Several years ago here at TED, Peter Skillman introduced a design challenge called the marshmallow challenge. And the idea's pretty simple: Teams of four have to build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string and a marshmallow. The marshmallow has to be on top. And, though it seems really simple, it's actually pretty hard because it forces people to collaborate very quickly. And so, I thought this was an interesting idea, and I incorporated it into a design workshop. And it was a huge success. And since then, I've conducted about 70 design workshops across the world with students and designers and architects, even the CTOs of the Fortune 50, and there's something about this exercise that reveals very deep lessons about the nature of collaboration, and I'd like to share some of them with you.
數年前,Peter Skillman 在 TED 這邊 介紹了一個設計競賽, 稱之為「棉花糖挑戰」。 它的概念非常的簡單, 一組四人的團隊,必須建造出最高的、能自我支撐的結構, 只能使用廿根義大利麵、 一碼長的膠帶、一碼長的細繩、 跟一顆棉花糖。 棉花糖必須在頂端。 然而,雖然看起來非常的簡單,實際上它的難度非常高, 因為它強迫人們 非常迅速的合作。 因此我認為這是個非常有趣的主意, 並將之包含在一個設計研習活動中, 活動非常的成功。 從那時開始,我已經在全世界 舉辦了大約七十場的設計研討會, 研討會參與成員包括學生、設計師與建築師, 甚至名列財富雜誌前五十大企業的首席技術長。 關於這個活動的一些事物 揭露了關於合作本質上的 一些非常深層的課題, 而我希望能夠與你們分享其中的一部分。
So, normally, most people begin by orienting themselves to the task. They talk about it, they figure out what it's going to look like, they jockey for power. Then they spend some time planning, organizing, they sketch and they lay out spaghetti. They spend the majority of their time assembling the sticks into ever-growing structures. And then finally, just as they're running out of time, someone takes out the marshmallow, and then they gingerly put it on top, and then they stand back, and -- ta-da! -- they admire their work. But what really happens, most of the time, is that the "ta-da" turns into an "uh-oh," because the weight of the marshmallow causes the entire structure to buckle and to collapse.
所以,一般來說,多數人從 引導他們進入任務目標開始著手。 他們談論它,嘗試弄清最後的結構將會看起來是什麼樣子, 他們嘗試掌握權力, 然後他們花部份時間在計劃、組織上。 他們快速描繪出結構,將義大利麵攤開, 他們絕大多數的時間花在 將義大利麵條組合在一個不斷擴張的結構上, 直到最後,就在他們快要來不及的時候, 某人將棉花糖拿了出來, 然後他們小心翼翼將它放在頂端, 然後他們退後一步,嗒啦! 他們仰望著他們的成果。 但事實上所發生的是,大多數時候, 那個「嗒啦」變成了「啊哦」, 因為棉花糖的重量導致整個結構 彎曲然後崩潰。
So there are a number of people who have a lot more "uh-oh" moments than others, and among the worst are recent graduates of business school. (Laughter) They lie, they cheat, they get distracted and they produce really lame structures. And of course there are teams that have a lot more "ta-da" structures, and among the best are recent graduates of kindergarten. (Laughter) And it's pretty amazing. As Peter tells us, not only do they produce the tallest structures, but they're the most interesting structures of them all.
然而有些人, 他們發出「啊哦」的次數遠比其他人要來的多, 其中最糟糕的是剛從商學院畢業的社會新鮮人。 (笑聲) 他們不誠實、作弊、容易分心, 他們所建造的結構不堪入目。 當然有些隊伍, 他們擁有「嗒啦」結構的機率高得多, 其中最棒的是,剛剛從幼稚園畢業的小朋友。 (笑聲) 這相當不可思議。 就像彼得告訴我們的一樣, 他們不但可以做出最高的結構, 他們所建出來的也是所有結構當中最有趣的。
So the question you want to ask is: How come? Why? What is it about them? And Peter likes to say that none of the kids spend any time trying to be CEO of Spaghetti, Inc. Right? They don't spend time jockeying for power. But there's another reason as well. And the reason is that business students are trained to find the single right plan, right? And then they execute on it. And then what happens is, when they put the marshmallow on the top, they run out of time and what happens? It's a crisis. Sound familiar? Right. What kindergarteners do differently is that they start with the marshmallow, and they build prototypes, successive prototypes, always keeping the marshmallow on top, so they have multiple times to fix when they build prototypes along the way. Designers recognize this type of collaboration as the essence of the iterative process. And with each version, kids get instant feedback about what works and what doesn't work.
