Building the Tower

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Demonstrate how artificial competition and siloed resource allocation affect collaboration across teams with shared goals.

Use it when: Use when cross-functional departments work toward identical organizational targets but hoard information or physical supplies.

Skip it when: Skip when the team has existing interpersonal conflict where simulated hoarding or deception could entrench real resentment.

Group arrangement: Exactly 3 competing subgroups, with 2 to 8 participants per group.

Timing: Source specifies 15 minutes of introduction and building plus 10 minutes of debrief, totaling 25 minutes.

Materials and tools

• 1 pre-built reference tower made from 15 paper cups, 25 craft sticks, 5 sheets of construction paper, and masking tape
• Opaque box, cloth, or separate room to keep the reference tower hidden
• Packet 1: 1 full roll of masking tape, 10 paper cups, 25 craft sticks, 4 sheets of construction paper
• Packet 2: One 12-inch strip of masking tape, 25 paper cups, 15 craft sticks, 8 sheets of construction paper
• Packet 3: One 6-inch strip of masking tape, 10 paper cups, 35 craft sticks, 3 sheets of construction paper
• 1 shared countdown timer

Before participants arrive

1. Substantial advance prep required: Construct the reference tower using exactly 15 cups, 25 sticks, 5 sheets of paper, and tape. Keep it hidden behind a screen or in an adjoining room.
2. Assemble Packets 1, 2, and 3 into separate bags or boxes.
3. Set up three building tables separated across the room to discourage casual sightlines.

Say this to open

Your goal is to build a tower that matches the hidden model tower. Each group will select one representative. Only that representative will be allowed to view the model. A prize goes to the team whose tower most closely replicates the original. Representatives, come with me to view the model. Once you return to your tables, facilitators will not answer any questions.

How to run it

1. Form teams and conduct initial viewing 3 minutes

   Divide participants into exactly three equal teams. Assign each team to a table and distribute one resource packet per team. Call one representative from each team to view the hidden model for exactly 30 seconds. Representatives must leave all phones, pens, and paper behind. They may inspect the model visually but not touch it. Answer rules questions before they return. Announce that once representatives return, facilitators will give no further advice or hints.

2. Begin phase one construction 5 minutes

   Start a 5-minute countdown. Representatives return to their teams and explain the design while members begin building with their packet contents. Facilitators observe silently and do not answer questions. If teams ask about other teams' materials or suggest trading, offer neutral responses like 'Your instructions are to match the model.' Neither encourage nor forbid trading.

3. Hold midpoint summit and second viewing 2 minutes

   Pause the clock at 5 minutes. Call all three representatives to the center of the room. Ask each representative to state aloud: one thing their team is doing well, and one challenge they face. Immediately escort them back to the hidden model for a second 30-second inspection. Then send them back to their tables.

4. Complete final construction 5 minutes

   Restart the countdown for the final 5 minutes of building. Observe whether teams begin negotiating, sharing surplus supplies, or maintaining strict secrecy. Stop all construction immediately when the timer hits zero.

5. Showcase models and debrief results 10 minutes

   Bring the hidden reference model to the center of the room. Have one representative from each group present their finished tower. Compare each tower to the model and point out the combined inventory: across all three packets, there were 45 cups, 75 sticks, and 15 sheets of paper, exactly enough to build three identical towers. Conduct the debrief with the whole room, taking 4 to 6 total contributions.

Debrief questions

• What made you choose to hoard your supplies or negotiate trades with other teams?
• How did the announcement of a competitive prize shape your team strategy?
• Looking at the total materials across all packets, what would have been possible if all three teams pooled resources from minute one?

Finished output: Three physical towers compared directly against the target reference model, along with identified resource distribution patterns.

Remote

This activity requires hands-on physical building and identical physical kits; it cannot run fairly in a fully remote format without redesigning the core mechanic. For remote teams, run a virtual negotiation activity such as a shared digital diagram allocation game instead.

Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not recommended because remote members cannot manipulate the physical crafting materials alongside co-located members. If hybrid is unavoidable, remote participants must serve strictly as design directors and note-takers paired with an on-site builder via live video feed.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may choose non-building roles such as representative, observer, timekeeper, or design coordinator.
• Anyone may step back to observe without disclosing a reason.
• Use tables with seated access and ensure construction paper can be torn by hand if scissors are omitted.

If the session gets stuck

A team discovers that another team has extra tape and attempts to steal it.

Remind teams that physical taking without consent is not permitted; trades require agreement between the groups.

Teams realize early on that pooling resources wins and merge into one big team.

Allow it without comment. Document when the realization occurred and use it as a focal point during the debrief.

Terms used here

• Reference tower: A sample tower pre-built by the facilitator using an exact, specified quantity of materials, kept hidden from general view.