Tag Archives: Ken Blanchard

Children, Teens, Adults

Time

20 minutes
Description

This game is a “Gotcha” activity. (A “Gotcha” is a training activity that is designed to create a paradigm shift in the participants’ minds.  It is set up so that the participant will fail in order to create an awareness of their need for training on the topic, and it is usually done before the topic is introduced so as not to give away important information.)

This “Gotcha” is taken from Ken Blanchard’s and Sheldon Bowles’ book, High Five!: None of Us Is As Smart As All of Us (and slightly modified).  It is intended to help participants see the need of having a good system for working together and clear roles in their teams.  Teams don’t become high-performing teams simply because they have talented individuals; they need good process, communication, feedback, encouragement, goals and other elements.

Scriptures

o  Nehemiah 3:1-32

o  Ephesians 4:11-12,16

Materials

o  A set of number cards for each team (You will need three 0’s, 3 9’s and one each of the numbers 1-8.  It’s okay to give them more numbers than they need, though.  Feel free to give them a full set each of 0-9.  You can print out the numbers from the file “High-Performing Numbers Game – Number Cards.ppt” on the Lesson and Material Downloads page at www.teachingthem.com.  Or if you’ve got a big budget, just buy a pack of playing cards for each participant.  If you do this, you will need three sets of playing cards per team.)

o  Scissors or some other cutting tool (if you use the printed numbers)

o  Printed instructions for each normal team (This page is included at the bottom of this lesson.  It’s the shorter one.)

o  A printed instruction sheet for your special team (This page is also located at the bottom of this lesson.  It’s the longer one with more detailed instructions.)

o  Bible

Preparation

o  Print your number cards, and cut them out (if you are using the printed version).

o  Print your normal instructions (one copy for all but one of your teams) and your special instructions (one copy).

o  Read through the instructions on the special page so that you understand how the game works and why the team you choose to be the special team should be able to win most of the rounds of the game.  (Two members of the team will only have to choose between raising a 0 or a 9.  The third member will know a trick that makes it easier to know which number to raise, and he won’t have to wait to see what the others raise in order to know his number.)

o  Group the number cards and instructions into sets.  (Make sure you remember which instruction set is special so that you know which team you give it to.)

Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

• “Let’s play a game about teamwork.”
• “I’m giving each group a set of numbers (or playing cards) and an instruction sheet.” (Pass out these materials.  Make sure that other teams don’t notice that their instructions are different from the special instructions.)
• “I’ll give you a few minutes to read through your instructions, and I’ll come by your table to answer any questions you might have.”  (Go table-to-table to make sure that they understand the instructions.  You don’t want to answer questions as a group, because it might come out that one team has different instructions than the others.  When everyone understands how the game is played, start the game by saying a number between 0-27 out loud (see a recommended sequence below).  The team that wins is the first team to get three numbers in the air that correctly add together to total the number you say out loud.  Award one point to that team.  Keep saying numbers until you’ve given them all.  Then, add up the team point totals and announce the winner.  TIPS: You may want to get someone to help you as a spotter to see which team is up first.  Also, it’s often easier to tell who was up first if the players have to stand and raise their number rather than just raise their number.  If you only have a few teams, put the players at the front of the room so that it’s easier to see who is up first.)
• (After the game, you can debrief with the following:)
• “I have a confession to make.”
• “One team had different instructions than the rest of you.”
• “This team (point out the special team) knew a trick for getting their numbers up faster.”  (Allow someone from the team to explain the trick.)
• “I played a trick on you to make a few points that I would like you to remember.”

o   “Having a team with smart or talented individuals is good, but it’s not as good as having a team with a really good system or way or organizing the work.”

o   “There have been many professional sports teams that were full of superstar athletes but who were unable to win a championship.”

o   “That’s because a high-performing team is more than a collection of superstars – it’s a team, which means that the individuals work together.”

o   “The better a group of individuals work together, the more successful they can be.”

o   “And it’s possible…even probable…that a team of average players who work together in a high-performing way will out-perform a team of highly skilled individuals who don’t work together well.”

o   “So, now we need to do something very important.”

o   “I want everyone in the room to raise their right hand above their head.”  (Demonstrate and encourage them to follow your lead.)

o   “Now, point your hand out toward the front of the room.”  (Demonstrate.)

o   “And repeat after me…”

o   “In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior…”  (Wait for them to repeat after you.)

o   “We forgive you ______ (substitute your name).”  (Participants usually think this is funny, and it eases the tension some may be feeling because you tricked them into playing a game that they couldn’t win.)

Idea for Bible Teaching

You could use this activity along with Nehemiah 3 or Ephesians 4 (see Scriptures at the top of the lesson) to emphasize how important it is that everyone does their appointed role on a high-performing team or to emphasize how well things work when you have a good system in place for teamwork.

Suggested Number Sequence and Correct Number Cards for “Special” Team

Instructions

o  Pick three people on your team to play, and give them the number cards.

o  The Facilitator will call out a number between zero and twenty-seven. 

o  The three players should hold up number cards that add up to the number the Facilitator calls out.

o  No player can hold up more than one card.

o  All three players must hold up one card.

o  The first team to get the sum right wins.