所以,現在你想要問: 怎麼可能?為什麼?關於他們是怎麼回事? 彼得總是喜歡這麼說: 「這些孩子們中沒有一個花時間在 嘗試擔任義大利麵有限公司的執行總裁。」是的, 他們不花時間在爭取權利。 但是除此之外還有另一個原因, 那是因為商學院學生被訓練成 找出唯一「正確」的計劃,對吧, 然後他們針對計劃執行。 然後發生的事情是,當他們將棉花糖放到頂端, 他們已經沒有時間了,接下來發生什麼事呢? 那是個危機。 聽起來很耳熟?是的。 幼稚園小朋友不同的地方在於, 他們從棉花糖本身開始著手, 然後他們建構測試版本的結構,不斷地進行測試, 總是保持棉花糖在頂端, 所以他們一路上有許多機會修正建構不良的測試結構。 設計師們認為反覆的過程 是這類型合作所需要的本質。 伴隨著每一個版本,孩子們得到即時的回應, 學到了什麼可行,哪些又不可行。
So the capacity to play in prototype is really essential, but let's look at how different teams perform. So the average for most people is around 20 inches; business schools students, about half of that; lawyers, a little better, but not much better than that, kindergarteners, better than most adults. Who does the very best? Architects and engineers, thankfully. (Laughter) Thirty-nine inches is the tallest structure I've seen. And why is it? Because they understand triangles and self-reinforcing geometrical patterns are the key to building stable structures. So CEOs, a little bit better than average, but here's where it gets interesting. If you put you put an executive admin. on the team, they get significantly better. (Laughter) It's incredible. You know, you look around, you go, "Oh, that team's going to win." You can just tell beforehand. And why is that? Because they have special skills of facilitation. They manage the process, they understand the process. And any team who manages and pays close attention to work will significantly improve the team's performance. Specialized skills and facilitation skills are the combination that leads to strong success. If you have 10 teams that typically perform, you'll get maybe six or so that have standing structures.
因此擁有嘗試原型版本的機會是非常基本且重要的, 現在讓我們來看看不同隊伍們的表現吧。 大多數人的平均結構高度是大約廿英吋, 商學院的學生是大約那個數字的一半, 律師,好一點點,但也沒有好到哪裡去, 幼稚園小朋友,比絕大多數的成年人要好。 誰做得最好? 建築師跟工程師,謝天謝地。 (笑聲) 我所親眼見過最高的結構是 39 英吋。 為什麼他們可以達到那個高度?因為他們了解 三角形及其它能夠自我重新強化穩定的幾何構造 是建造穩定結構的 關鍵。 執行總裁們,稍微比平均好一點。 但是有趣的在這邊, 如果你在他們的團隊中加入行政管理人員, 他們的表現顯著進步。 (笑聲) 非常不可置信。你知道的,當你環顧四處,你會知道,「喔,那隊伍將會勝利。」 你可以在事前就看得出來,為什麼? 因為他們擁有輔助 的特殊才能。 他們管理程序,他們也了解程序。 而任何一隊,能夠管理 並且專注於工作上的 將會顯著的提昇團隊的表現。 專業的技能與輔助的才華, 是邁向重大成功的組合。 如果你讓十個隊伍進行這個活動, 最後大約會有六個左右的隊伍,他們的成果能夠穩定的站立。
And I tried something interesting. I thought, let's up the ante, once. So I offered a 10,000 dollar prize of software to the winning team. So what do you think happened to these design students? What was the result? Here's what happened: Not one team had a standing structure. If anyone had built, say, a one inch structure, they would have taken home the prize. So, isn't that interesting? That high stakes have a strong impact. We did the exercise again with the same students. What do you think happened then? So now they understand the value of prototyping. So the same team went from being the very worst to being among the very best. They produced the tallest structures in the least amount of time. So there's deep lessons for us about the nature of incentives and success.
