Instructor Resource
Neck, Neck, & Murray, Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset
SAGE Publications, 2018
1
Experiential Exercises
Chapter 11: Learning From Failure
Source: Adapted from Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (p.
125–130), by H. Neck, P. Greene, & C. Brush, 2014, Northampton, MA: Elgar
Exercise: Marshmallow Tower
Description
Groups of students compete to see who can build the tallest freestanding structure supporting a
marshmallow on top out of 20 pieces of spaghetti, three feet of tape and three feet of string. This
exercise is used to illustrate that under conditions of uncertainty, entrepreneurs rely on
experimentation and iterative learning. Students are often taught and are familiar with traditional
methods of planning and analysis, which work well in stable environments where the future is
Materials List
Create a kit for each team (about four people per team), with each kit containing 20 sticks of
spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. These ingredients
should be placed into a paper lunch bag or manila envelope (excluding the masking tape), which
simplifies distribution and hides the contents, maximizing the element of surprise. The masking
Instructor Resource
Neck, Neck, & Murray, Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset
SAGE Publications, 2018
2
Time Plan (45 minutes)
Step 1 0:00–0:05 (5 minutes)
Hand out the kits to each of the teams. Introduce the challenge. Be clear about the goals and rules
of the Marshmallow Challenge. It is also helpful to tell them that this has been done by tens of
thousands of people around the world from children to CEOs. The rules and goals are as follows.
Goal: Build the tallest freestanding structure: The winning team is the one that has the tallest
structure measured from the table top surface to the top of the marshmallow. That means the
structure cannot be suspended from a higher structure, such as a chair, ceiling, or chandelier.
Rules:
• The entire marshmallow must be on top: The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top
of the structure. Cutting or eating part of the marshmallow disqualifies the team.
Step 2 0:05–0:25 (20 minutes)
Begin the challenge by starting the clock.
Step 3 0:25–0:30 (5 minutes)
Instructor Resource
Neck, Neck, & Murray, Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset
SAGE Publications, 2018
After the clock runs out, ask everyone in the room to sit down so everyone can see the structures.
Step 4 0:30–0:45 (15 minutes)
Start by asking some of the teams about the process they used to go about building their
structures. You can choose based on what you observed during the challenge. You will generally
What process did you use in building your structure?
What went wrong?
How did you deal with that?
This will often point out the fact that extensive planning leaves little time for adjusting and
You can draw comparisons to various other groups who have done this challenge. The creator of
the challenge, Tom Wujec, has performed this challenge numerous times with a variety of
different groups and has found the following:
Instructor Resource
Neck, Neck, & Murray, Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset
SAGE Publications, 2018
4
Key Takeaways
• In an unknown environment, it is better to take action than to plan.
Goals and rules
Be very clear about the goals and rules of the challenge. Generally, you’ll want to repeat them
three times and reinforce them visually. In almost every challenge, there is at least one team who
will want to cheat or bend the rules in their favor. The clearer you are about the rules the better
the results.
Attribution