---
title: "Sweet Sixteen"
description: "Four small teams evaluate sixteen advice cards in head-to-head tournament matchups to select four finalists. The whole room then votes through semifinals and a final match to crown one champion piece of advice."
last_updated: "2026-09-07"
canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-march-2014/"
---

# Sweet Sixteen

Four small teams evaluate sixteen advice cards in head-to-head tournament matchups to select four finalists. The whole room then votes through semifinals and a final match to crown one champion piece of advice.

**Time:** 25 minutes. Expanded to 25 minutes from the source's 15 to 20 minute window to give adequate time for full-room semifinal discussions, final voting, and individual application commitments.
**People:** 12 to 24. Four teams of 3 to 6 people, balanced as evenly as possible for preliminary rounds, followed by whole-room plenary voting

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Evaluate and prioritize sixteen pieces of actionable advice down to one group champion using pairwise elimination.
**Use it when:** Use when reviewing guidelines, tips, or recommendations after training so participants analyze what is most usable in practice.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the group needs to create original ideas from scratch or when evaluating items that depend entirely on subjective personal taste rather than shared criteria.

## Materials and tools

- 16 index cards each printed with one distinct piece of practical advice on the target topic (printable set supplied in participant_materials)
- 4 table markers labeled Team 1 through Team 4
- 1 digital countdown timer or stopwatch
- Scratch paper and pens for each participant

## Before participants arrive

1. Print or write out the 16 advice cards.
2. Deal 4 advice cards face down at each of the 4 team tables.
3. Distribute scratch paper and pens to each seat.
4. Arrange the room into 4 separate team table clusters.

## Say this to open

We have 16 practical advice cards on conflict management. In your teams, you will run a knockout tournament. You will match up pairs of cards and vote on which tip is more practical. The winners advance until your team has one finalist. Then all four teams will square off to crown the champion card.

## How to run it

### 1. Divide into four teams and inspect cards (3 minutes)

Divide participants into four teams of 3 to 6 people at tables 1 through 4, keeping counts as even as possible. Deliver the opening script. Direct each team to look at their 4 assigned cards. Give participants 90 seconds to read the 4 cards silently.

### 2. Run team preliminary matches (4 minutes)

Instruct each team to draw 2 cards at random for Match A; the remaining 2 cards form Match B. A member reads the Match A cards aloud. The team debates for 90 seconds on which tip is more practical and votes by show of hands. Set the losing card aside. Repeat immediately with the Match B cards. Ties are broken by the member whose birthday comes next.

### 3. Determine team champions (4 minutes)

Each team pairs their Match A winner against their Match B winner. The team discusses the two surviving cards for 2 minutes, votes by show of hands, and sets aside the losing card. The surviving card is that team's champion card. Each team selects one volunteer spokesperson to represent that card in the plenary tournament.

### 4. Hold plenary semifinals (7 minutes)

Gather the full room. Randomly draw two team numbers to face off in Semifinal 1; the other two teams face off in Semifinal 2. For Semifinal 1, each spokesperson reads their card and gives a 30-second summary of why their team chose it. All participants vote by raising hands; the card with majority votes advances. Repeat immediately for Semifinal 2.

### 5. Crown champion, plan application, and debrief (7 minutes)

Spokespeople for the final two cards read them aloud. Conduct a whole-room vote to crown the Champion Practical Advice Card. Read the winning advice once more. Ask everyone to write on their scratch paper one concrete situation next week where they will test it. Ask 2 or 3 volunteers to share their planned application, then debrief using the prepared questions.


## Debrief questions

- What specific criteria made an advice card survive against others in pairwise votes?
- Which card was eliminated early that you personally still find useful?
- How can the winning guideline be applied to an active workplace challenge?

**Finished output:** One crowned champion advice card selected by pairwise elimination, plus individual application commitments noted on scratch paper.

## Remote

Prepare a central digital board (such as Miro, Mural, or Google Slides) with 4 breakout frames, each displaying 4 digital cards. Send 4 teams to breakout rooms for 8 minutes to run matches A, B, and their team final. Teams copy their winning card to the plenary board. Bring everyone back to the main room. Randomly pair teams, have spokespeople present, and conduct semifinal and final votes using digital polls or chat votes.

## Hybrid

Distribute remote and in-person participants evenly across the 4 teams if hybrid breakouts are supported, or assign remote participants to dedicated digital teams. Use an online shared board so all teams see their 4 cards. Run plenary semifinal and final voting using a digital poll link accessible via phone or laptop so in-person and remote votes count equally.

## Access and participation choices

- All cards are read aloud by spokespeople so reading speed is not a barrier.
- Spokesperson roles are voluntary; participants may vote quietly without speaking to the room.
- Participants may keep their written action plan private or share it optionally.

## If the session gets stuck

**A team deadlocks on an even vote between two cards.**

Appoint the person whose birthday is next on the calendar to cast the deciding tiebreaker vote.

**Participants debate abstract theory instead of practical execution.**

Remind teams of the concrete test: 'Which piece of advice can a person actually execute tomorrow with less confusion?'


## Terms used here

- Practical Advice Card: An index card containing one concise, actionable guideline on a workplace skill or behavioral topic.

## Participant material: Sweet Sixteen Conflict Advice Cards

Card 1: Describe the specific behavior you observed, not the person's character or motives.
Card 2: Name the concrete business impact of the problem before asking for a change.
Card 3: Ask 'Help me understand your perspective' before offering your own explanation.
Card 4: Pause and take three slow breaths before responding when you feel your pulse quicken.
Card 5: Restate the other person's core concern until they agree you have heard them accurately.
Card 6: Separate the person from the problem; target the issue together as partners.
Card 7: Clarify shared goals before discussing areas of disagreement.
Card 8: Replace 'Why did you do that?' with 'What led to that decision?'
Card 9: Propose two acceptable alternatives rather than demanding a single fixed solution.
Card 10: Check your assumptions out loud: 'I might be wrong, but it seemed like...'
Card 11: Agree on a follow-up time within 48 hours to assess how the chosen solution works.
Card 12: Acknowledge the other person's emotion explicitly: 'I see that this outcome was frustrating.'
Card 13: Focus requests on future actions rather than past mistakes.
Card 14: Use 'I' statements to convey your experience without making accusatory claims.
Card 15: If an exchange turns hostile, call a 10-minute recess before resuming discussion.
Card 16: End every conflict discussion by documenting agreed next steps and owners in writing.

## Sources and adaptation

Published in Thiagi GameLetter (March 2014) under the title 'Sweet Sixteen', attributed to Gary Harper.

The core tournament elimination structure is drawn directly from Gary Harper's 'Sweet Sixteen' published in Thiagi GameLetter (March 2014). UWT clarified team allocation for uneven counts (3 to 6 per team across 4 teams), randomized semifinal pairings, clarified pairwise drawing rules, extended total duration from 20 to 25 minutes to accommodate plenary voting and individual action planning, added scratch paper and pens to materials, and provided a complete 16-card printable set on conflict management.

[The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/march2014.html)

[The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/march2014.html)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-march-2014/