A Whitewater Rafting Expedition Fraught with Risk!

The Backstory

We needed to come up with a way to engage employees in mandated compliance training (that they had to take every year). We needed to do something drastic because no one was actually listening to it anymore. It was the same course, and looked the same, so they logically assumed they knew everything it said -- though the content did change and certain issues were highlighted depending on recent concerns. We had tried live training, and that did lower quality issues -- but not enough.

So, I was tasked with developing a web-based interactive course. I decided to do a whitewater rafting trip in choose your own adventure style. This was the best way for me to determine how people were, when faced with similar but slightly different choices, actually mitigating risks in their decision-making. It also allowed me to teach the thinking processes involved and the cognitive networking that is vital to risk mitigation. If I could create a cognitive baseline of decision-making, then I could root sound decision making process tools to that. The only way to ensure all our people would make the most sound choices when dealing with suppliers was to level the field, then clarify the process and tools to follow it. Essentially, I could translate that into their actual daily decision-making processes.

Once cognitively, in decision-making mode, everyone was on the same page – and that page was one that was going to mitigate the most risks when human lives were at stake – I was able to create a training program for risk mitigation that people actually wanted to take, did take, and were glad they took. Subsequently, we saw procurement quality rise to over 90%, we reduced errors by over 80%.

With those wins in our corner, we decided the best course forward would be to actually incorporate this in the onboarding (new-hire) training. And then we realized the new hire training was all over the place and half of it wouldn't make sense to new hires (because they wouldn't know all the acronyms, terminology, and had nothing to apply the information to). So I decided to reimagine the onboarding training. With this course as the pilot, I developed Boeing Integrated Defense Systems supplier management & procurement onboarding training system. Other departments saw what we were doing, and saw the gains, and they requested our core training group do the same for them. As a result, I adapted the interactive, choice-based metaphorical learning modules to each department – from IT to engineering to secret systems.

The course: While the visuals and information are proprietary, I can give you the general idea.

Start: Choose your rafting team! Three people will fit on your raft with you, and the two guides. The other three will go with your coworker in their raft.

Willow - A peace-loving, tree-hugging, nature fanatic who is known for her animal whispering abilities. She is wise in the world of nature. She is 5'8" and has a slight, lanky build. She prefers yoga and meditation over going to the gym. She talks softly, moves slowly, and gets distracted easily. She has a satchel made of hemp with 7 granola bars, one bag of emergency bird and squirrel food, and some crayons. She is currently squatting on the ground, enraptured by a snail trekking over a leaf.

Biff - A strong ex-college football tackle, he is now a competitive body-builder for the 25-30 age bracket. He is almost always at the gym, has a strict diet composed mostly of synthetic supplements and protein/energy shakes, and knows each muscle's name by heart. That is almost all he knows, however. He has had a string of relationships with models who have all left him because, "he never listened." He is 6'0", and can lift a small car with one arm. He is currently using the car windows as a mirror and posing.

Pat - A middle-aged stay-at-home parent, Pat spends most days wrangling the four kids. Pat is here due to a mental-health directive from the family therapist to "take a break and recharge." Pat looks exhausted, but at the same time seems to notice every single thing that happens and runs over to make sure everything is ok. Pat is 5'11" and has an average build. Pat enjoys watching World Poker Tour and coaching the school's Chess Club. Pat is currently asking one of the guides 472 questions about every possible thing that might happen on the rafting trip.

Kylieie - A 17 year old teenager at "Street Camp" due to being kicked out of school for "inappropriate activities." This trip is part of her "community rehab" assignment. She is Goth, is interested in absolutely nothing. She recently scored higher than anyone at her school on the ACT. She is tiny and only 5'3" but her black long sleeves are strangely bulging with her huge arm muscles, and she seems to like using those muscles to throw things and break things. She has not removed her dark sunglasses this whole time, and when anyone tries to talk to her, she looks at them in annoyance and replies with a whispered obscenity. She is currently taking large rocks and using them to smash the heavy metal trash cans with a loud, "HELLLL YEAAHHHHHH" every time she makes another dent.

Mr. Jones - A 42 year old math teacher from Debuke. He is 6'4", ematiated, and a 10K runner. He owns every Star Wars movie on VHS and DVD and Blu-Ray. He has beaten every video game ever made - twice. He talks a lot, mainly about differential equations and noticing sine wave patterns in the sandy shore and the feathers of a nearby owl. After staring at his "audience" like a honeybadger with a snake, he sighs, and seems genuinely indignant at their inability to follow what he's saying. He has a serious expression, always, and doesn't smile. Mr. Jones is currently waiting impatiently for a reply from Pat about his theory on exponential functions graphing (his arms are crossed as he looks disdainfully down at Pat over his taped-together 1970's glasses).

Leon - A 31 year old auto mechanic from a town with a population of 117. Leon is about 6 foot but his shoulders are slightly hunched so he seems shorter. He has a medium build and used to wrestle in high school. He is friendly and appears happy-go-lucky. He has gone up and introduced himself to everyone and asked how they were on this fine day. He watches sports on TV when he can, and has worked at the same repair shop since he was 19 - ten hours a day and only ever took Sundays off so he could go to church. He is married and has two kids, but his wife took them to the fair so he could get away for a day. Ask anyone in town about Leon, they'll say he's the nicest fella you'll ever meet--and the best darn mechanic in the tri-state area. He is currently trying to calm Kylieie down and get her to go to church with his family on Sunday.

After you choose, you all get in the raft, listen to the guide's instructions, and push off.

Along the way, several "crises" happen from weather, losing air, and tipping over in rapids to losing several oars and encountering a large grizzly bear while beached. There are team member factors to consider beyond strength, from weight balance to personality types meshing. In a crises, what would each bring to the table? How does that get enhanced or deprecated based on the others on the raft? Integrating conflict, communication, and raw skill or ability, the "player" must decide continually how to handle it with who they chose.

Depending on the raft team member choices, the team either complements one another, or doesn't. Each member has risks associated with them, the key is to combine them so there are the fewest combined and overall risks. Each decision tree fork mirrors one in the risk mitigation flow chart. And only certain team combo + decision fork combos will cause your group to make it to the end without having to be rescued. You can replay as many times as you want and see what happens with different teams.

Metrics & Medals:

Stats for key decision points = % of risk decision making competence

Stats for team success = % successful and your percentile amongst coworkers

Stats for repeated plays = 100% of employees played it 1-2 more times, 50% played more than 3 times

Measured % quality, on time, etc (normal quality metrics) and created algorithm to see correlation with training stats. Those who played two times direct corellation with increase in quality.