A630.8.4.RB - Build a Tower, Build a Team

Do you agree with Tom Wujec's analysis of why kindergarteners perform better on the Spaghetti Challenge than MBA students?  After reviewing the video of Tom Wujec's analysis, I do agree that the analysis of why kindergarteners perform better than MBA students on the spaghetti challenge is accurate.  As adults, we make things more complicated than they need to be; we ask the question why instead of doing the task and we look to find some self-glorification when the task is done.  All of this takes away from the task objective itself.  All of these principles apply to the average MBA student because we are taught to be competitive, more direct, and more opinionated than an average child.  Even in the MSLD program, the first class and those that follow deal with critical thinking, which is ironic for this assignment because nowhere in critical thing does it say make it as simple as possible. 

Can you think of any other reasons why kids might perform better?  As leaders and managers, we are often told to think outside the box, but rarely do we practice it for various reasons: fear of failure, fear of rocking the boat, or fear of going against the norm.  Without a doubt, there are many more reasons, but these are just a few.  In general, young children do a very good job of thinking outside of the box, along with using their imagination and creativity. Initially, they are not concerned with failing and taking chances (such as the Marshmallow Challenge) or even going against the norm (because to them there is no norm).  As adults we look for options and different ways to do things until we find that one correct way to complete a task; however, kids are not trained to find that single right plan, they love trial and error.   While adults are losing time thinking about theory, kids are busy learning from application.  The last reason I think kids perform better is they have smaller egos.  Yes, they compete but not the point of causing stress upon themselves.  These factors allow kindergarteners to perform better because there are few things that interfere with their collaboration skills.  They love to share ideas and working together as a team while at the same time they are having fun.

In your view, why do CEOs with an executive assistant perform better than a group of CEOs alone?  I don’t find it strange that that CEO’s struggle without an executive assistant. There is a reason why many executive assistants are considered to be the right hand of the CEO.  It is these individuals who are time oriented.  They also have an in-depth understanding of the collaboration process; maintaining schedules, timelines, meeting and various office functions for the organization to function from an upper management perspective.  They are usually the ones that do all of the work.  If you could be a fly on the wall when the CEO’s were presented this challenge, I would think you would see individuals that came up with different plans that worked in theory, but failed in the building and time management phases of the challenge until the assistant was added to the team.  Basically the lower ranking person was the person who filled the role of maintenance functions for the team; ironic isn’t it.

 

If you were asked to facilitate a process intervention workshop, how could you relate the video to process intervention skills?  First and foremost, a person has to understand the role of a facilitator.  A facilitator helps groups to organize and structure their decision-making process, while remaining impartial and neutral in the process.  The facilitator helps ensure that all voices are heard and all ideas are considered, that meetings are productive and constructive, issues are clarified, and provide control of the group process, not the content.  A facilitator would remind the group to look at how the kindergarten children kept this simple and did not over complicate the Marshmallow Challenge.  My advice would be this; start with the goal…look at the tools you have, make sure everyone on the team has a voice, and utilize everyone’s individual level of expertise and strength.  Additionally, I would remind participants how this challenge will help everyone understand how to work together as a team not as a group of individuals.

What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?  These exercises remind me that I must keep myself grounded in simplicity when it comes to certain situations.  Remember KISS, no matter how it is used; "keep it short and simple" and "keep it simple and straightforward" or "keep it simple stupid" as if you were a child.  Processes perform best when they have simple designs rather than complex ones.  Time management is also vital to success; while the adults were looking for that perfect solution, the kids were learning through effort and practice.  The video provided lessons on the importance of trying many different options while maintaining openness to creative solutions.  The next thing is the importance of collaboration.  Too often, we get caught up in trying to prove how smart we are or how to display our leadership skills; often forgetting we are part of a team. 

Once you have reflected upon these questions, list any other questions or insights that have come to you as a result of this exercise.  I don’t think I have any other insight or questions; the answers I provided pretty much addressed all my concerns.  The problem is we live in an adult world where fun is not important only successful task completion.  The business world, as we know, is very competitive and we teach those who follow in our footprints the same principles.  We all wish we could go back to the days when we could work and think like kindergarten kids, but the sad reality is very few organizations operate in this manner.