Build a tower, build a team | Tom Wujec

Summary

The Marshmallow Challenge, introduced by Peter Skillman at TED, is a simple yet insightful team-building exercise where groups construct the tallest free-standing structure using spaghetti, tape, string, and a marshmallow on top. The challenge reveals deep lessons about collaboration, with kindergarteners surprisingly outperforming business school graduates by building prototypes and iterating. Architects excel due to their understanding of geometry. The exercise underscores the importance of prototyping, facilitation skills, and the impact of incentives on performance, providing a common language and experience for effective teamwork.

Takeaways

• 🏗️ The Marshmallow Challenge is a design exercise where teams build the tallest free-standing structure using spaghetti sticks, tape, string, and a marshmallow on top.
• 👥 The challenge tests collaboration skills and reveals insights about how different groups work together under time pressure.
• 📈 The average height of structures built by most people is around 20 inches, but kindergarteners and architects often outperform others due to their iterative prototyping and understanding of structural principles.
• 📊 Business school graduates tend to struggle, often due to their rigid approach to finding a single right plan and not adapting well to the iterative process.
• 🎓 Kindergarteners excel because they focus on building with the marshmallow in mind from the start, allowing for multiple iterations and learning opportunities.
• 🔍 The iterative process of prototyping is crucial for success, as it provides instant feedback and opportunities for improvement.
• 🤔 The challenge highlights the importance of not just specialized skills, but also facilitation skills in managing the collaborative process effectively.
• 💰 High stakes can have a negative impact on performance, as seen when a $10,000 prize was offered and no team succeeded in building a standing structure.
• 🛠️ Understanding the value of prototyping can dramatically improve a team's performance, as demonstrated when the same students who failed with high stakes went on to build the tallest structures.
• 🌐 The Marshmallow Challenge serves as a metaphor for identifying hidden assumptions in projects and emphasizes the need for a shared experience and language to build effective prototypes.
• 📝 The exercise is a simple yet powerful tool for teams in various fields, from car manufacturing to video game development, to learn and apply collaborative and prototyping skills.

Q & A

What is the Marshmallow Challenge?

The Marshmallow Challenge is a design challenge where teams of four must build the tallest free-standing structure using 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and a marshmallow, which must be placed on top of the structure.

Why is the Marshmallow Challenge considered difficult?

The Marshmallow Challenge is difficult because it requires quick collaboration and forces participants to balance planning with execution, often leading to structures collapsing under the weight of the marshmallow.

What did the speaker incorporate the Marshmallow Challenge into and why?

The speaker incorporated the Marshmallow Challenge into a design workshop because it was a huge success and revealed deep lessons about the nature of collaboration.

What is the usual process teams follow when participating in the Marshmallow Challenge?

Teams usually start by orienting themselves to the task, discussing and planning, organizing and sketching, laying out spaghetti, assembling the structure, and finally placing the marshmallow on top as time runs out.

Why do business school graduates often have more 'uh-oh' moments in the Marshmallow Challenge?

Business school graduates often have more 'uh-oh' moments because they are trained to find a single right plan and execute it, which can lead to a crisis when the marshmallow is added and the structure collapses.

How do kindergarteners approach the Marshmallow Challenge differently?

Kindergartners approach the challenge by starting with the marshmallow and building successive prototypes, always keeping the marshmallow on top, which allows them to receive instant feedback and make adjustments.

What is the average height of structures built in the Marshmallow Challenge?

The average height of structures built in the Marshmallow Challenge is around 20 inches.

Who tends to perform the best in the Marshmallow Challenge?

Architects and engineers tend to perform the best due to their understanding of stable structures and geometrical patterns.

What impact does adding a high-stakes reward have on the performance in the Marshmallow Challenge?

Adding a high-stakes reward, such as a $10,000 prize, can negatively impact performance, as it was observed that no team had a standing structure when such a reward was offered.

What is the role of an executive admin in improving a team's performance in the Marshmallow Challenge?

An executive admin can significantly improve a team's performance due to their facilitation skills, process management, and understanding of the iterative process.

What is the fundamental lesson the speaker believes the Marshmallow Challenge teaches about design?

The fundamental lesson is that design is a contact sport that requires the application of all senses, thinking, feeling, and doing to address challenges effectively, and that prototyping can turn 'uh-oh' moments into 'ta-da' moments.

Outlines

00:00

🏗️ The Marshmallow Challenge: A Lesson in Collaboration

The first paragraph introduces the 'marshmallow challenge,' a design exercise where teams must construct the tallest free-standing structure using spaghetti sticks, tape, string, and a marshmallow on top. It highlights the difficulty and the importance of quick collaboration. The speaker shares their experience conducting workshops worldwide and notes the deep insights gained about teamwork. The average approach to the task is described, where most teams plan and build, only to have their structures collapse under the marshmallow's weight. The paragraph humorously points out that business school graduates often perform poorly, while kindergarteners excel due to their iterative approach and lack of power struggles. The importance of prototyping and the iterative process is emphasized, with architects and engineers emerging as the best performers due to their understanding of structural stability. The impact of high stakes on performance is also discussed, with an anecdote about a failed attempt at incentivizing better results with a cash prize.

