Rosemary Cairns on the IAF listserve brought this fascinating TED video to my attention: Build a tower/Build a team

Tom Wujec presents some surprisingly deep research into the “marshmallow problem” — a simple team-building exercise that involves dry spaghetti, one yard of tape and a marshmallow. Who can build the tallest tower with these ingredients? And why does a surprising group always beat the average?

It is well worth watching, especially for its findings about the value of facilitation in solving the problem when a collaborative task is required. For the actual exercise, see: The Marshmallow Challenge website.

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