TEAMWROK.lessons From the Great Escape

The Great Escape…A Classic Case Study in Teamwork

Great Challenges require great teamwork!copyright: Roshan Suhail/RighTrack

Creative Foundation

The Great Escape…

• The Great Escape is a popular 1963 war film about 250 Allied prisoners of war escaping from a German POW camp during World War II

• Produced and directed by John Sturges, The Great Escape offers some of the finest lessons in TeamWork.

• The film is based upon the factual book of the same name by Paul Brickhill, who observed the actual events as a prisoner.

A Classic Case Study in Teamwork


Creative Foundation

The Great Escape…

• Year 1944• Place: Stalag Luft III, a Nazi Prisoner of War Camp

one hundred miles Southeast of Berlin.


The Great Escape…

• German High Command concentrates the most-determined and selected prisoners to a new, high-security POW camp that the commandant proclaims escape-proof.


The Great Escape…

• Within the camp was a core group of prisoners determined to escape.

• In fact their goal was to facilitate the escape of about 250 men in one night.


copyright: Roshan Suhail/RighTrack Creative Foundation

The Great Escape…

• An escape so daunting had never been tried before.• Something that would require the utmost collaboration among the

prisoners.


The Great Escape…

• Getting men out of a German prison camp was a very complex task. • The core group plans the greatest escape attempted:

Digging a tunnel to exfiltrate 250 prisoners.


The Great Escape…

• Teams of men are organized • Jobs delegated includes: Survey, dig, dispose the soil,

manufacture clothing, forge documents, procure contraband materials, keep records of soldiers movements, distract security guards, supplying fresh air in the tunnels with hand made bellows, and to provide lighting in the tunnels.

• The worst of the work, noise of digging, was covered by the men singing in chorus.



The Great Escape…

• The list of supplies needed for the job was unbelievable: 4000 bed slats, 1370 battens, 1699 blankets, 52 long tables, 1219 knives, 30 shovels, 600 feet of rope, 1000 feet of electric wire, and more.

• It took an army of prisoners just to find and steal all the material required.

• Several prisoners continually scrounged for anything that might aid them.

• Others worked systematically and relentlessly distracting, bribing and blackmailing the guards.



The Great Escape…

• Each person had a job. There were tailors, blacksmiths, forgers, pickpockets & camouflage artists.

• The security teams kept record of every movement of every guard. They used an elaborate yet inconspicuous set of signals to warn other security men.



The Great Escape…

• On March 24, 1944, after more than a year of work, 220 men prepared to creep through the tunnel into the woods outside the camp. The plan was to send out one man per minute until all had made their escape.

• German speaking prisoners would board trains and pose as foreign workers. The rest would lie low during the day and travel at night hoping to avoid German patrols.



The Great Escape…

• When the first prisoner popped up out of the tunnel, he discovered that its exit was short of the woods. Rather than getting out a man per minute, they were barely able to get out a dozen per hour. In all, eighty six men escaped before the tunnel was discovered.

• It created chaos for the Nazis, who ordered a national alert to deal with it. Eighty three of the prisoners were recaptured, and forty one of them were executed by order of Adolf Hitler. Only three made it to freedom.

• Though the attempt failed in accomplishing its objective but it offered the world a historical example of collective endeavour.



The Great Escape…

• John Sturges, the man who directed the 1963 movie, The Great Escape, based on this event, said of the prisoner’s efforts,

• “It demanded the concentrated devotion and vigilance of more than 600 men- every single of them, every minute, every hour, every day and every night for more than a year.



The Great Escape…

Never has the human capacity been stretched to such incredible lengths or shown with as much determination and courage.


Great Challenges require great teamwork! Copyright: Roshan Suhail/RighTrack Creative Foundation

Lessons from The Great Escape…

LESSON: 1Teamwork is birthed when you concentrate on “WE” instead of “ME”

Ask yourself:• Does your ego stops you from being a good team player.• Are you able to judge the size of the team challenge.• Does it benefit others as well as myself.• Is it worth dedicating part of my life to.



Creative FoundationGreat Challenges require great teamwork! Copyright: Roshan Suhail/RighTrack Creative Foundation


LESSON:2Be Mission Conscious

The Goal is more important than the roleAlways remember:• If you don’t know where are you going, you will end up somewhere

else.• Vision inspires team • When you see the big picture correctly, you serve the team

effectively.





LESSON: 3 Collaboration is Multiplication

All union is strength, all discord is danger

Always remember:• Complementing one another is more important than competing with one

another.• True team members see themselves as a unit working together and never

allow competition between teammates to get to the point where it hurts the team.

• Effective Delegation divides efforts and multiply results





LESSON: 4Committed and Consistent

There are no Halfhearted Champions

Always remember:• Ordinary people with commitment can create an extraordinary team.• You don’t have to be really gifted or talented to be committed.• Commitment is usually discovered in the midst of adversity.





LESSON: 5 Consolidating Communication

A team is Many Voices with a single Heart

Always remember:• Open and candid communication fosters trust.• The more difficult a situation, the more important is to communicate.• Don’t let more than 24 hours go by without addressing a conflict.





LESSON: 6 Consolidating Communication

A team is Many Voices with a single Heart

Always remember:• Open and candid communication fosters trust.• The more difficult a situation, the more important is to communicate.• Don’t let more than 24 hours go by without addressing a conflict.





LESSON: 7

T-Together E-Everyone

A- Accomplishes M-Miracles

Enjoy the process, give it your best and never forget that no matter what you want to do in life,

“It takes teamwork to make the dream work”




You can invite Roshan Suhail..You can invite Roshan Suhail..

Roshan Suhail is a motivational trainer & teambuilding expert.

He is ready with motivational team building workshops for your organization.

Roshan would be glad to answer your queries…..

You can get in touch with him on 09891358681 or mail him at: [email protected]

Roshan Suhail is a motivational trainer & teambuilding expert.

He is ready with motivational team building workshops for your organization.

Roshan would be glad to answer your queries…..

You can get in touch with him on 09891358681 or mail him at: [email protected]

TEAMWROK.lessons From the Great Escape

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