Day 4: OBS

Want to get to know your team mates better? Want to understand a better understanding of team dynamics?

There's probably no better place to do this than at Outward Bound Singapore. As part of the INSEAD orientation program, we participated in an action packed 1 day course to help us get to know our work group better.

The work group is a vital component of the first 2 periods as it's these very same people who you will sit next to in class and complete group assignments with. They are fixed whether you like them or not (the closest you'll get to INSEAD 'relatives').

I've always wondered how they group us. I know they're probably trying to create a diverse melting pot of backgrounds and experiences with each group. Does some complex algorithm do it for them or do they just draw names out of a hat?

Today was the first time I met my group and first impressions are looking positive given the way in which we successfully overcame each challenge that came our way. Hopefully we will continue to grow from strength to strength from this solid foundation we've built for ourselves. Beyond that, it was fascinating to get to know them a bit better and to dig into their backgrounds. Some of them are pretty amazing in their respective fields (ranging from Hospitality to Finance to Telecoms) and I'm looking forward to learning even more about them. 

Activities today included:

• "Find a tree" - The team tries to walk blindfolded back and forth between 2 trees ~15m apart after planning the route
• "Alpine Rescue" - Team tries to transport a "casualty" from point A to B by balancing on logs
• "Disc Push" - Team has to 'count down' by tapping various discs with letters/numbers/equations in descending order as quickly as possible
• "DDD aka the Nutcracker" - Team tries to climb up a ladder made of logs with rungs ~1.2-1.6m apart

I personally really enjoy OBS and think it's a great way to get to know people outside the normal confines of the classroom/academic setting. It's also been more than 10 years since I was last there as a participant and today's visit brought back some very fond memories of my 5-day sea expedition. Pity we can't do more of this as part of the course. Sure beats sitting in class listening to lectures all day!