21st & 22nd February 2005 - Our class is sent to Fontainebleau for a course in team building
When I heard that we had to spend two days on a team building course I was expecting a pile of bollocks! However much to my surprise, by the time the two days were up I had to eat my words - exclamation mark and all. I actually left the course with a lot of useful new skills and insights, and a big smile after having spent most of the time outside playing.
The basic structure of the course was that we went out into the forest and did three different little "projects". Between each project we came inside for a round-table discussion and analysed our team work. At each of the round-tables we were taught some different skills and tools for managing teams and projects, and then we went and tried them out on the next project. Pretty simple really, but the team and project management skills were very good and there was a very obvious improvement in our little outdoor projects after each round-table session.
We did the first project straight up without any team training at all; we just went out and did our best as a benchmark from which we could measure improvement. We were given four pine poles, an empty 44 gallon (205 litre) drum, a bag of ropes and harnesses, a big fibreglass box, and some other odds and ends. We were taken to a field where a rope had been strung up above head height between two trees. The aim of the first project was:
- To get all the equipment and the whole team over the rope without touching the rope or any of the trees.
- Once something had touched the ground on the other side of the rope it had to stay there: it was not allowed to cross back to the original side.
- No one was allowed to jump down or drop anything; everything and everyone had to be lowered to the ground on either side of the rope - that ruled out throwing everything over and the last person doing a high jump stunt!
- We had 45 minutes to finish the task.
We managed to get it done in about 50 minutes, but it really was a shambles! Unfortunately we didn't get any photos of the first project - we were too busy making rope ladders and hanging by our toe nails from a rickety pine pole gallows.
We got stacks of photos of the second project though. Here we are on our way out to the field for project two. Ali's leading the way on the left.
For this one we had the same equipment, although the big fibreglass box was now an "isotope box" which we weren't allowed to tip onto its side or drop, lest it explode and destroy the planet. This time we were taken to a different field where we laid out two big rope circles on the ground; one inside the other. The isotope box was placed in the centre of the two rope circles. The aim of the second project was:
- To retrieve the isotope box from the centre.
- Nothing was allowed to touch the ground in the annular space between the two rope circles - it was filled with a swirl of hungry crocodiles.
- We had 45 minutes to finish the task.
Sounds simple really... Once we'd decided on our plan of attack we began manufacturing of our precision engineered rotating ramp.
The plan was to swing the ramp over the pool of crocodiles in the annular area, then send our smallest team member - Sacha - down the ramp to retrieve the isotopes. Here we are preparing to swing our ramp over the crocodiles.
Next is Operation Ramp Swing. On the left end of the ramp you can see Guilherme busting his pooper valve, and on the right is Guide-Rope Ali. In the second picture I'm explaining the finer points of guide rope operation to Reda; who no doubt wants me to bugger off so he can get on with the task.
Enter Sacha - the Trinidadian Tight-Rope Walking Houdini, who strips down to his bare coveralls for this precarious stunt.
After surviving the crocodile moat crossing, Sacha deftly secures the isotope box and prepares for the return journey.
He nimbly retraces his steps with inimitable grace and style!
Victory was at hand, and this time it was 10 minutes before the official finish time!
Here's our group waiting for the bus home at the end of our first day of team building.
At stupid o'clock the next morning I headed out to catch the bus, but all that was waiting for me was snow!
We had two different bus trips that morning, and while we were waiting for the second bus Ali and I posed for some snow shots.
Then I threw a big snow ball at unsuspecting Ali. Bulls-eye!
It snowed for the first half of that day and we spent it in the classroom looking at national cultures, the differences between them and the impact of these differences in international organisations. I found it very interesting and insightful.
After this we had a top priority mission to accomplish - Project Three. A report came in that a mail plane had crash-landed in the dense forest adjacent to our base. The forest was known to be occupied by armed gorillas who would take people hostage if they became separated from the team. Our mission was to organise and carry out a search and rescue operation. The operation had to be carried out in silence, so as not to attract the attention of the gorillas.
After our extensive training the day before, we hatched a foolproof rescue plan which we carefully laid out on paper.
With a plan this thorough, nothing could go wrong! So into the forest we went. Unfortunately I was too busy hacking my way through the forest collecting litter to take any pictures of our skillful search operation. Eventually we found the wounded pilot up a tree, and Sacha took a picture of the boys carrying her out to safety and me conveying the rubbish I'd collected to a bin.
