April 18, 2006
MBAs Rise to the Toothpick Challenge
By Laura Griffin

What do a sequined purse, a broken calculator, a paperclip and a live acoustic guitar performance have in common? MBA students acquired each of these things by bartering toothpicks. Yes, toothpicks.

At the MBA Toothpick Challenge sponsored by the Plus Program March 29, about 25 MBA students had the opportunity to examine business strategy and communication techniques and apply them to real-life activities.

Specialists from two “learning experience” companies— Keith Lewis, MBA ’90 and president of To Point B; and Blair Steinbach, coach for On the Mark—led the event by using a unique hybrid of their companies’ accelerated learning programs to illustrate negotiation lessons in the real world.

One such exercise was the “Toothpick Excursion” where teams of three were given a toothpick and instructed to go out into the world and trade up to items of the higher value.

Tom King, MBA ’07, approached strangers and tried to convince them of the value of the toothpick. He had the bright idea to ask people for things that would fix the broken items they received to make them more valuable. For example, King asked specifically for a wristband or tools to fix a watch.

King’s team also decided to only approach people who were carrying large bags, which would be more likely to contain more items to trade.

After an hour of scavenging and bargaining, each team dumped its earnings on a loot table. The most unique object that returned? King’s team convinced a musician named Jason Feller to bring his guitar and harmonica back to the seminar and perform a song in exchange for some of the group’s other bartered holdings.

Other teams also returned with authentic Oakley sunglasses, a pair of sandals, several pens and highlighters, a cell phone without a SIM card, and candy bars, among other things.

To close the event, the students reflected on their effective strategies, and the mistakes they made.

One strategy that worked for teams was targeting specific areas such as an apartment complex or parking lot, where they knew they would find people who surely had to have an unwanted item in their apartment or car.

“We targeted retail stores and just explained our situation to them, and they were sympathetic,” said Arturo de la Rosa, MBA ’07. “The problem was that they all closed right in the middle of the challenge. We were kind of stranded.”

Steinbach concluded the event with an uplifting final thought: “If you could obtain all of this with just five toothpicks, think of what you can do with your education and with your life.”