05:01

🚀 Learning from Failure: The Power of Prototyping

The second paragraph delves into the lessons learned from the marshmallow challenge, particularly the value of prototyping. It recounts an instance where the same students, after understanding the importance of prototyping, improved dramatically, becoming the best at the task. The paragraph explores the impact of incentives on success and failure, and the speaker's role in creating digital tools for collaborative projects. The marshmallow challenge is positioned as a tool for identifying hidden assumptions in projects, providing a shared experience and language for building effective prototypes. The speaker invites interested individuals to visit MarshmallowChallenge.com for further insights, instructions, and examples. The fundamental lesson conveyed is that design is an interactive and sensory experience requiring the best of our thinking, feeling, and doing. The paragraph concludes with the transformative power of a simple prototype to turn failures into successes and the applause from the audience.

Keywords

💡Marshmallow Challenge

The Marshmallow Challenge is a design exercise where teams build the tallest free-standing structure using limited materials, including a marshmallow on top. It serves as a metaphor for collaboration and innovation in the video. The challenge is central to the video's theme, illustrating the importance of teamwork, creativity, and iterative design.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration refers to the act of working together with others towards a common goal. In the context of the Marshmallow Challenge, it is essential for success as it forces participants to quickly coordinate their efforts. The video emphasizes that effective collaboration is a key takeaway from the challenge.

💡Prototype

A prototype is an early model or sample of a product used for testing and refinement. The video highlights the importance of prototyping in the Marshmallow Challenge, showing that teams who build successive prototypes with the marshmallow on top are more successful. This concept is linked to the iterative process in design.

💡Iterative Process

The iterative process is a series of repeated cycles of improvement in design and development. The video describes how kindergarteners excel in the challenge by using an iterative approach, building and refining their structures multiple times before adding the marshmallow, which is a practical example of this process in action.

💡Business School Graduates

Business school graduates are used in the video to illustrate a contrast in performance within the Marshmallow Challenge. They tend to have more 'uh-oh' moments due to their tendency to plan and execute a single strategy, which can lead to failure when the marshmallow is added.

💡Kindergarteners

Kindergarteners are highlighted as particularly successful in the Marshmallow Challenge due to their approach of starting with the marshmallow and building prototypes. Their success underscores the video's message about the value of play and iterative learning in the design process.

💡Incentives

Incentives are rewards or motivations that influence behavior. The video discusses how offering a high-value prize can have a counterproductive effect on performance, suggesting that high stakes can sometimes hinder success by increasing pressure and reducing creativity.

💡Facilitation

Facilitation refers to the act of making an activity or process easier. In the context of the video, executive admins are noted for their facilitation skills, which help manage the design process and improve team performance in the Marshmallow Challenge.

💡Design Workshop

A design workshop is an interactive session focused on creative problem-solving and idea generation. The video mentions that the Marshmallow Challenge was incorporated into design workshops worldwide, emphasizing its utility in fostering collaborative design thinking.

💡Stability

Stability in the video pertains to the structural integrity of the marshmallow towers. Architects and engineers perform well in the challenge because they understand the importance of stable geometric patterns, such as triangles, in creating robust structures.

💡Shared Experience

A shared experience is a common event or activity that multiple people participate in together. The Marshmallow Challenge provides a shared experience that helps teams identify hidden assumptions and communicate more effectively, as it offers a common language and perspective.

Highlights

The Marshmallow Challenge is a design exercise where teams build the tallest free-standing structure using spaghetti sticks, tape, string, and a marshmallow on top.

The challenge tests quick collaboration and problem-solving skills among team members.

The exercise has been successfully incorporated into design workshops worldwide.

The challenge reveals deep lessons about the nature of collaboration.

Most teams begin by orienting themselves to the task and planning before starting to build.

The 'ta-da' moment often turns into an 'uh-oh' as the marshmallow causes the structure to collapse.

Business school graduates tend to struggle with the challenge, often producing weak structures.

Kindergarten graduates excel in the challenge, creating both tall and interesting structures.

Business students are trained to find a single right plan and execute it, which can lead to crisis when time runs out.

Kindergarteners start with the marshmallow and build successive prototypes, learning from each iteration.

Architects and engineers perform the best due to their understanding of stable geometrical patterns.

The presence of an executive admin on a team significantly improves performance due to their facilitation skills.

High stakes can negatively impact performance, as seen when no team won a high-value prize due to increased pressure.

Understanding the value of prototyping can lead to significant improvements in performance.

The Marshmallow Challenge helps identify hidden assumptions in project planning.

The challenge provides a shared experience and common language for teams to build the right prototype.

Design is a contact sport that requires the application of all senses and the best of our thinking, feeling, and doing.

Transcripts

Several years ago here at TED, Peter Skillman

introduced a design challenge

called the marshmallow challenge.

