts, allocating work and managing interfaces. Typically many mistakes are made in part 1 but, following a learning review, participants are much more effective in part 2.