Da bimbo abitavo a Milano in una casa con un grande cortile. Ragazzini, invece di giocare alla “guerra” o con le automobiline, giocavamo a costruire palazzi, castelli, treni, aerei e quant’altro la fantasia ci suggerisse con i mattoncini bianchi e rossi della Lego, facevamo team building tra noi, ma non lo sapevamo… Circolavano, anche allora, mattoncini di contrabbando di altra marche, ma non erano belli, funzionanti e sempre perfetti come quelli della casa danese. Inoltre, all’epoca, non esistevano le confezioni con il gioco precostruito e multicolore come oggi (treni, aerei, case e altro pronti in scatola solo da assemblare), quindi tutto era affidato alla nostra fantasia e creatività.
My friend Roberto, the more technical one, used to build very tall, square houses equipped with elevators, fire escapes, and other technological gadgets; I built “revolutionary” houses with shapes that were not always orthodox but strictly followed color schemes (only white or only red, never mixed); other children built simple or elaborate houses depending on their skills and imagination.
Today Roberto is an established engineer, I am a versatile artist dedicated to training, and the others… who knows.
All this serves to highlight that construction—whether with bricks, cardboard, wood, electrical, or mechanical—significantly helps the team develop creativity and the discovery of the “unknown,” solve problems as they arise, and respect deadlines, forms, and results.
Nei format da noi proposti ci adoperiamo affinché il team si organizzi, si confronti e, soprattutto, si esprima creativamente nella realizzazione del manufatto.
Construction incorporates all the functional components of a company. The team must design and create something that works. It must face the setbacks and issues that construction entails. It must organize itself. It must communicate effectively internally. It must know how to evaluate the ideas and variations proposed by each participant. In some cases, teams have a budget they can or must spend to purchase the materials needed to create the work. The negotiation aspect is also significant: teams can exchange objects, tools, and materials with each other. In just a few hours, the dynamics present in a company can be effectively recreated.
I format sono molteplici.
We start with the construction of cars, tanks, planes, cardboard boats, bridges or towers made of pasta, interior architecture with bricks, and social constructions such as small wind turbines or rockets that use solar panels to function. Construction with fruit, fabric, and recycled materials is also effectively offered. The latest addition (to the food and wine family) is the Happy Hour: mixing a completely new cocktail, giving it a name, and inventing its story by creating a short commercial produced by the entire team.
All formats involve a degree of competitiveness between teams (races, regattas, tallest towers, etc.), although in bridge building, I like to “connect” all the structures built by each team to symbolize the collective work of everyone and the entire company. Another advantage of “building” is that it does not involve “putting oneself on the line” personally as happens in other formats (theater, cinema, spy stories, rugby, etc.). I mean that the team expresses itself through the object it creates. Therefore, even the most “shy” individuals have the opportunity to communicate and show their skills without having to undergo a public “examination” afterward. In the carton boat challenge, for example, not the whole team gets on the boat for the final regatta. But the entire group must participate actively in the design and construction of the boat. It is like a Formula One team. From the driver to the last technician, everyone is functional to the race. In “building” formats, I tend to eliminate corporate roles, bringing all participants to the same level. To offer everyone the opportunity to express themselves freely.
Cesare Gallarini
