Getting creatives, producers and strategists on the same page

Picture this: 38 creatives, producers and client strategists who make mind-blowing experiences for AT&T, Ferrari and the US Olympic Committee... and who've barely ever been in the same room together. Now add 60+ major activations a year, three city hubs, and the constant challenge of keeping creative excellence while scaling fast.

That was the situation when Wasserman X came to us with an ambitious ask: make their first-ever full-team gathering something that would actually matter. Not another off-site with trust falls and PowerPoints, but an experience that would give a distributed team real tools for complex, high-stakes projects.

The challenge

The team was spread across LA, Raleigh and NYC, balancing explosive growth with their signature creative excellence. They needed to level up critical capabilities across the organization:

• Navigating uncertainty in high-stakes client activations
• Building trust and communication between remote teams
• Giving and receiving feedback that drives real improvement
• Creating synergy between creative, production and client service teams
• Managing complex projects with constantly shifting variables
• Maintaining excellence while scaling operations

Most crucially? This wasn't just about team building. It was about giving a high-performance team the tools to stay exceptional while scaling fast.

What we built

We ditched the conference room and took over Collective Retreats on Governor's Island, because nothing says "think differently" like a ferry ride to a car-free island with Manhattan skyline views.

The centerpiece was a custom card game called "Cards with Some Humanity" that turned serious communication tools into engaging scenarios. Players built stories from outrageous situations, unexpected characters and magic items. Then they used our frameworks to handle the chaos with poise and clarity.

How it ran

The results were both hilarious and illuminating. Teams had to:

• Tell Robert De Niro (in no uncertain terms) that we couldn't help him practice lines
• Handle an incident involving over-eager Girl Scouts and an ice cream truck collision
• Calm Instagram fitness influencers upset about our Great British Baking Show tribute
• Support and nurture crypto bros in their hour of need

Each wild scenario was a safe space to practice real communication tools, which teams then applied straight away to actual client situations. If you can tell De Niro "no" with grace, you can handle just about any client conversation.

We wrapped the game with frameworks that thrive in high-pressure, creative environments:

1. Framework 1Radical TransparencyBorrowed from Ray Dalio's Bridgewater playbook.
2. Framework 2FeedforwardBecause the best creatives, like the best athletes, focus on what's next.
3. Framework 3Pre-Mortem AnalysisPlanning for success by imagining failure, in style.

What shifted

The team's response beat expectations: a 94% satisfaction rating and strong recommendations to bring the experience to other divisions.

The frameworks and tools caught on immediately. Teams began adding Pre-Mortem exercises to their planning sessions and using Feedforward in their project discussions. Most importantly, the connections made on Governor's Island opened new channels of collaboration across offices and disciplines.

Because when you give talented people the right tools and the right environment, magic happens.

Even on a foggy morning on Governor's Island.

Want talented people who work better apart to click as a team? Book a 20-minute call →