--- title: "Yarn and a Network" description: "Participants sit in departmental clusters and pass colored balls of yarn across the room to trace shared skills, interests, and query paths. The resulting physical web illustrates cross-silo ties and reveals how information flows through informal networks." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/yarn-and-a-network/" --- # Yarn and a Network Participants sit in departmental clusters and pass colored balls of yarn across the room to trace shared skills, interests, and query paths. The resulting physical web illustrates cross-silo ties and reveals how information flows through informal networks. **Time:** 30 minutes. Relationship Makers Handbook suggests 30 to 60 minutes; set to 30 minutes for a focused 3-round sequence. **People:** 8 to 24. Single circle or room cluster arranged by department or work group ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Map cross-functional relationships visibly so teams can observe communication paths and identify bottlenecks outside formal org charts. **Use it when:** Use during cross-team kickoffs or post-reorganization sessions when groups work in silos and need to see existing informal connections. **Skip it when:** Skip when meeting space is tight or when participants have mobility limitations that make catching or tossing lightweight objects uncomfortable. ## Materials and tools - 2 skeins of knitting yarn in distinct bright colors (for example, blue and orange) - 1 skein of yarn in a third color (for example, bright yellow) for the routing test - 1 pair of blunt scissors to cut strands if tangled - 1 prepared domain question that only one specific participant in the room can answer accurately ## Before participants arrive 1. Arrange chairs in a large circle, clustering members of the same team or department together so formal silos sit side by side. 2. Unwrap yarn skeins and ensure each ball unwinds freely without knots. 3. Identify one specific, niche work topic represented in the room and identify the exact person who holds that expertise. ## Say this to open Look around the circle. Right now, you are sitting with your immediate team or division. We often assume communication only moves up and down those departmental lines. Today we are going to make our informal web visible using yarn. When you hold a piece of yarn, hold your segment firmly and toss the ball to someone across the circle who shares the connection point I call out. You can also gently roll or hand it if you prefer. ## How to run it ### 1. Cluster and introduce first connection (5 minutes) Explain the mechanics. Introduce the first connection point based on a shared skill or operational interest (for example: who works directly with customer data). Hand the first blue yarn ball to one person who fits. That person holds the end and tosses or rolls the ball to someone outside their department cluster who also fits. ### 2. Map cross-functional skills (7 minutes) Continue tossing the blue yarn among everyone who shares that skill until 5 to 8 connections form across different clusters. Each person holds their anchor point firmly as the ball moves. Cut or tie off the blue yarn and instruct all holders to keep holding their strand at chest level. ### 3. Layer secondary interest or project link (8 minutes) Introduce the second yarn color (orange) for a different connection point, such as a past project or personal interest. Hand the ball to an initial participant. Toss the ball across silos to everyone matching that trait while participants still hold their blue strands, creating a multi-colored physical web across the circle. ### 4. Run information routing test (5 minutes) With the web held aloft, introduce the third yarn ball (yellow). Pose the difficult, niche work question to someone whose team does not know the answer. Instruct them to pass the yarn only to whoever they think knows the answer or knows who to ask. Track how many hops it takes to reach the actual expert in the room. ### 5. Debrief network dynamics (5 minutes) Have participants hold the web taut, observe the shape, and then carefully lower the yarn to the floor. Conduct a 3-question debrief on routing efficiency and informal hubs. ## Debrief questions - How many hops did the yellow yarn take to reach the expert, and what would have happened in a standard email chain? - Looking at the physical web on the floor, where are our densest bridges between clusters, and where are the blind spots? - What is one concrete way we can contact experts directly instead of routing queries through formal division heads? **Finished output:** A shared visual map of cross-departmental connections and an agreed rule for routing cross-silo questions directly. ## Remote This physical yarn activity requires in-person presence. For a fully remote group, use a digital whiteboard: place attendee names in divisional clusters, then use colored line tools in real time to draw connectors between people for shared skills and run the routing test via chat mentions. ## Hybrid Hybrid delivery splits the physical experience unevenly. Run the physical yarn circle in the room while a designated floor partner mirrors every toss as a digital line on a shared digital whiteboard on screen, allowing remote participants to call out connections and receive virtual yarn links. ## Access and participation choices - Participants with limited upper-body mobility may ask an adjacent partner to toss or catch the yarn ball on their behalf. - Anyone may decline to catch the ball and simply point to redirect the yarn to another colleague without explanation. ## If the session gets stuck **The yarn sags to the floor or tangles into a tight knot mid-exercise.** Remind everyone to hold their strand gently with light tension rather than pulling. If it snags, use the scissors to snip the strand and tie it off at that node. **A participant throws the yarn too hard or someone drops a pass.** Pause the room, remind participants to make gentle underhand tosses or roll the ball along the floor across the circle, and retrieve the ball calmly. ## Terms used here - Silo: An isolated department or team that tends not to share information easily with other groups. - Node: An individual connection point or person within a larger communication network. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 479-480. Retained the core mechanic from Relationship Makers Handbook: seating participants in silos, tossing different colored yarn skeins to layer connections, and concluding with the knowledge routing test. UWT added explicit group size constraints, structured time limits per round, step-by-step facilitator instructions, safety guidance for tossing, and specific debrief questions. Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/yarn-and-a-network/