ILDC Exercise

Michael Dean just went through the Army Intern Leadership Development Course. I took it two years ago. It is basically a set of personality tests and group exercises that teach you how to approach group dynamics and relate to your co-workers. The ice breaker exercise looks like this:

A businessman had just turned off the lights in the store when a man appeared and demanded money. The owner opened a cash register. The contents of the cash register were scooped up, and the man sped away. A member of the police force was notified promptly.

1. A man appeared after the owner had turned off his store lights.
2. The robber was a man
3. The man did not demand money.
4. The man who opened the cash register was the owner.
5. The store owner scooped up the contents of the cash register and ran away.
6. Someone opened the cash register
7. After the man who demanded the money scooped up the contents of the cash register, he ran away.
8. While the cash register contained money, the story does not state how much.
9. The robber demanded money of the owner.
10. The story concerns a series of events in which only three persons are referred to; the owner of the store, a man who demanded money, and a member of the police force.
11. The following events in the story are true; someone demanded money, a cash register was opened, it's contents were scooped up, and a man dashed out of the store.

Michael has the answers up here.

The fun part is that in the context of the course, the answers don't matter. The real objective is to get people working together in groups and then analyze their behavior. I basically took charge in my group which some people liked and others thought was too high-handed. But we got the right answers and were done in record time which was my objective. As the course went on and we got to know each other, I stepped back from leadership. We bickered more and got less done, but people weren't mad at me. Besides completing exercises is meaningless because the course is completely process oriented anyway.