Stop Playing Volleyball, Start Try-Storming

Corporate offsites love their rituals.

Volleyball on the beach. Cocktail-making contests. Murder mysteries.

Fun? Absolutely.

Alignment? Not so much.

Because here’s the catch: bonding creates connection, but it rarely creates clarity.

And when Monday morning rolls around, those beach high-fives don’t tell you what to prioritize, how to resolve trade-offs, or where your strategy is still fuzzy.

That’s where try-storming comes in.

Think of it as the grown-up cousin of brainstorming—less about wild ideas, more about trying perspectives on for size. Through structured play, you stress-test assumptions, surface misalignments, and co-create clarity.

A Few Try-Storming Games I Swear By

Here are few of my favorites that actually steer alignment instead of just filling flipcharts:

🔹 Cover Story

Design the front page of a future magazine celebrating your success. The “headline” your team writes reveals what each person believes winning looks like. Misalignments surface immediately.

🔹 Anti-Problem

Instead of solving your challenge, solve its opposite. Want to improve customer retention? Try designing the best strategy to lose them. The absurdity breaks patterns—and often points to the real barriers.

🔹 Sailboat

Draw a sailboat on the sea. The wind = what propels you forward. The anchors = what’s holding you back. Suddenly everyone sees the forces shaping progress—not just their corner of the deck.

🔹 30 Circles (a warm-up that packs a punch)

Hand out a sheet with 30 blank circles. Give people three minutes to turn as many circles as possible into objects. Watch creativity—or lack of it—become visible. It’s a simple diagnostic of whether your team defaults to safe or stretches into possibility.

Why Try-Storming Works

• From bonding to building. Trust comes from shared struggle, not just shared drinks.

• From ideas to insight. Brainstorming piles on more. Try-storming tests what matters.

• From alignment theater to alignment in motion. You don’t just nod—you negotiate meaning together.

The Bigger Point

Play matters. But when it comes to strategy, execution, or culture—you need the right kind of play. Not volleyballs and blindfolds. Structured try-storming games that sharpen clarity, build ownership, and leave you with more than a group photo.

Because alignment isn’t a vibe.

It’s a practice.

And if you’re serious about building momentum, stop settling for beach bonding. Start try-storming.

👉 What’s the most powerful game or exercise you’ve used to unlock real alignment?