And the idea's pretty simple:

Teams of four have to build the tallest free-standing structure

out of 20 sticks of spaghetti,

one yard of tape, one yard of string

and a marshmallow.

The marshmallow has to be on top.

And, though it seems really simple, it's actually pretty hard

because it forces people

to collaborate very quickly.

And so, I thought this was an interesting idea,

and I incorporated it into a design workshop.

And it was a huge success.

And since then, I've conducted

about 70 design workshops across the world

with students and designers and architects,

even the CTOs of the Fortune 50,

and there's something about this exercise

that reveals very deep lessons

about the nature of collaboration,

and I'd like to share some of them with you.

So, normally, most people begin

by orienting themselves to the task.

They talk about it, they figure out what it's going to look like,

they jockey for power.

Then they spend some time planning, organizing,

they sketch and they lay out spaghetti.

They spend the majority of their time

assembling the sticks into ever-growing structures.

And then finally, just as they're running out of time,

someone takes out the marshmallow,

and then they gingerly put it on top,

and then they stand back, and -- ta-da! --

they admire their work.

But what really happens, most of the time,

is that the "ta-da" turns into an "uh-oh,"

because the weight of the marshmallow causes the entire structure

to buckle and to collapse.

So there are a number of people

who have a lot more "uh-oh" moments than others,

and among the worst are recent graduates of business school.

(Laughter)

They lie, they cheat, they get distracted

and they produce really lame structures.

And of course there are teams

that have a lot more "ta-da" structures,

and among the best are recent graduates of kindergarten.

(Laughter)

And it's pretty amazing.

As Peter tells us,

not only do they produce the tallest structures,

but they're the most interesting structures of them all.

So the question you want to ask is:

How come? Why? What is it about them?

And Peter likes to say that

none of the kids spend any time

trying to be CEO of Spaghetti, Inc. Right?

They don't spend time jockeying for power.

But there's another reason as well.

And the reason is that business students are trained

to find the single right plan, right?

And then they execute on it.

And then what happens is, when they put the marshmallow on the top,

they run out of time and what happens?

It's a crisis.

Sound familiar? Right.

What kindergarteners do differently

is that they start with the marshmallow,

and they build prototypes, successive prototypes,

always keeping the marshmallow on top,

so they have multiple times to fix when they build prototypes along the way.

Designers recognize this type of collaboration

as the essence of the iterative process.

And with each version, kids get instant feedback

about what works and what doesn't work.

So the capacity to play in prototype is really essential,

but let's look at how different teams perform.

So the average for most people is around 20 inches;

business schools students, about half of that;

lawyers, a little better, but not much better than that,

kindergarteners, better than most adults.

Who does the very best?

Architects and engineers, thankfully.

(Laughter)

Thirty-nine inches is the tallest structure I've seen.

And why is it? Because they understand triangles

and self-reinforcing geometrical patterns

are the key to building

stable structures.

So CEOs, a little bit better than average,

but here's where it gets interesting.

If you put you put an executive admin. on the team,

they get significantly better.

(Laughter)

It's incredible. You know, you look around, you go, "Oh, that team's going to win."

You can just tell beforehand. And why is that?

Because they have special skills

of facilitation.

They manage the process, they understand the process.

And any team who manages

and pays close attention to work

will significantly improve the team's performance.

Specialized skills and facilitation skills

are the combination that leads to strong success.

If you have 10 teams that typically perform,

you'll get maybe six or so that have standing structures.

And I tried something interesting.

I thought, let's up the ante, once.

So I offered a 10,000 dollar prize of software to the winning team.

So what do you think happened to these design students?

What was the result?

Here's what happened:

Not one team had a standing structure.

If anyone had built, say, a one inch structure,

they would have taken home the prize.

So, isn't that interesting? That high stakes

have a strong impact.

We did the exercise again with the same students.

What do you think happened then?

So now they understand the value of prototyping.

So the same team went from being the very worst

to being among the very best.

They produced the tallest structures in the least amount of time.

So there's deep lessons for us

about the nature of incentives and success.

So, you might ask: Why would anyone

actually spend time writing a marshmallow challenge?

And the reason is, I help create

digital tools and processes

to help teams build cars and video games

and visual effects.

And what the marshmallow challenge does

is it helps them identify the hidden assumptions.

Because, frankly,

every project has its own marshmallow, doesn't it?

The challenge provides a shared experience,

a common language,

a common stance to build the right prototype.

And so, this is the value of the experience,

of this so simple exercise.

And those of you who are interested

may want to go to MarshmallowChallenge.com.

It's a blog that you can look at

how to build the marshmallows.

There's step-by-step instructions on this.

There are crazy examples from around the world

of how people tweak and adjust the system.

There's world records that are on this as well.

And the fundamental lesson, I believe,

is that design truly is

a contact sport.

It demands that we bring all of our senses to the task,

and that we apply the very best of our thinking,

our feeling and our doing

to the challenge that we have at hand.

And sometimes, a little prototype of this experience

is all that it takes to turn us

from an "uh-oh" moment to a "ta-da" moment.

And that can make a big difference.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)