It’s a typical night at NIFE, a new Detroit facility specializing in corporate team building. Twenty-four employees of Midtown’s Matson Reductions maneuver cautiously around the 15,000 square foot space. Knives in hand, their eyes dart back and forth looking for opportunities.
Their goal: To stab as many people in the back as they can, while avoiding getting stabbed themselves. There are six teams of four players.
“Scoring is simple,” says proprietor Tony Marx. “To start, a team gets one point for each person a member stabs.” They get an additional point, he says, if they stab someone on their own team. “That’s the key to winning,” says Marx. “Stabbing your own team in the back.”
Previously, Marx had worked at a local account tracing company. “Everyone got along so well there,” he says. “Nobody ever stabbed anyone.” Believing such environments don’t provide realistic work experiences, last August he quit and opened NIFE in a space formerly occupied by an organic rhubarb supplier.
“I had a lot of discord on my team and was looking for something fun,” says Lena Pitrello, the Matson manager who arranged the evening’s outing. “I also wanted something that taught meaningful workplace lessons.”
“Too many team builders focus on things like consensus building and personal empowerment,” says Marx. “We’re here to show that backstabbing is just as important.” Most participants give NIFE rave reviews. The wait to book a competition is up to 34 months.
“I really like my colleagues,” says Marilyn Kitzmiller, a Matson account exec. “But I’m learning that just because you like someone is no reason you can’t stab them in the back.”
