Index Card Towers

This was an activity I was first exposed to in graduate school for behavioral science.
I’m writing it up from memory, and do not know its original source.

Learning / Experimentation Phase

Lead this phase by telling them:  it’s about learning and experimentation.

• A team of roughly 5-10 people (run multiple teams simultaneously if needed, trying to stay < 10).
• Each team is given two 100-packs of paper index cards.
• Their task is to build a tower that starts from the floor and extends upwards by 3’
• Tell them that they will have about 15 minutes to complete the task

Most teams are able to do this without much difficulty after a bit of experimentation with what to do with the cards (folding them), but don’t give any how-to guidance.

Only the cards may be used… no tape, staples, or propping against a wall.

You can do a BRIEF debrief at the end here, but generally not required.

At the end of this round, the towers must be knocked down, and cards collected by the facilitator, who may make them available to the “accountant” in the next round (below).

Challenge Phase

Same as before, except that now, groups are combined to be 10-20 people.  Do not tell them that this phase is about “role clarity.”    That would defeat the point of the exercise in some ways.  You can tell them it is the “Challenge Phase” of the activity.

New task: Build a tower to the following specifications:

1. Must be 6’ from the ground
2. Must be able to support the weight of a book on top
   Facilitator chooses the book. Teams fear a heavier book, but about the size of a text-book is good, and heavier is actually an asset they don’t see yet.
3. Must be able to withstand a hairdryer blown at the middle from a distance of 3’.
   Facilitator stats at about 6’ away and ASKS if team is OK bringing it closer.
   Don’t go closer than 3’ – farther if high-power dryer.  This is a later topic for tolerance for risk as stakes get higher, as well as decision-making process.  Who says how close is too close?
4. Tell them that there are a number of different criteria on which the tower will be evaluated, that these criteria will be on your individual instruction cards, and that you alone (facilitator) are the arbitrar of scoring.
   (You don’t actually score… it’s irrelevant)
5. Tell them that they have 20 minutes to complete the task.  At that time, they can negotiate for an additional 10 minutes of time in exchange for (pick something).  Examples might include
   1. A 20% reduction in their score
   2. Being required to only use their non-dominant hand
   3. The loss of 2-3 players.  In this case, the facilitator removes the strongest or most vocal player.
   4. You can also choose to not tell them he cost or options (risk and the unknown) and then still impose the cost of your choice for granting more time.  Lots of options as a facilitator, but removing key people forces the role-clarity hand again.

Distribute “role” cards to people, so that only the recipient sees their cards.  Give minimal guidance here… it’s OK if they share information on their cards, but do not speak to it one way or another.  There can be more than one of any role, with the exception of the accountant, which has only one.

Roles include (but not limited to)

All role cards start with:

In this round of the Index Card Tower game, you are an _____ (role).  As such, there are certain things that you value, and want to integrate into the project and process for building the tower, including:

and end with

Use your best judgement and cooperation on your team, while ensuring that your concerns are taken care of.

Architect

Buildings are a work of art, and you want this one to reflect that belief. Symmetry is of key importance to you.  If something is lopsided, you can’t sleep at night.  You also know that people are going to LIVE in this tower, so features like windows, verandas, and porches to sit and appreciate the city skyline make it a nicer place to live.

Engineer

Structural Soundness is important to you.  You know that we’re in an earthquake-prone region, and you are concerned for the safety of the building’s occupants.  Plus, even in construction you know that people sometimes have big feet, and you are concerned with the protection of the tower as it is being built.

Artist

You’ve likely seen many buildings like this before… as an artist, you want anything associated with you to be beautiful.  Nobody wants to live in a concrete (index card) tower unless it’s attractive.  You are on a relentless pursuit to beautify the building, grounds, and region.  What good is a perfect building if nobody wants to live there, and those who do are depressed all the time because it’s so bland and ugly?  You are free to decorate the cards as you wish by drawing or coloring them.

Accountant  (only ONE person gets this role, and they get ALL the cards to doll out)

You are in charge of all of the cards.  In the end, you know that each and every card has a cost, and people have a tendency to just use and destroy them without concern for cost.  You know people do need materials, but only give as many as needed, and focus on re-use so as to keep costs down.  At the end of the project, you will be asked for an accounting of EXACTLY how many cards have been used in the entire construction process.  The less cards used, the greater the profit margin for the project.

At your discretion, used cards from the prior round may be given out and count has “half” of a card for the current round, but to do so, you need to track new vs. reused cards for your final accounting.

Project Manager

This project is TWICE as big as the practice round, and you believe people are underestimating the effort to make this successful.

Simply repeating what you did in the first exercise is not likely to scale.  Be sure that you get the group to do some PLANNING before just diving into this task.

You also believe it’s going to take LONGER to complete than people think.. you are highly concerned about being efficient, and that you complete the task in the time allotted, so be sure to watch the clock. You have the unenviable role of balancing those two competing objectives of speed and effectiveness through planning.

Sales / Marketing

Making a TALL tower is not terribly difficult.  But the tower needs to be profitable, and that means maximizing floor-space for tenants.  You also want a broad base to maximize the number of street-side storefronts that can be placed in the base of the building.

You also know that by doing something unique about the design, that opens up the opportunity for the building to win awards, which will help with publicity and selling the space within the tower to tenants.

Possible Debrief Topics

• What constituted success for the project?
• What were the risks for success?
• How did you manage these risks?
• How were decisions made?
  • About more time
  • About design
  • About how close to bring the hair-dryer
  • About using more cards
• What roles did you play in the project?  Were you clear on your role?  Other’s role?
• Did you infer each other’s roles and cares, or make it an open topic of conversation?
• Was there a leader?  How did that role emerge?  Or why didn’t it?  Impact?
• Were the roles you played in the game consistent or from how you typically play your role within your real team?
• What assessments did you form of your peers as a byproduct of the roles they were playing?  Can/Did you distinguish between their role and their person?