This document provides instructions for an exercise called "Far and Away" that aims to demonstrate the importance of involving affected groups in decision making and having transparency. It will have two groups - FAR and AWAY. FAR will be tasked with reorganizing the positions of AWAY within certain rules over 45 minutes without being able to see AWAY. AWAY must follow FAR's instructions without question. There will then be a debriefing where both groups discuss their experiences and lessons around top-down decision making, communication, and consideration of affected groups.

1. WeGrow 2008 in Malta, session handout
Far & Away
Location
Material needed Site is prepared; Tape on the floor; Instructions for Far and Away
Time schedule 10 min briefing, 45 min solving the task, 30 min debriefing
Preparation
Objective • Delegates are to experience a top-down strategy
• From this, they shall recognize the necessity of involvement of
other groups for strategies and decisions, of transparency of
decisions, of caring about the affected people
• Delegates shall experience how the task/goal may hide the
actually affected people
This exercise
contributes to the
overall goal of
EuroCo by …
• …by addressing the attitude of responsibility towards followers.
• …by questioning the roles of groups concerning the task.
• …by showing the limits of top-down-strategies and underlining
participation in decisions
Remarks for
facilitator
• This exercise is for two groups at the same time. One group is
called FAR. The other one is called AWAY.
• The workers group AWAY should consist of either ten or twelve
persons (if not take enough persons from the management group
FAR). FAR should be about 4 – 5 people.
• Separate the two groups and brief them separately: see separate
hand-outs.
• The first picture (following) shows the actual state, the second the
target state of the members of AWAY. They have to keep both
view of direction and the original sequence. Do not show this to
the participants.
Security
Instructions
• The mood among AWAY members might change…it is part of the
exercise that they feel uncomfortable – but avoid extreme negative
emotions.

2. WeGrow 2008 in Malta, session handout
Exercise
Briefing Stress in the AWAY-group is probable and expected – watch their
mood and take notes, so that you can
Instructions to
read out – repeat
as often as
required!
• For the group AWAY:
Read: “The purpose of this exercise is to experience the process of
aligning people to achieve a common purpose. You will be working
with another people, located at FAR.
Information: (read and write on flipchart so that delegates can clarify
doubts…)
1. For the next 45 minutes you are a force at AWAY.
2. You can do nothing without the explicit approval of FAR.
3. The space in which you are standing in your ‘assigned
position’. The direction in which you are facing is your
‘assigned direction’.
4. For the duration of the exercise you must not leave this room.
5. While waiting for FAR please discuss how you want to work
together. “
• For the group FAR: see separate handout.
• None of the groups may see the instruction sheets of the other
group.

3. WeGrow 2008 in Malta, session handout
Debriefing
Let groups describe the process they went through. Additionals /
helps could be:
For FAR:
• What had FAR in mind? What was important to you? How did you
feel doing that?
• Have you focused on the task rather than on the group?
• How did the first visit at AWAY influence the working of FAR?
• How have you included the partners at AWAY in the strategy?
• How did you communicate with AWAY concerning the task? How
do you consider transparency of your decisions?
• What was the function of AWAY in your eyes?
• How would you describe your acting from the perspective of
AWAY?
For AWAY:
• How did AWAY feel while waiting? Which consequences did you
take?
• How was communication between both? Who would have been
responsible to establish communication?
• How does AWAY feel with the “solution” of FAR – how satisfied
are you with the result of FAR?
• How was your relationship to the rules? Why was it like that? Why
did you (not) oppose to them?
• How did you feel when carrying out the “solution” of FAR?
To both:
• What reality has been shown here? How would you expect
yourself and others to be in reality?
• Relating to AIESEC: which structures exist where this might
happen? Which situations like this do you know?
• What would be attitudes to avoid such incidents? Who should take
which responsibility?
• What should the relationship between task and people involved be
like? What is how important?

4. WeGrow 2008 in Malta, session handout
Participant Instructions for FAR
The purpose of this exercise is to experience the process of aligning people to achieve a
common purpose. You will be working with another group of people, located at AWAY, a
team you have not seen in a while.
You have 45 minutes to „reorganise“ the people at AWAY in a way that complies with the
regulations and rules specified below. Senior management has held you accountable for
the completion of the task. Failure could lead to serious financial consequences for the
company.
1. At any given time, only one person in your group may serve as a liaison with the AWAY
group.
2. Everyone but the current liaison must stay in this room.
3. The AWAY group members have been told they can do nothing without your explicit
instructions or approval.
4. This sheet of paper may not leave this room.
You have at your disposal: your group and the AWAY group members; paper, pencils and
a flipchart.
Your Task:
Business is suffering because people seem to be too inwardly focused. You feel that
moving people to different positions will enhance your ability to win in the increasingly
competitive environment. Your task is to move the AWAY group members from their
„assigned positions“ to their „reassigned positions“ by making only „legal“ moves. They
have been physically placed in their assigned positions. In this reorganisation, the people
who start on the right side facing left must finish on the left side facing left and in their
original sequence. The people who start on the left side facing right must finish on the right
side facing right and in their original sequence.
Rules:
1. There are only two moves allowed:
 An AWAY group member may move forward into an empty space immediately in
front of him or her. (no backward moves).
 An AWAY group member may move forward around one person if that person is
facing him or her and if there is an empty space directly behind that person.
2. No-one may turn around; everyone must remain facing in his or her „assigned
direction“. AWAY group members who get „stuck“ may return to their assigned
positions and begin the reorganisation again.

5. WeGrow 2008 in Malta, session handout
3. Only one person may move at a time.
4. Success is a flawless performance from start to finish, and senior management will
expect to see the task done perfectly at the end of the performance period.

6. WeGrow 2008 in Malta, session handout
3. Only one person may move at a time.
4. Success is a flawless performance from start to finish, and senior management will
expect to see the task done perfectly at the end of the performance period.