Not Just Another Class

Today was the first day of our "Managing People in Technology Companies" class. It started out just like all the others...people trickling in just before 8:00AM yawning, talking, or stumbling around.

Here is a picture of the classroom (at the UW campus in Seattle) before everyone got there - just so you see what I usually look at for 9 hours on Saturdays.



The class got off to a grand start - this professor really knows what he is doing. We discussed many aspects of leadership until lunch at 12:45. Then the game began - yes, a game.


We had to get our team to the mountains, across the desert to mine gold. We had one camel that could carry 1000 lbs and $1,000 to do it with.


The team



The Map



The competition was fierce.



The pace was frantic.



We were ahead! Everyone was jealous.



But then disaster struck - we realized we barely had enough food to get home. We had almost given up hope. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Dan saved the day with a bold plan to go through the Tomb of the Kings. The weather was on our side and we made it home.




Others weren't as lucky. Ryan and John discuss exactly what happened to the yellow team...they died in the desert.




We came home with the least amount of gold, but we lived. Rob's team beat the overachievers and they were very proud. What better way to celebrate than Swedish fish?



Or - a custom made jelly bean combo by Janelle. We dared Aaron to eat it - he did.



Amir - "the Angster"



Lessons Learned:

• planning is essential
• additional knowledge can be well worth the time to gather
• having a camera handy is a good idea
• the opportunity cost of the seemingly "cheaper" route can actually make it the most expensive one
• listen to Dan
• don't assume that the most obvious resource problem is truly the most critical one
• don't volunteer to be the camel driver because they make you wear a silly hat (notice I didn't post pictures of me in the hat)