A Participant’sView: Inside the Immersive Experience
When I was“volunteered” (which I’ve since learned means “conscripted with enthusiasm”) to collect feedback after our Jenson8 session, I imagined a few polite commentsand a quick wrap-up. What I got instead was a flood of reactions ranging from“mind-blown” to “what just happened?” — and a whole lot of laughter in between.
The session dropped us straight into the middle of a fast-paced simulation. Within minutes, my quiet,composed colleagues turned into animated strategists, negotiators,and—occasionally—mildly panicked troubleshooters. One participant summed it upperfectly: “It felt like an escape room for the brain — except everyone could see how confused we were!”
By halfway through,the room (and the virtual chat) was buzzing. People who barely spoke in the opening briefing were suddenly shouting ideas, sketching wild plans, and joyfully disagreeing in the most productive way possible. There was competition, yes, but also that rare alchemy of collaboration where you can almost feel the group intelligence level rising by the minute.
Of course, not every thing went smoothly. Several teams got stuck early on but refused to admit it. When we compared notes later, one teammate confessed, “I was completely lost for the first ten minutes but didn’t want to sound clueless — until I realised everyone was lost.” Cue collective laughter and renewed vows ofhonesty for next time.
The best part ofcollecting feedback, though, was hearing how each person experienced growth.
And perhaps my favourite comment of all: “If our meetings were half this interactive, I’d never mute myself again.”
Walking away, I realised the real payoff wasn’t just in mastering the simulation but in howquickly we learned to trust, adapt, and laugh our way through uncertainty. If that’s not a metaphor for modern teamwork, I don’t know what is.