ABOUT THE GAME ...

Simulating "real-world" organisational processes and activities, this effective and energising game explores the triangular relationship among planners, implementers, and customers - also helping participants to understand the factors associated with new work processes, or new products and services.

TRIANGLES creates a non-threatening environment in which to bring out individual and group assumptions, tensions, and frustrations, in a non-confrontational setting. The game dramatically illustrates the inefficiency and futility of separating the process improvement function from the implementation function, and highlights the importance of meeting customer needs. This makes it the perfect activity for exploring areas such as: total customer focus, quality management, planning and implementation, cross-functional rivalries and employee participation.

TRIANGLES powerfully demonstrates that even with perfect planning and implementation, you can be in big trouble if you ignore the customer. By keeping customers low-key throughout most of the game and making them all-important at the last moment, we jolt the participants into appreciating the importance of meeting customer needs, and the value of quality.

TRIANGLES was designed by Dr S Thiagarajan, a pioneer in simulation-gaming technology. The creator of more than 100 interactive training activities, he has twice been the President of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA).

WHAT INSIGHTS ARE GAINED FROM TRIANGLES?

The activity will enable you and your delegates to explore and understand

• The inter-relationship among planners,implementers an customers.
• The factors associated with the planning and implementation of new work processes.

It also incorporates such powerful principles of human interaction as

• It's easy to ignore the customer, but suicidal if you to do.
• Managers maintain their superiority by withholding information.
• Job labels result in stereotyped assumptions.
• Lack of communication results in lack of trust.
• There is no such thing as an idiot-proof plan.
• Managers and employees often assume adversarial roles.
• Abrupt transitions from planning to implementation are doomed to fail.

WHO ATTENDS?

Suitable for all levels of staff, and applicable to all sectors of all industries, Stef has successfully facilitated TRIANGLES for both top management, and the labour force. TRIANGLES can be used to explore such real-world triangular interactions as:

• Managers, workers, customers
• Suppliers, producers, consumers
• Teachers, students, parents
• Consultants, clients, customers
• Share Holders, management, unions

Number of delegates: 5 - 500

FORMAT

Workshop in the form of a facilitated corporate game lasting for 45 - 60 minutes, followed by a debriefing of at least 15 minutes (although as long as 3 hours has been used).

EQUIPMENT AND VENUE

Overhead projector is "nice to have", but not essential. For small groups of up to 30 participants, break away rooms are needed for every 8 - 10 delegates. For larger groups, ample open floor space is needed for participants to for form work-groups of 5 - 10 people.