Desert Island Intelligences
A survival simulation where teams must agree on a limited set of items or skills to survive on a deserted island. It highlights different thinking styles and forces the group to negotiate priorities.
To practice consensus-building and understand how different team members value resources.
Solves: Difficulty reaching agreement or understanding different perspectives during project planning.
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Step 1: Present a scenario where the team is stranded and can only keep 5 items from a list of 20 (2 minutes).
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Step 2: Move participants into breakout groups of 3-5 to negotiate their top 5 list (10-15 minutes).
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Step 3: Bring groups back to share their lists and the 'why' behind their choices (10 minutes).
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Step 4: Facilitate a brief reflection on how the group handled disagreements.
- Look for 'hidden gems' in the logic—sometimes the most creative survival strategy comes from the quietest person.
- Focus the debrief on the *process* of deciding, not the items themselves.
- Zombie Apocalypse version for a more modern/pop-culture feel