Overview: What do most people like more than a fun team-building challenge? A day out of the office! Gift your group a “pretend” day off and let their sense of adventure take over. Using a map and a few trip constraints each team will need to plan their own itinerary. This challenge will allow teams to strategically plan a fun activity while managing resources, thinking creatively, and working together. If you’re feeling generous, you can even choose a winning team to receive a real day off, out of the office!
Equipment Required: Identical maps, paper, and pens for each team.
Space Required: Small. Indoors.
Group Size: 4 to 60 people.
Total Time: 45 Minutes.
- 5 minutes to brief the activity.
- 30 minutes for the teams to create their itineraries.
- 10 to 30 minutes to debrief the activity (time dependent on the number of teams).
Instructions
- Determine what road map you will distribute to the group (city, state, country, etc.)
- Create a list of realistic trip constraints to provide the group. Each team will have identical constraints. For example, you should let the group know what type of vehicle they will drive, the size of its fuel tank, the price of fuel, how much money they have, how many days they have off, how many people will be joining them on their adventure (typically their entire team), a beginning destination or an ending destination (or both), etc.
- Separate your group into teams of 2-4 participants each (each group should have the same amount of team members).
- Brief the group with the following scenario:
“You each have been awarded a “pretend” day off work to spend with your team! You will have 30 minutes to plan the itinerary for your out-of-office adventure. In just a moment all teams will receive an identical map and trip constraints that will need to be used to plan your itinerary. Teams that run out of funds or fuel will be disqualified. On the other hand, teams that develop the most creative itineraries will leave with office bragging rights.”
We encourage you to also incorporate some of the specific constraints and any prizes that may be offered.
- Distribute an identical road map along with your pre-determined list of trip constraints to each team.
- Give the group 30 minutes to plan an itinerary and budget for their out-of-office adventure. Itineraries should include details such as sites visited, activities, time spent at each location, meals, potential overnight stays, miles driven, and dollars spent).
- Bring the group back together to discuss the various itineraries, total dollars spent, fuel used, sites visited, etc. Time permitting, you may even allow each group the opportunity to briefly present their itineraries.
- To extend the activity and create a heightened sense of competition, you can include awards or prizes (such as an actual day off) for the teams that incorporated the most activities/stops, relaxed the most, had the most accurate budget, etc.
Learning Outcomes
- Creative Thinking
- Time Management
- Resource Management
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Decision Making
- Cooperation
- Leadership
Suggested Review Questions
- Did you come up with a strategy before starting the activity?
- Did your strategy work? If not, why?
- Did you adapt your strategy as time progressed? How so?
- Did anyone step up and lead the task? Was leadership important during the task?
- How well did you work as team?
- Did you delegate tasks according to strengths and weaknesses? If so, how?
- Looking back on the activity, what is one thing that you can take away?
