A team decision-making exercise that scores the conversation
Lost at sea, in the desert, in the arctic: the survival ranking exercise has been the standard consensus activity for decades because it works. Ranking keeps the exercise and removes the part that made it hard to run: the scoring. Individual answers, team answers and the synergy score are on the leaderboard the moment the last person submits.
- Leadership development
- Decision-making and consensus workshops
- Management training
- Team off-sites
What you run
The game that does this
Ranking
Rank it alone, then as a team. The synergy score shows what the conversation added.
- In the room
- Online
- Phone or laptop
- Your own content
Ranking
4 – 500 participants · 30 – 45 min + debrief · 8 credits per participant
Three scenarios — Lost in the Ocean, Lost in the Desert and Lost in the Arctic — or any list of your own: product priorities, leadership qualities, the steps of a process. Everyone answers individually first, then as a team, and the difference is the measure of how well the group decides together.
Everything about RankingHow the session goes
Before, during, after
Step 1
Before
Pick the scenario and create the session. Rehearse it once so you know where the individual and team phases switch. Decide the team size; four to six people gives the richest discussion.
Step 2
During
Phase one, everyone ranks alone on their phone, in silence. Phase two, the team agrees one ranking. Keep the time tight; pressure is part of the exercise. Submit, and the leaderboard shows individual scores, the team score and the synergy score.
Step 3
After
Teams with a positive synergy score decided better together than alone; teams with a negative one let someone's confidence outrank the group's knowledge. That is the whole debrief, and everyone can see their own number.
Debrief
Questions that turn the game into learning
- 1Whose individual ranking was better than the team's? Did the team hear that person?
- 2How did you resolve disagreements: by argument, by vote, by giving in?
- 3What would a better process have looked like with the same people?
- 4Where in your work does the loudest view win over the best view?
What it costs
240 credits = $240
30 participants × 8 credits for Ranking, for the exercise and debrief, about 60 minutes in total. Your rehearsal is free.
- Sessions with up to 2 participants are free
- 100 free credits when you sign up
- You pay only for the people who actually join
Questions
Is the survival scenario the only option?
No. Ranking runs the same individual-then-team mechanic on any list you bring, so the exercise can be about your own priorities. That is included, not an add-on.
How is the synergy score calculated?
The platform compares each person's ranking and the team's ranking with the expert ranking. The synergy score is the gap between the average individual result and the team result, so a positive number means the team did better together.
Does it work online?
Yes. Participants rank on the laptop they are already on, or on their phone, and teams discuss in breakout rooms or in the main call.
Rehearse it for free before your first real group
Sign up in two minutes, get 100 free credits, and rehearse any game as often as you like — sessions with up to 2 participants are always free.