A Lot Can Happen Over Coffee!...got nothing to do with Cafe Coffee Day :)

A few months back, I was having a coffee break with two of my colleagues and we ended up becoming very good friends. I realize that it could have been due to the game that had flashed in my mind. The game goes as follows: One among us has to randomly ask a question to any one of the other two. This question can be something that the person asking the question would like to know about the other person. The beauty of this game is that both questioning and answering has to be fast paced. At the end of 15 mins we discovered so much about each other that we would not have known otherwise. It also shattered some myths and assumptions that we had about each other.
This game can be played towards the beginning of a training programme or workshop to help break the ice and to bring high energy levels into the room. Participants can be grouped into teams of 3 to 6 members. Its a lot of fun and learning!

An activity on teamwork

In order to help team members listen to and appreciate each others' view points, a small activity can be conducted. Take a paper with some text printed on one side. Ask the members to form two groups and ask the teams to stand facing each other. Stand in between the teams, facing one group while your back is towards the other group. Hold the paper high and ask the team you are facing to tell everyone what they can see in your hand. They will say that they see a paper with something printed on it. You ask them "Are you sure"? They will say "yes, without doubt". Then ask the other group as to what they see. They will say that they see a blank paper. Ask them the same question "Are you sure"?. They will say "yes, without doubt". Now, debrief. Ask if any group is wrong. Obviously, everyone is right from the side that they are standing! This is what happens when we work in a team. Every member might see something different about the same task/job. However, each of us believe that only we are right while the other is wrong. So much learning can happen if we are willing to see from the other's perspective and learn something new from them.

Did you say "I can't"?

A sudden realization just struck me. Few months back I was observing a session on change management. There was an interesting exercise that the facilitator conducted. He asked everyone to write down 10 things that we felt we "can't do" on a chit of paper and asked us to list them in the order of difficulty i.e. starting from least difficult to most difficult. For instance, I had written "I can't drive", "I can't swim", "I can't play guitar" etc etc. After that he asked us to fold it multiple times such that it becomes a very tiny chit. He then asked us to hand over these chits to him. He said that since we have handed over our "I can'ts", now all those things that we said we could'nt do will become possible. Therefore, all those have been replaced by "I can'ts" cousin "I can"!!! Though I never took the exercise seriously and just treated it like a small fun game, recently I came to realize that I have been trying to learn the same things that I wrote I can't do!! I recently learnt driving and now I have my learning licence. I joined swimming classes and overcame my fear of drowning. I also joined guitar classes and bought a guitar!!!! I do not know what that small activity did to me but the order in which I have learnt these "I can'ts" coincide with what I had mentioned in the list!! And what a coincidence that I felt like learning all these within few days of doing that activity!!!
Would anyone want to guess what might have happened to me at a sub-conscious level?
Do post your comments. Also, if you have read this post, I suggest you seriously do this activity on yourself or your friends. Try tearing off the list or burning it. I'm very sure few days/months down the line you/your friends will start doing all those things that you thought you could never do! :)