I think you're reacting to the fake-ness in catered/fabricated bonding experiences. There's no way classic corporate training will match, say, skydiving, or a

I think you're reacting to the fake-ness in catered/fabricated bonding experiences. There's no way classic corporate training will match, say, skydiving, or a survivalist weekend. There's a reason Burning Man is considered a year's worth of relationship. I want to say that the dividing line is whether or not the experience is as likely to break bonds as it is to create them. I don't expect to burn a bridge at a company retreat... but I would expect to burn some doing Survivor with my team. Basically, yeah, I agree with you that it takes naivete to be drawn into /schemes/... but you can have these experiences without them being machinations. Or, at least, machinations of the sort that "when friends use you, it makes you stronger."