Elementary, My Dear Watson

A mystery event can be a great way to kick off or wrap up a project, but it's likely to be a bad idea if you face a serious crisis or deep-seated conflict in your company, warns Segall. "You're not going to mend relationships or overcome deep-set distrust with this lighthearted approach," he says.

Cost is also a factor when deciding whether a mystery event is right for your company. It generally costs a minimum of $1,500 to put on a mystery event, which mostly covers the actors fees; larger events can cost $5,000 or more.

If you're going to lay out that kind of money, mystery planners say you should make sure you have a solid business goal beyond merely enjoying playing the part of sleuth. "This isn't just a mystery event," says Granade. "We may help give people a good time, but if we haven't helped people understand one another, then we've failed."

Contact Sources

Bogie's Mystery Tours, 328 W. 86^th St., #4A, New York, NY 10024-3124, (212) 362-7569

Grenade Entertainment Inc., (512) 302-9569, fun@team-focused.com

Segall Resources, 1212 Guadalupe St., #408, Austin, TX 78701, (512) 478-4308

This article was originally published in the March 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Elementary, My Dear Watson.