Lucas King : Synergy Summit 2013 - Marshmallow Challenge
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The document outlines the Marshmallow Challenge, a team-building exercise involving the construction of a free-standing structure using limited materials with the aim of placing a marshmallow on top. It highlights key lessons learned about effective team performance, including the importance of facilitation, incentives, small wins, and maintaining focus on end goals and assumptions. The challenge serves as a metaphor for testing underlying assumptions in partnerships and emphasizes the need for continuous reflection and adaptation in collaborative endeavors.
Lucas King : Synergy Summit 2013 - Marshmallow Challenge
- 6. + + 20 sticks spaghetti 1 meter tape 1 meter string
- 7. + + 20 sticks spaghetti 1 meter tape 1 meter string
- 8. + + 20 sticks spaghetti 1 meter tape 1 meter string
- 9. + + 18 minutes 20 sticks spaghetti 1 meter tape 1 meter string
- 10. Rules: 1. It must be a free STANDING structure. 2. You cannot be touching or holding on to the structure after 18 minutes. 3. Use as much or as little of the kit as you want except the paper bag and scissors. 4. The entire marshmallow must be on top. Do 20 sticks the marshmallow or cut it into pieces. 1 meter 1 meter not eat + + spaghetti tape string
- 12. Rules: 1. It must be a free standing structure. You may tape down the legs if you wish. 2. You cannot be touching or holding on to the structure after 18 minutes. 3. Use as much or as little of the kit as you want except the paper bag and scissors. 4. The entire marshmallow must be on top. Do 20 sticks 1 meter 1 meter not eat spaghetti the marshmallow or cut it into pieces. tape string + +
- 22. Lesson One: The Importance of Facilitation
- 23. What type of team consistently shows Poor Performance?
- 24. ecent Graduates of Business Schoo
- 25. What type of team consistently shows Great Performance?
- 26. Recent Graduates of Kindergarten
- 27. 30 20 10 0
- 28. 30 20 10 0
- 29. 30 20 10 0
- 30. 30 20 10 0
- 31. 30 20 10 0
- 32. 30 20 10 0
- 33. 30 20 10 0
- 34. 30 20 10 0
- 35. 30 20 10 0
- 36. Lesson Two: The Importance of Incentives & Experience
- 37. Average Team Performance 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 38. Incentive 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 39. Average Team Performance 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 40. Incentivized Performance 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 41. Incentivized Performance 30 20 10 Four Months Later... 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 42. Average Team Performance 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 43. Incentivized Performance 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 44. Incentives Alone 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 45. Incentives + Experience 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teams
- 46. Lesson Three: The Importance of Small Wins
- 47. Why? Fail Win
- 48. Start 18 minutes
- 49. • Find the best plan & execute • Focus on the structure 18 minutes Start • Focus on the marshmallow • Play, prototype, experiment
- 50. Lesson Four: The Importance of End Goals & Assumptions
- 55. Special Thanks: We are grateful to Tom Wujec for making his original Marshmallow Challenge materials available to the world! Learn more at: marshmallowchallenge.com
- 56. Notes on lessons learned: As you will see by comparing Wujec’s orginal notes with my own presentation, I modified the main points in order to speak more directly to partnership principles. Lesson 1. The Importance of Facilitation Wujec talks about the supercharged effect of having facilitation skills on a team (represented by the executive admins on the CEO teams). The point he makes is right on target with what we have seen for decades in the field of missional collaboration. An effective partnership has a dedicated facilitator, someone who serves the entire partnership in a neutral role and gives time and attention to the process of working together.
- 57. Lesson 2. The Importance of Incentives & Experience Wujec makes the point that incentives alone are not sufficient to improve performance. Practice improves performance. I believe this underscores first of all the importance of orienting new partners or members coming into the partnership/network. People will have widely varying experience in collaboration. I believe this also underscores the importance of constantly reinforcing the values and skills of collaboration among the partners. The best training ground for facilitators of new partnerships is within existing partnerships.
- 58. Lesson 3. The Importance of Small Wins Wujec talks about the value of prototyping in his presentations. In a partnership context, I believe this aligns with the principle of “limited achievable objectives.” Many inexperienced partnerships try to take their big vision, make accordingly big plans, and – when they achieve only small wins – begin to exhibit disappointment and discouragement. More experienced partnerships take their big vision, break it down into limited achievable objectives, and – when they achieve small wins along the way – celebrate their progress and reflect on their learning. On the one side, small successes lead to disappointment and discouragement. But on the other side, a progression of small successes leads to celebration and encouragement to pursue larger objectives. Working together successfully toward small wins maintains enthusiasm and confidence, helps partners know how to best work together (and what strengths each brings to the partnership), and encourages partners to work toward successively greater goals.
- 59. Lesson 4. The Importance of End Goals & Assumptions Wujec makes the the point that the marshmallow is a metaphor for testing the hidden assumptions in every project. The same is true in the context of partnerships. Effective partnerships stay focused on the end goal and constantly question and test their assumptions. We think marshmallows are light and fluffy, but in fact it is quite difficult to build a tall structure (even with rigid spaghetti sticks) that can support a single marshmallow. The big idea here is the principle of “function over form.” We need to let the outcomes of the partnership (its function) determine any considerations of structure/logistics/activities/etc. of the partnership (its form). It is very easy to get sidetracked by the day-to-day operational issues of partnering and lose sight of our end goals along the way. We make assumptions, not only about the “marshmallow” (our end goals) but also about the “spaghetti” (the partnership structures & activities) that support the marshmallow. I believe it is important for leadership teams to use a tool or approach such as an “outcomes model” or “logic model” that can facilitate deep discussion about assumptions. When we consider the flow of resources to activities to outcomes to impact, we make many “if / then” assumptions along the way. It is important to test those assumptions.