In this exciting activity, participants face a simulated "jungle
survival." They must reach agreement in this imaginary setting in
order to succeed, and they learn why consensus produces the best
decisions.

"You are a volunteer on an expedition to South America to study the
tropical flora. Your base camp is a small village near the river
city of Manaus, Brazil. Today is a free day and you and a few other
expedition members have decided to visit, unannounced, a mutual
friend who is working as a medical assistant in a remote village in
the Amazon. Because there is no road, you hire a small plane to fly
you over the rain forest jungle to reach your destination and
return. Before you left the airport in Manaus, the pilot filed
details of your flight plan with local authorities, as required.
The plane took off as soon as the rain had stopped early this
morning...."--excerpted from Adventure in the Amazon

When the plane makes an emergency landing in the jungle,
participants need to decide which of 15 items on the
plane--including tallow candles, a pistol, safari hats, and
other objects--would be most essential to their survival.
First, as individuals, participants rate the 15 items. Then
participants collaborate as a group and attempt to decide on the
best course of action. When they cooperate, they experience the
spark of synergy as never before!

Use this gripping simulation to:

* Improve decision-making skills

* Enhance problem-solving abilities

* Strengthen group cooperation

* Show groups the power of synergy?and much more!

The Leader?s Guide includes everything one needs to know about
conducting this activity--including preparation, facilitation,
and follow-up instructions. The activity leader does not need to be
a skilled facilitator. Any team member, team leader, or manager can
conduct the activity.

No one wants to write a team "pep talk" that could fall flat. Human
resource professionals, team leaders, and managers piloting a team
development effort, will want to conduct this refreshing activity
with their groups and teams in any work setting.

Get one copy of the Activity booklet for each participant!

What is a consensus activity?

A consensus activity is an experiential learning activity in which
participants are faced with a simulated problem. Participants
receive a series of questions that require them to decide on a
course of action. First, participants answer these questions
individually. Then they collaborate and make collective judgments.
When the "answers" to the questions are revealed, the collective
judgments are usually superior to those arrived at
individually.

Why conduct a consensus activity?

A consensus activity is the most powerful introduction to the
concept of synergy. Plus these activities are fun and irresistibly
involving!

Groups are greater than the sum of their parts. Each member of a
group has a small piece of knowledge. When group members exchange
these "fragments," they find that collectively they have a huge
body of knowledge. Therefore, they are almost always more
successful when they heed advice and solicit opinions. Groups or
teams that experience a consensus activity become more
collaborative, more productive?and smarter!