Lifeboat Game Instructions: There are 15 people in a yacht. The yacht has developed a leak and is sinking fast. There is only one lifeboat and it will accommodate only 9 people; not one more can fit and there are no more life boats or life jackets. You must pick the 9 people who get to be saved. However, the 9 people you choose to save must be listed in order of importance, because if they run out of food and water, the less important people will be dumped overboard.
Questions: What problems did you experience? How did you resolve these issues? Was it the best way? How else could you have resolved your differences? Why did these problems occur in the first place? How does this exercise reflect your day-to-day relationships? What are the similarities between what you just experienced and negotiations at work and at home? After fully exploring these questions ask your team — or teams — to reconvene. This time they will list three things they would do differently now that they have had this discussion. Be sure to tell them that this follow-up exercise is not about the lifeboat or anyone on it — it is about the process of negotiation. Desired outcome: The critical take away here is that negotiation often fails because each participant wants to get his or her way. A better method may be to first learn the needs and intents of others. Understanding fosters a spirit of cooperation and therefore agreement. Use the three things each team determines they learned as a guide to create better understanding in future meetings and discussions.
Lifeboat Game People on the Yacht 1. A doctor. GP. He is addicted to drugs and very nervous. Aged 60. 2. A black Minister. Protestant. Age 27. 3. A Prostitute, no parents. She is an excellent nurse. Age 37. 4. A male criminal. Charged with murder. Strongest member in the yacht. Age 37. 5. A man mentally disturbed, who carries important government secrets in his head. Age 41. 6. An automatic washing machines salesman. Age 51. 7. A crippled boy, paralyzed since birth. He cannot use his hands, or do anything for him-self, so must be fed by others. Age 8. 9. A Jewish restaurant owner married with three children at home. Age 40. 10. A teacher considered one of the best in New York. Age 32. 11. A catholic Nun. Supervisor of a girl’s school. Age 46. 12. An unemployed man, formally a professor of literature. He has a great sense of humor, showed courage in the last war and was in a concentration camp for three years, age 53. 13. A married couple deeply in love, but yet no children. Both Irish. He is studying to be a pharmacist. Age 24. She is a housewife, helps with a playgroup. Age 21. 14. Pregnant woman, mother of two. Age 30. 15. Wealthy Wall Street banker. Age 48.
Who will you save? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.