[[Notes]] - Topics: [[Teamwork]] - People [[Tom Wujec]] - Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0_yKBitO8M --- ## Summary - [[Every project has it's own marshmallow]]. - [[None of the kids spend any time trying to be CEO of Spaghetti Inc.]] - [[The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas]]. - [[Any team that manages and pays close attention to work will significantly improve the team's performance]]. - [[Specialized skills and facilitation skills are the combination that lead to strong success]]. - [[You must manage yourself and your team accordingly so that the pressures of the requirements and potential repercussions do not compromise the results]]. ## Notes ### Marshmallow challenge - Teams of 4, have to build the tallest free standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow has to be on top. - This challenge forces people to collaborate really quickly. - There's something about this simple exercise that reveals very deep lessons of collaboration. - The phases of the challenge typically goes like this: - Orientation: People figure out who is going to do what. - Plan: People figure out what to do and when. - Build: People build the structure - Ta-Da! / Uh-oh!: The marshmallow is put on top... near the end! - It helps identify hidden assumptions. - [[Every project has it's own marshmallow]]. - This challenge helps create a shared experience, a common language, a common stance to build the right prototype - to facilitate people and work. - [[Design truly is a contact sport]]. ### Performance - The ones that perform the WORST... Recent graduates of business school. - The ones that perform the BETTER... Recent graduates of kindergarten. Not only do they create the tallest structure, but also the most interesting. - The ones that perform the BEST... Architects and engineers (thankfully). - [[None of the kids spend any time trying to be CEO of Spaghetti Inc.]] - Business students are trained to find the single right plan. ### Prototyping and iteration - Kindergarteners start with the marshmallow, and they build multiple prototypes. They have multiple opportunities to fix things. Each successive version gets instant feedback about what works and what doesn't work. - [[The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas]]. - [[Prototyping is a conversation you have with your ideas]]. - The capacity of play in prototyping is really essential. ### Skills and success - If you put an EXECUTIVE ADMIN on a team, they automatically get better. They have special SKILLS of FACILITATION. They manage and understand the process. - [[Any team that manages and pays close attention to work will significantly improve the team's performance]]. - [[Specialized skills and facilitation skills are the combination that lead to strong success]]. - High stakes have a strong impact. [[You must manage yourself and your team accordingly so that the pressures of the requirements and potential repercussions do not compromise the results]]. - Incentives with low skills, do not yield success. - Incentives with high skills, yield success. ## See also - [[Got a wicked problem? First, tell me how you make toast]]