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January 2006
Dr. Clue Teambuilding Newsletter, Volume IV, Issue 1
The Dr. Clue Newsletter is sent only to subscribers. We do not share names with anyone else. To receive your free subscription or to unsubscribe, email to drclue@drclue.com Dr. Clue: Solving the Puzzles of Teamwork
Happy New Year, and welcome again to the Dr. Clue Teambuilding Newsletter! We've got another great newsletter for you this month, including a deceptively simple icebreaker, an article about leadership and trust, and our first-ever Sudoku clue (with a small giveaway). Enjoy!
Dave Blum
Set Up: Provide each participant with paper badges (of different colors and shapes) and paper clips. The number of colors and shapes doesn't matter, as long as there you provide a variety of each. For a large group, you can also vary the badges by size. Process: Tell each participant to fasten the badges to themselves, somewhere between their neck and waist. Then inform everyone that they are now to "form groups," without talking. They may form their groups based on any variable they want, as long as they do not speak during the process. Inevitably, participants focus narrowly on the badges, although this has never been explicitly directed. Discussion Questions: What was interesting or surprising about this activity? What aspect was the most challenging? How did people react to your sorting attempts? Were you a leader or a follower? What was it like to communicate non-verbally? Did you consider sorting techniques other than the badges, and if not, why not? The Point: This simple activity presents a variety of learning points, depending on your analysis of the group's needs. It can be used, for example, to discuss diversity and the varying ways our minds work to seek patterns in an ambiguous world. (Some people try to create teams by shape; others prefer colors; still others respond to size.) The game can be used as a change management tool, allowing people to rapidly adapt to emerging patterns and formations. It can also be used as a way to talk about systems thinking. Clearly there was no requirement that people use the badges to guide their group formation process; they could easily have formed teams by participants' gender, observed age group, job title (for a department that knows each other well), body type, etc. But still, nearly everyone tends to concentrate on the badges. We all have mental grooves that we fall into‹in this case, "We must use the badges!" This exercise allows us to examine and discuss our assumptions about "the rules" of our lives and the rules of our work. From where do these assumptions deriveŠfrom our parents, our culture? Becoming aware of our conditioning is a first step towards bringing about personal change, growth and improved efficiency. (Thanks for this one to Sandra Fowler)
Dr. Clue is the premier designer of corporate teambuilding treasure hunts, worldwide. We begin with the cool museum or historical neighborhood of your choice, convenient to your office or conference locale. We then bring the area alive by scouting out its hidden treasures; its statues, plaques, murals, and monuments. To reach each secret location, you and your team will need to solve our challenging, da Vinci Code-like set of puzzles, codes and ciphers. Along the trail, we'll coach you on the steps successful business teams take in working towards high performance levels.
What it is about human nature that compels us to make top-ten lists? David Letterman has his nightly top-ten list. At year's end, all you read is articles devoted to the top ten world events or the top ten celebrity gaffes. And then there's this party game that starts: "What ten films would you bring with you if you were stranded on a desert island?" As a movie buff, I find this kind of mental exercise absolutely irresistible. I love the process of continually revising my list, ensuring that I have the right mix not only of accepted "classics" but also of those smaller films that I can't help but watch again and again. After all, if I'm going to be stranded on a desert island (with a DVD player and electricity, of course), my movies have to bear up to repeated viewings. Inevitably I include on my list "Citizen Kane," "Star Wars" (the first one, with Luke and Leia), "Singing in the Rain," and "Dr. Strangelove." I also add tend to add "The Incredibles," "The Lord of the Rings (part 1)" and "The Matrix (part 1)". And so I go down the list, sometimes including this film or axing that one. At the end, however, I always leave room for one very special film, a movie not many people have seen and still fewer would put on their top-ten list. And that film is 1967's "To Sir, With Love". Don't ask me why, but I just adore this movie. I've probably seen it 15 times. It's certainly not flashy. Apart from Sydney Poitier, who had bigger hits that year ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "In the Heat of the Night"), "To Sir, With Love" has no other stars to speak of. While the acting is fine, it's certainly not Oscar-worthy. Still, there's something about the movie that