然後我嘗試了某件有趣的事, 我想著,讓我們提高賭注一次看看。 因此我懸賞等同市值一萬美元的軟體給第一名的隊伍。 你認為這些設計學生們最後怎麼了? 結果如何? 結果就是這樣。 沒有一個隊伍的成果是站著的。 如果有任何一個隊伍建出,不管,一英吋的高度也好, 他們就能夠將獎品帶回家的。 所以,看到高賭注所帶來的 強大影響力很有趣吧? 當我們對同樣一群學生再進行一次這個活動的時候, 你認為會發生什麼事? 現在他們知道了建造測試結構的重要性, 因此原本是表現最差的那個隊伍, 成為了領先群之一。 他們在最短的時間內,建造出了最高的結構之一。 因此,這裡有個值得我們大家學習的深度課題, 那就是關於獎勵與成功的本質。
So, you might ask: Why would anyone actually spend time writing a marshmallow challenge? And the reason is, I help create digital tools and processes to help teams build cars and video games and visual effects. And what the marshmallow challenge does is it helps them identify the hidden assumptions. Because, frankly, every project has its own marshmallow, doesn't it? The challenge provides a shared experience, a common language, a common stance to build the right prototype. And so, this is the value of the experience, of this so simple exercise.
因此,你也許想問: 為什麼會有人真的花時間設計這個「棉花糖挑戰」? 理由是,我幫忙創造 數位工具和程序, 以用來幫助團隊們建造汽車、電玩與 視覺特效。 而「棉花糖挑戰」所做的是, 它幫助了他們找出那些「隱藏的假設」。 因為,坦白說, 每一個計劃都有屬於它們自己的「棉花糖」,難道不是嗎? 這個挑戰提供了一個共享的經驗, 一個共通的語言, 同樣的立場去建造出正確的原型版本。 因此,這就是體驗的價值, 藉由一個如此簡單的活動。
And those of you who are interested may want to go to MarshmallowChallenge.com. It's a blog that you can look at how to build the marshmallows. There's step-by-step instructions on this. There are crazy examples from around the world of how people tweak and adjust the system. There's world records that are on this as well.
在眾的各位如果有興趣的, 可能會想去 marshmallowchallenge.com 網站看看。 那是個部落格,在那邊你可以讀到 如何建造「棉花糖挑戰」。 那邊有關於這方面的詳細步驟指引, 還有來自世界各地的瘋狂例子, 你可以看到人們是如何最這個系統進行調整與細部修正, 那邊也有這個活動的世界紀錄。
And the fundamental lesson, I believe, is that design truly is a contact sport. It demands that we bring all of our senses to the task, and that we apply the very best of our thinking, our feeling and our doing to the challenge that we have at hand. And sometimes, a little prototype of this experience is all that it takes to turn us from an "uh-oh" moment to a "ta-da" moment. And that can make a big difference.
我認為,最基本的一課是, 設計事實上是 一種接觸性的運動。 它要求我們用上我們所有的感官來進行任務, 還要我們用上我們最高度的思考, 我們的感覺與我們的行動, 來挑戰我們手中所有的東西。 而且,有時,關於這個體驗的一個小小原型, 就足夠轉變 我們的「啊哦」時刻變成「嗒啦」的一刻。 那可以造成非常大的不同。
Thank you very much.
非常謝謝各位。
(Applause)
(掌聲)