The All Adrift Exercise

All Adrift is a great team building game that requires imagination and exercising negotiation skills for decision making.

Since all team members are required to contribute ideas, this exercise shows participants the advantages that can be found in teamwork and cooperation. It also gives them an opportunity to see how uniquely their co-workers think and how differing perspectives may sometimes be beneficial.

Divide the group into small teams. The standard scenario in this game is that your boat catches fire, and you must abandon it.

As it sinks, each team only has a few minutes to rescue some items, items that will help them survive the next few hours at sea and reach the shore safely.

Teams will be given a pencil and paper and as a group they will need to agree on the items they plan to rescue: first aid kit, compass, snacks, rope, flashlight, blankets, knives, water bottle, fishing rod, nautical flare.

Each team should write down the items they would grab from 1-10 in the order of importance for survival.

First, each member individually draws up their list. The entire team then negotiates and agrees on a single list.

Finally, the teams will then explain to the entire office how each item on their list will help them get to safety.

Moment of Reflection

• What problems or difficulties did you have during decision making in your team? How did you solve these problems?
• Did they manage to convince you and change the original order of the elements? Did you come across stronger arguments than yours?
• Did you quickly change your mind or even though your argument was weaker did you decide to continue defending your opinion?
• Which list order do you think is better: the one your team presented or the one you originally thought of?

The topics of this publication: interactions, strategy, collaboration, teamwork, adaptability skills, cooperation, energize, integration, adaptation, creativity, negotiation, argumentation, make agreements