Our Story

The "First" Escape

A while back, founder Crystal Ishihara, Ph.D. was asked to accompany a group of employees to an Escape Room, as part of a team building activity.  An Escape Room is a confined area filled with riddles and puzzles that a group of individuals have to complete in order to “escape”.  Escape Rooms are often advertised as team building experiences, but upon “escape” (or release, if the group has not escaped), there is often no opportunity to debrief, or discuss what occurred in the Escape Room in a functional capacity.  Crystal found this to be the case upon completion of the Escape Room with the group of employees.  While there were interesting team dynamics that could have been discussed, the opportunity to debrief was left untouched.  Employees simply went home and never spoke of the activity again.

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As most employees/managers are not well versed in group dynamics, the Escape Room activity (while fun) can fail to accomplish the goal of “team building”.  Sometimes, teams are fortunate enough that the activity presents an opportunity for rapport building, or it enhances camaraderie.  In other instances, however, participants can leave frustrated, feeling underutilized, or overwhelmed if their thoughts and feelings surrounding the activity are unaddressed.

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Ishihumann Incorporated hopes to provide the professional insight needed to drive a productive and valuable discussion for team activities, with a particular focus on teams that participate in Escape Rooms.