This is an overview of our teambuilding exercise that has had global distribution for the past 30 years. This version is the board game, in-person framework for presentations and the game is packaged with extensive debriefing materials. Many users say it remains the best team building game in the world that focuses on inter-team collaboration and strategic planning. Vie the file and if you like it, connect with me in LinkedIn and let's chat about possibilities. You can see a press release for the game here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/making-collaboration-timeless-a-team-building-games-remarkable-30-years-of-helping-organizations-thrive-301670994.html

1. The Search for
The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine
Ideas for Team Building and
Performance Improvement
Dutchman Professional
for unlimited teams
© Performance Management Company, 2023

2. • solid clean metaphors linking play to implementation
• a design focused on debriefing the choices made during play
• many links to leadership skills and motivation
• clear links to strategy and planning
• links to decision-making
• links to improving results and performance
• powerful debriefing materials
for great discussions
• a world-class focus on teamwork,
collaboration and engagement
Dutchman is a high-energy business simulation that focuses on
improving and optimizing results. It is an exercise with:

3. “I wanted to let you know that the feedback received from
our team of global managers about the Lost Dutchman team
building session was excellent.
We couldn’t have found a better tool to kick off our
collaboration and process improvement efforts than this.
The exercise was a great way to generate that initial push
toward working across normal boundaries like operations
and research and marketing to make the real work of
planning and implementing more effective. There are few
things like Dutchman that can work with senior managers
to involve and engage them in organizational
improvement efforts. Not to mention, it was tremendous
fun too!”
Dutchman works with senior managers on Big Picture Issues like Strategic Planning
and Organizational Alignment.
Client testimonial available on request
Testimonial:

4. My singular focus since starting Bridges in 2000, is supporting
leaders to successfully execute strategies by ensuring they
understand the importance of implementation and providing
a framework that is so often missing.
Ensuring leaders fully understand what it takes to implement
strategy is a tough challenge as most leaders underestimate
what it takes. I personally teach leaders in understanding that
today you need both the ability to craft the right strategy and the skills to execute it. Most
leaders have been taught how to plan but not how to execute and as result most
implementations fail.
Dutchman is in my workshops because it is a phenomenal business simulation that brings to
life the tough challenge of both planning and executing in a highly interactive and engaging
manner..
I have been running the Dutchman since 1995 and it has never failed to impact leaders and
demonstrate the key learnings. If you are looking for a business simulation that will engage
your leaders, allow them to understand the importance of planning, executing,
communicating and collaborating, then The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine is one of
the best. It works amazingly well across different cultures.
Dutchman works with global managers for BIG Issues like Strategy Implementation.
Robin Speculand, Bridges Business Consultancy, Singapore
Testimonial:

5. Dutchman is used by universities to
teach leadership and collaboration
and used by governments to teach
strategic planning and project
management.
It is a game about planning,
teamwork and working together to
optimize results.
It is designed for involving and
engaging people to improve
workplace performance results.
Dutchman works with front-line employees and their managers for
improving alignment and engagement on inter-team collaboration
issues and performance improvement.
It is highly effective as a tool for leadership development.

6. • teamwork and communications
• leadership styles and decision-making or thinking skills
• inter-team collaboration and optimization (versus competition and winning)
• strategic planning, project management and resource optimization
• organizational alignment to shared missions and goals
• leadership and support
... and other aspects of team play, engagement and motivation
The focus can be on:

7. Our Goals:
• Work Together
• Get to the Mine
• Mine as much Gold
as We Can
• Return to
Apache Junction
• Have Fun!

8. Our Goals:
• Work Together
• Get to the Mine
• Mine as much Gold
as We Can
• Return to
Apache Junction
• Have Fun!
Note the “We” – most teams miss
that and frame it: “My Team, My,
Team, My Team” instead of overall
collaboration with the Big WE!

9. A sense of competition and the natural competitiveness commonly
caused by the “My Team, My Team, My Team” focus measurably sub-
optimizes the group performance results.
Collaboration rather than competition is a key factor for success.

10. A key is to reinforce the idea that ALL the teams need to be successful for
optimizing organizational success -- a “My Teams” focus is critical.
ALL of us are more important than any of us. It is KEY to Dutchman’s Gold.

11. We also know that women make great team leaders
and managers.

12. The Dutchman exercise is great for trainers and consultants
since it has direct links to so many issues of people and
performance. It generates behaviors and choices. It links in
so many ways and is low cost, flexible and bombproof!

