The Scenario:
The setting is modern-day Southwestern United States in the
Superstition Mountains of Arizona. Outfitted in Cowboy hats and colorful
bandannas, teams go on a search for gold from the famous Lost Dutchman's Mine,
first discovered by Jacob Waltz in the 1860s and lost since he died in 1892. The reality of the situation and the theme of mining gold are engaging.
(click here for a detailed
"History")
The exercise
focuses on inter-table collaboration as its main outcome. It also links to
issues of quality, leadership, systems, communications and a variety of other
organizational issues. Team size is 5 or 6 people and there is no limit to the number of participants.
This exercise is truly outstanding for a highly interactive
morning or afternoon event. In 3 to 4 hours, participants get to play and then fully debrief the event and
discuss real opportunities for improvement. It functions very well as a
full-day program within a conference or as a specific training event on team
building, leadership and collaboration. Many organizations use it in multi-day
training and leadership development programs.
Participants enter the room and take a seat at a table with their other team members (normally 5 or 6 per team).
On each tabletop is a colorful map, a Grub Stake of resource cards, planning tools, job aids and other information about the exercise. Putting on cowboy hats and colorful bandannas (which add visual impact and energy), the group settles in to briefly hear a brief history of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine and to learn the mechanics of the challenges they face.
Teams learn that they will have 20 days of 2 minutes each to manage their journey to the mine and back home to Apache Junction. They can choose from 3 paths with different risks, planning for weather changes and focusing on the optimal use of resources. They are given the opportunity to gain additional information valuable to their journey's success but must decide if they are willing to delay their start by one or two days in order to obtain this information.
Once the Intro is concluded, teams have 15 minutes to plan. They must work together to make decisions about tactics, resource management, direction and risk.
The 20 days of play (roughly 35 minutes) begin and are marked by lots of lively interaction among players and teams in the spirit of collaboration and competition. During this time, they'll discover the impact of their early decisions on their results. They can choose to get advice or collaborate with others. Once teams return to Apache Junction by the 20th day, they'll complete their paperwork, take a break and then return for what can be a very flexible and high impact debriefing session targeted to specific learning outcomes and objectives.
The debriefing is what makes this exercise truly unique and extremely powerful as a tool for change and improvement. (See a more detailed discussion in our debriefing page.) Often discussed is how this game parallels the need for leadership, clear missions and visions, and issues of teamwork and collaboration. Themes of measurement, feedback and intrinsic motivation are commonly discussed, and the focus is on success and building on successes, using available information and best practices as well as engaging leadership and other organizations in a cooperative and collaborative workplace.
Participants appreciate the experience of Dutchman because they are able to share ideas that apply to their jobs and gain important perspective. Substantive action plans for change are common outcomes. They also have fun and increase camaraderie with their co-workers (motivating aspects of strong teams).
The entire activity with debriefing can be completed in 3 to 3.5 hours,
but it is commonly linked to other content for a great, full-day event.
