The escape room — us, and a few other random people.
I took a few of my team on a business trip to see a customer. After the meeting, we decided to do an escape room — us, plus a few other random people who got dropped into our group.
Here's the thing that made it work: the strangers. A team problem, solved with people who aren't on the team. And we had a blast.
This is what makes teams work — shared experiences. Not the scheduled stuff. The unplanned, slightly absurd challenge you solve together, with whoever happens to be in the room.
An escape room is a microcosm: a locked room, a clock counting down, and a group of people who have to figure it out together. Nobody cares about your title in there. Everyone's just trying to get out.
Add strangers, and it's even better. You drop the "how we do things" and just solve the puzzle. The shared experience isn't the escape — it's the doing-it-together, with people you didn't choose.
It's the kind of time I hope to never forget. And it's the thing no org chart or all-hands ever builds.
Until the next run out — work hard, play hard.