13. Our expressed goal is to mine as much gold as WE can and to have
fun while doing it! We also want to have a very positive experience
to debrief so that we can discuss alternatives for improvement.
THAT is the goal of playing this exercise.
The Goal is to mine as much Gold as We Can!

14. The play of the game is our anchor point for
serious debriefing discussions about the
choices we make and our issues of
communications and teamwork.
Collaboration offers much higher payouts
than competition, but players often choose to
try to win rather than optimize overall results.
This allows for great debriefing!

15. Our debriefing questions
focus on such themes as the
following:
(Note: We use images as visual anchors to key concepts.
The fast play of the game allows for lots of tabletop and
group discussions about choices made and real alternatives
in the workplace. Images improve memory / retention.)

16. Maybe the MAIN debriefing theme is:
What might Mining
Gold represent to
our organization?

17. The game generates some amount of discord and
disagreement as to what are the best decisions.
Not everyone agreed and it was important for the team
to reach a consensus about what to do, where to go,
what to take and how much risk should be managed.
Disagreement is good if it ensures that we have looked
at things from a variety of perspectives.

18. And reaching agreement and making good decisions is
what will generate better teamwork, planning and results.
And we NEED agreement! We need everyone on board and feeling that
their ideas have been considered. Once we got agreement, teams can
better focus on getting things done: planning, trading, and executing.
AGREEMENT MEANS SHARED OWNERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT.

19. Things didn’t necessarily work smoothly. There was lots of “mud” on our
journey that made team progress difficult. Journeys never seem to be easy,
but talking about issues and opportunities is a key to improvement.

20. And there could be a lot of pressure on
team leadership for getting things done
more, better, and faster…

21. Employee engagement is an
experience to be lived
not a problem to be solved.
It’s really neat, getting to the Top,
one wonders if success will ever stop.
Collaboration is one real great key
as is planning things, it seems to me.
We see the goal, we see the top.
What pushes us to never stop?
We can easily talk about Motivation and Success

22. We often talk about organizational alignment and a collaborative culture and
the need to have shared goals and objectives.
All of the teams could have chosen to work together.
But they tend to choose to compete and not align themselves...

23. But remember, “My Team. My Team, My Team” and that
particular dynamic mentioned earlier…

24. What we NEED is a focus on teams and collaboration!

25. We hear
teams talk
about They.
And we hear
teams talk
about THEM:

26. So, what we talk about is that They and
Them are really US, and that teamwork
and collaboration offer benefits.

27. We could have worked together to execute the One Best Plan.
After all, this was NOT a race; we just had time limits. Our goal
was to Mine as much Gold as WE Can. We wanted to optimize
our results, but we did not mine all we could have…

28. But, Nah! And Yeeee
Haaaaa! Let’s Get ‘er
DONE and just have
some Fun!
So many teams just
took off flying toward
The Mine.
And it WAS Fun!

29. Chaos. Confusion. Reality!

30. So, after the play has ended and the gold has been mined, we
have the chance to sit by the fire and chat about what we could
have done, what we should have done and what we might
choose to do now that we are heading back to the workplace…

31. Heck, we might even notice
some NEW possibilities for
what we can choose to do!

32. Here are some
key slides
representing
possibilities for
discussions...

33. What did you
learn from
your
experience?

34. Let’s have a
Yeeee
Haaaaa!!
After all, we were here to have fun and learn something!

35. What kinds
of Mud
must we
deal with?

36. Expedition Leaders
can help teams
be more successful.
Why don’t teams
ask for
assistance?

37. What made this
exercise
energizing?

38. What can we
do to better
align our
teams to our
goals?

39. What can we change
to allow for better
collaboration within
our organization(s)?

40. Benefits of
Collaborating
are obvious.
Why do teams
compete?

41. In a flash flood,
each raindrop
will claim its
innocence.

42. Why are
Clear Goals
needed for
effective
leadership?

43. If the focus
is on survival,
can one really
focus on
success?

44. Competition:
An Issue of
Balance.

45. It’s ALL About
Teamwork
and Mining
Gold!

46. What might
I consider
doing
differently?
It is all about choice and choices;
we generate considered alternatives.

47. If it is to be,
it is up to me!

48. If not you,
who?
If not now,
when?

49. This was
Remember:
But it is also a great learning and discussion experience!
only
a game!

50. Have FUN
Out There!
Thanks for your time,
energy and thinking.
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