gets me every time. The emotions resonate. And particularly for a trainer and educator, "To Sir, With Love" really packs a wallop. It is quite simply a terrific film about leadership and trust. The movie begins with reluctant teacher Mark Thackeray (Poitier) starting a new job at a tough London high school while waiting for a "real" job to come through in his chosen field, engineering. As Mark soon finds out, his students prove to be an undisciplined, unruly lot, rejects [from other schools] who have pretty much driven away their previous teacher. Mark is the "new lamb for the slaughter," as his co-worker Weston describes him. The kids are a handful: they put their feet up on tables; they read magazines in class; they shoot spitballs; they slam desk tops down angrily when confronted. As Weston warns Mark later, "If you don't solve them, they'll break you." Mark initially follows the prescribed curriculum: math, science, English, history. His teaching style is calm and directive, trying to control the class with authoritarian commands such as "Sit down," "Do your exercises," and "Take your proper places." To Mark's consternation, it just doesn't work. The students continue to mouth off, to walk on top of the desks, to saw a leg off Mark's table, to drop a water-balloon on him from a second-story window. The curriculum simply isn't relevant to these children of blue-collar parents, few of whom will be continuing on to university. And Mark's directive-approach is even less welcome; he has failed to acknowledge his students' emotional-developmental state, which has one foot in childhood, the other in adulthood. Mark needs to motivate his students. More importantly, he needs to earn their trust. How Mark goes about solving this puzzle is not only exciting and inspiring, it's also an excellent model for managers attempting to instill trust in their employees. (Not to say that employees are unruly teenagersŠwell, at least not all of them.) So how does Mark do it? Start with a risk: The safe route for Mark would be to continue his present course, sticking with the curriculum while increasing the directive language and possibly throwing in threats and punishment for good measure. Mark, however, takes a risk. One day he walks into class, drops all the school books in the garbage and says, "Those are out. They are useless to you." From now on, he and his students are just going to talk, about "life, survival, love, death, sex, marriage, rebellion, anything you want." Mark has shifted the content; he has acknowledged the interests of his audience. This is a chancy action. When it comes to teachers changing the course of study, school administrations tend not to take kindly to this sort of thing. Moreover, the students are now without formal structure. Mark has taken a radical step and opened up a dialogue that may prove both dangerous and potentially embarrassing. Like a good manager, he has taken a personal risk, and his group responds. Be vulnerable: Trust between people often begins when you start sharing your secrets and showing your true self. For Mark, the opportunity presents itself immediately as his students commence asking him questions of a very personal nature. Mark comes to admit that he's been poorŠ that he washed dishes, waited tables, cooked in a hamburger joint. He speaks freely of his romantic history. He shares the island patois he spoke when growing up in the Caribbean. Says one student, confusedly, "You're a toff (a member of the upper class), and you ain'tŠ you're like us, but you're not." Mark understands, as do effective managers and leaders, that at some point you need to open yourself up to your group, to demonstrate a high degree of vulnerability. Go into the trenches: Whether it's a team, department or classroom, group members need to see that their leader is willing to go into the trenches and fight alongside them. During a discussion about rebellion, Mark decides his students would benefit from a field trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the change in fashion over time. Class outings are unprecedented at this rough-and-tumble school, yet Mark takes his case to the principal. In spite of the headmaster's initial protests ("The best of pupils are inclined to show off in public; you'd never be able to supervise them."), Mark sticks to his guns and receives permission to hold the field trip. The outing is a success. Similarly, to gain employee trust, managers sometimes need to challenge the powers that be, to fight for the right to do something that's never been done before. It may not work, but at least they gain the trust of their team. Be Consistent: From the onset of his revolutionary "curriculum," Mark sets down some strict new ground rules of behavior. For example, if he is going to treat his students as responsible adults, they must first act like them. He requires that they listen to each other without interruption. From now on, he is to be addressed as "Sir or Mr. Thackeray," as opposed to "Guv"; the women will be called "Miss," the men will go by their surnames. High standards of hygiene are now required