1The Challenge
What was the challenge?
A full-day tech team session for McKinsey runs the real risk of energy dipping between the serious agenda blocks — particularly in the afternoon, when the density of a structured day starts to weigh on even the most engaged room. The brief was to inject fun at three strategic points across the day, each one designed to reset the room's energy and bring people back to each other before the next serious session began.
The client was also specific about the AR Crime Scene: these were smart people, and the mystery needed to reflect that. Too easy, and the activity loses all its tension. The challenge had to be calibrated for an audience that would unpick a simple puzzle in minutes — which meant building something genuinely layered, complicated, and satisfying to solve.
2Our Solution
What solution did we design?
The Thought Bulb designed three activities that worked together as a full-day energy architecture — each one different in format and register, each one precisely timed.
Speed Networking (20–30 minutes) A leaderboard-driven networking session displayed on the big screen, with challenges shared with the client in advance and refined based on their feedback. The format got 45 people talking to colleagues they hadn't yet met, at pace, with the competitive leaderboard keeping the energy sharp.
Rapid Fire Round (20–30 minutes) A buzzer-based quiz round for all teams — fast, loud, and deliberately light. Quick-fire questions (capitals of countries, general knowledge, spontaneous recall) with buzzers for every team gave the session its chaotic, game-show energy. Gifts for winners at every round kept the stakes real and the motivation high throughout the day.
AR Crime Scene: Missing Boss (90 minutes) The centrepiece. An augmented reality mystery where teams must solve the disappearance of their boss — using AR clues, physical evidence, and deductive reasoning across a case deliberately built to resist easy answers. The client's brief was clear: make it lengthy, make it complicated, and don't let the smart ones finish too quickly. The AR layer added depth and novelty to a mystery format that already demands full cognitive engagement — and for a McKinsey tech team, that was exactly the right level of challenge. A gift hamper from The Thought Bulb went to the winning team.
3How We Did It
How was the programme delivered?
Two facilitators held the full day across three sessions at McKinsey's Gurgaon office — managing the transitions between serious agenda and The Thought Bulb's slots with the kind of precision that a day like this demands.
Speed Networking opened with the leaderboard on the big screen, giving the session a visual focus that made the competition immediately tangible. The challenges had been reviewed and approved by the client in advance, ensuring every prompt was calibrated for this specific group.
The Rapid Fire Round hit the day at its second energy dip — buzzers out, questions flying, teams competing on instinct rather than analysis. For a room of people who spend their working hours thinking deeply, the shallow-end-of-the-pool format of a rapid fire was a deliberate and welcome contrast.
The AR Crime Scene landed as the final and longest session — 90 minutes of a case that refused to be cracked quickly. Teams worked through AR clues, cross-referenced evidence, and debated their way toward a conclusion that required genuine collaboration to reach. The complexity was by design: a mystery that's too easy leaves smart people unsatisfied. This one didn't.
4Key Outcomes
What were the results?
The three-slot format gave McKinsey's full-day tech session something that serious agendas rarely have: consistent moments of joy, energy, and genuine engagement spaced across the entire day. Each activity served its purpose — Speed Networking built connections, Rapid Fire unlocked laughter, and the AR Crime Scene delivered the sustained, immersive challenge that the room was capable of and deserved.
The Missing Boss case gave 45 smart people something to wrestle with — and the AR format made sure the mystery stayed alive long enough for the satisfaction of solving it to feel earned. That's the standard the client set, and that's the standard the programme met.
45 participants. 3 activities. One full day that stayed fun from the first networking challenge to the final AR reveal.
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