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Search for the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine
Specifics of Play - Twists & Metaphors
Here are some details you might find of interest about how the Dutchman simulation works. Please note that there are many other applications. We've included over 200 possible debriefing questions in the resource information as well as engaging cartoon illustrations.
"Even with teamwork and personal strengths, it's hard to make progress when you're up to your axles in mud!"
Expedition Leader and Leadership
The stated role of the Expedition Leader (event facilitator) is, "to help the teams be successful and maximize total return on investment (ROI)." Teams are given $750 worth of resource cards (fuel, supplies, batteries, cash, spare tires, etc.), a vehicle, a map, and other materials. Additionally, they are offered the assistance of the Expedition Leader.
And as in all organizations, leadership is there to provide support and information.
But a reality of this game (and most organizations) is that, "Nobody Ever Asks The Expedition Leader for Advice."
Teams generally do not ask for assistance or help, only for clarification of the rules and permission to do things. They prefer to behave as "My Team, My Team, My Team!" as shown below:
So while the leader could give them advice, such as getting the "videotapes" (see below) or not getting a Spare Tire, teams rarely ask for assistance. This makes for interesting discussion in the post-game debrief. Leaders and others can often provide special guidance to maximize ROI and should be sought out by teams!
The "Videotapes" - Planning the Expedition...or not?
Before leaving the starting point, teams are told that they may view "videotapes" regarding two locations in the region. (These are not actual videotapes, but paper booklets or a plastic video cases containing the information.)
One "video" is about "The Mine and Its Gold" and the other is about "Tortilla Flat." And while this information is accurate, useful, informative and "free," it will cost a team one day of their total of 20 days to get either of these two pieces of information, or two days for both. Because this delays the teams initially if they select to view them, it requires team decision making regarding project planning.
Teams getting the Tortilla Flat Video discover that they have coupons that entitle them to a Turbocharger that can be obtained when they reach Tortilla Flat that will allow them to move two blocks per day on one Fuel Card...double the normal distance. The result is that they can reach the Mine at the same time as the other teams that may have started earlier, and they can leave 3 days later. Because they can return faster, this allows them to mine for 3 additional days and collect $9,000 more gold with no additional resource cost. It is a better way to do the same job!
The coupons received with the Tortilla Flat Video entitled them to 2 additional Turbos, with the instruction that they can be shared, traded, bartered or sold to other teams. The 2 additional Turbos are of no value to this team unless they are shared, whereby they allow another team to also mine an additional 3 days. Hoarding them serves only to reduce the potential overall Return on Investment (ROI) of the entire Expedition.
Most of the time, teams do not share the Turbos with others, thus denying two more teams the opportunity to mine 3 additional days each. The impact is to reduce the Expedition's total gold mined by $18,000 (6 gold cards worth $3,000 each!). Often, measured results in Lost Dutchman will show teams suboptimizing results by as much as 40% because they compete, when they otherwise might collaborate and share ideas.
It is our common finding that better ideas for getting the job done usually exist in the workplace, and that these ideas can have a significant impact on the overall financial performance of the organization.
Motivating and Energizing Teams
One of the debriefing themes of our workshops focuses on motivating people. Despite the fact that there are few tangible rewards in the Dutchman exercise, teams get seriously involved. We ask participants to discuss some of the factors involved in motivating adult performance. The resulting discussion highlights such factors as setting time limits, establishing clear goals, providing sufficient resources, offering leadership support, defining clear roles, having peer support, measuring results, and a number of other themes. This discussion frequently provides a catalyst for later discussions about potential workplace changes that can increase motivation, teamwork and results.
"What does Mining Gold mean in our organization" is one of the many interesting discussion themes for debrief that will stimulate a discussion of the real issues related to suboptimizing systems, processes, and procedures as well as opportunities for improvement and implementation. The energy generated in the exercise is thus directly transferred to real issues and problems. Participants see the impact of excessive interdepartmental competitiveness and the effects of not sharing information and ideas.
There are other lessons highlighted by the exercise that make it a powerful discovery tool. The simulation's extensive resources include a set of our Square Wheels topics (with metaphors of mud, alligators, spectator sheep, etc.) as slide masters as well as more than 100 proven debriefing ideas.
Clear Themes
Teams want to complete the mission and mine as much gold as they can to succeed. In The Search for The Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, we supply them with sufficient resources and all the information they need to plan the task, manage the activity and finish successfully. Dutchman is motivating and engaging, and many of the principles of high-performance teams can be easily demonstrated, such as:
- Setting clear goals and missions
- Taking sufficient time to plan and to observe the results of the planning
- Understanding the rules and the structures
- Establishing time limits
- Having measureable and visible indicators of success and removing the fear of failure
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Practicing teamwork, shared risk, and mutual reward
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Promoting open communication and sharing of information
- Building ownership of the problem and the implementation
- and much, much more...
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