.Cocoon participants tackled movie making as a way of self-development

The first online .Cocoon Founders Mentoring Event took place on May 14-15. If usually the participants, organizers, and mentors meet in Tartu, then this time almost 30 people gathered in Zoom to focus on self-discovery and see how to use it in company growth.

The first day was all about fun, games, and stress! The day started with creative drawing and guessing game in teams. From each guessed word the teams gathered points and by the end of the day, a winning team was selected.

The main task for each team was to make a 10-minute movie – write a script, film, and edit and have a premiere by the end of the day. Just when teams started working on the script the moderator pulled everybody back in the main Zoom room to announce that there is a bomb!

Each team had to then defuse a bomb. The CEO of the team downloaded a bomb app and all the teammates had bomb-defusing manuals. The CEO had to describe the bomb and participants had to explain to him what cord to cut or buttons to press.

But the script deadline was approaching! A lot of pressure, necessary to see how people act under stress. These behavioral patterns are important to notice for the next day. Each group had three mentors who took part in the activities but at the same time observed the participants.

When the scripts were pitched the organizers gave teams a list of elements that gave points. The team had to make a budget – what elements are they going to have in the movie. After the premiere, they also had to count what promised elements were missing. Altogether there were 180 elements. Some of the elements were:

• 500 euros worth of cash 30p

• Angel investor 80p

• Awkward silence 30p

• Everybody fake laughing 60p

• How-to-wash-hands-correctly teaching video 60p

• Lord of the Rings Quote 30p

• Old man hugs a young man 70p

• Rabbit coming out of the hat 100p

• Stepping on a rake 20p

• Swim in the open water 270p

Everybody started filming and editing. When the deadline was approaching, the chaos grew bigger – how to edit, what elements didn’t make it in the movie, technical issues. Perfect combination! And on top of that came an announcement that the Ministry of Culture is cutting the budget of the movie industry by half due to corona. So all the movies needed to be now 5-minutes long and everything that went over or under the length gave minus points.

But by the end, all three teams finished before the deadline and presented the movies. It was a great day full of teamwork, stress, and fun!

"I am a big fan of in-person events and specifically in the area of psychological mentoring," said Rein Lemberpuu, the CEO of .Cocoon. "However, I am pleasantly surprised that an online version could bring out different aspects that are very much part of our today's business environment, and now I see our full program offering even richer than before."

All this was necessary to get to know the participants for the next day. The teams gathered again to focus on mentoring. Each participant had prepared a business challenge they are currently dealing with. The mentors who had observed the behaviors got to ask questions and share their feelings on what they had seen and how these behaviors can be related to the business challenge. Each session ended with practical tips.

The next .Cocoon Mentoring event takes place on August 17-18. The details of the online or on-site event will be announced soon but meanwhile, take a chance and apply for the next event. If you see self-discovery as a way of growing your company apply here or schedule a call. Let’s talk about your challenge and see where it takes us.

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