as well: clean hair, neat clothes, etc. It's up to Mark not only to police his rules, but to live up to them as well. Says Mark: "I'm the one to criticize if I fail to maintain the standards I ask of you." Throughout the film, he sticks to his promise. As any leader or manager can tell you, however, consistency is the most slippery of behaviors to sustain. And it's not just about "Do what you say you're going to do." It's also, "Act according to the standards you espouse, regardless of the short-term consequences." From the beginning, Mark has asked his class to behave like responsible adults. Later in the film, his values are put to the test when Potter, one his most popular students, threatens to hit a teacher during gym class for hurting Buckley, an overweight student. Mark intervenes. Although Potter's violence is perhaps justified the teacher was known for bullying Buckley Mark insists that Potter apologize to the teacher. He says, "In a few weeks you'll be going out into the world. Are you going to use a weapon every time someone makes you angry? You're supposed to be learning self discipline." Mark could have "gone into the trenches" for Potter, which would have been the popular thing to do. Instead he opts for maintaining the consistency of his values and ground rules, which winds up earning him more respect in the long-term. Effective leaders know that sometimes, for the sake of being consistent, you wind up in the middle of an uncomfortable conflict. But even the willingness to clash with your team members can be a positive thing. It shows you're willing to risk the friendship in order to do what's right for the group. Mark loses the trust of his class in the short-term but gets it back in the end‹just in time for Lulu to sing for him that famous title song at the end-of-year dance. "To Sir, With Love" is not for everyone. Sure, it can be a bit schmaltzy. Perhaps everything wraps up perhaps a little too neatly. But hey, it's on my top-ten list, not yours. Whatever you think of the movie, the lessons for team trust are universal:
Me, I think I'll just pop "To Sir, With Love" in the DVD player one more time, desert island or not. Trust me, sixteen times is a charm.
What does a teambuilding treasure hunt look, feel and sound like?
Answer to Last Issue's Puzzle In our last issue, we presented you with a fairly challenging American football quiz. More than likely you had to look up at least some of the information on the Internet. Upon completing the puzzle, you then took the two letters associated with each answer (i.e., in question one, "English Rugby" was the correct answer and the letters associated with that were "in"). This would have eventually revealed for you the final answer, a quote from Vince Lombardi declaring that teams work when they have: "INDIVIDUAL COMMITMENT TO A GROUP EFFORT" DR. CLUE HONOR ROLL This month's sole puzzle solver was Alexandra Dixon of San Francisco, CA. Congratulations, Alexandra!
Today's Puzzle Challenge In case (somehow) you haven't solved a Sudoku before, the aim of this puzzle is to enter a number from 1 through 9 in each blank cell of the grid below. The 9_9 grid is made up of 3_3 sub-grids (called "regions"). Some of the numbers have been provided for you. You are finished when each row, column and 3x3 square contains each of the digits 1-9 once and only once. After completing the puzzle, transfer the appropriate numbers into the equations below, by cell address, and do the math. Then convert numbers to letters to finish the quote from a famous world leader.  (G4+A1) (D7+H3) (E3+I7+G3) (C6+D5+I7) (F8+D2+H3) (A9+D5+E5) (F9+G1+F3) (H7+C4+F8) (D1+B7) (I3+F5) (B3+F3+B9) (H1+G6+F8) (A2+D7) (G3+B5) (D8) (A7+B9+E3) (I9+G4+E5) (H5+A3+D8) (E4+H7) ... if we join hands." As always, we'll list our Top Five fastest puzzle solvers in our Dr. Clue Honor Roll next issue. Wondering how a typical Treasure Hunt CLUE works? Click here. to follow along with one.
Dr. Clue has truly gone global! And coming in the spring: Paris-Marais, London-South Kensington, Jerusalem-Old City, Tel Aviv-Downtown, Boston-Downtown, Columbus, OH Arena District, and Maui, Hawaii.
 Dr. Clue's NEW E-BOOK, "Solving the Puzzles of Teamwork," is ready for downloadŠand it's free! A compilation of past newsletter articles, it offers great essays about teamwork, roles & relationships, communication, motivation, leadership, and much more. Download it right to your screen by clicking here and choosing the e-book option. Enjoy!
Our clients, from Oracle to Yahoo, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Apple, and Wells Fargo all agree that Dr. Clue is cutting-edge teambuilding.
We'd love to hear your comments about the newsletter. Love it? Hate it? Things you'd like to see? We welcome your feedbackŠand your contributions! And remember: If you liked this newsletter, please forward it to a friend or a colleague. Information is meant to be shared! Watch for the next edition of the Dr. Clue Teambuilding Newsletter in March.
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Dr. Clue Treasure Hunts
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