Are teams the new leaders?
Dan Collins, founder of Fresh Group, spent a good deal of last week in an editing suite selecting clips for our forthcoming training film 'innocent success'. It's the story of how three college friends took a business idea and £500 worth of fruit and turned it into a £100 million business within seven years.

Within the hours of footage, one of the interviewees described the working environment at innocent as 'collegiate-like'. In his weekly column for the Financial Times, Luke Johnson chairman of Channel 4 and founder of Risk Capital Partners, talks about what makes a 'superior business'. He observes: Companies I’ve most admired have usually been run by teams. While every business needs an ultimate boss, larger 21st-century organisations are too complex to permit an individual to call all the shots. The enduring successes have several high-quality people at the top working as a collegiate group, co-operating and sharing responsibilities across divisions and disciplines.

The collegiate system in our universities is born out of necessity, they tend to be made up of diverse individuals, sharing not just the common goal of furthering their education but also their living space. Social interaction is higher and can be the foundation for life-long friendships. Collegiates tend to be largely self led, not 'controlled' by a higher body and their size means that whilst a student is unlikely to know everyone else in their college they will probably know most of their fellow collegiate members aka colleagues.

As our businesses grow larger than ever, we should learn from the likes of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale and create communities within our mammoth organisations in which people feel they are more than employees. A place where they consider themselves to be members.

Event Focus: Lights, Camera, Action!
This film making team building challenge requires teams to write, choreograph and film themselves to produce a short film or film outline either about their organisation or as an advert for a new product. The team need to think and work creatively within a short period of time while strengths and hidden talents are highlighted when the finished films/outlines are shown at the end of the session. Visual thinking and planning allows participants to brainstorm together, thereby fostering more ideas and generating consensus within the group.

Following an open discussion on what makes an effective film, delegates are given some pointers on how to make their film distinctive. Within a set time they must then produce either a storyboard using Polaroids and pens, or a short film using digital cameras and laptops. This session can be tailored to suit the team's requirements or budget.

For more information about Lights, Camera, Action! or if you want a meeting to discuss this event, contact Tom Vaughton on t: 01920 822 220.

Some Recent Fresh Tracks Programmes
Graduate Team Event - A kick-off for the graduate scheme - Watson Wyatt
The Chocolate Challenge - Tasty team building challenge - Roche
Evening Team Building - An interactive team quiz - Salvation Army
Mud, Sweat and Gears - Motorised team building activities - LEASE

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If you are planning a staff conference or team building event, or simply need some ideas on how to motivate your group, please feel free to contact Tom Vaughton on 01920 822 220 or visit www.freshtracks.co.uk.

Fresh Tracks
'Creating better Workplaces'
Team Development, Conferences, Motivational Activities
Web: www.freshtracks.co.uk
Tel: 01920 822 220
Email: mail@freshtracks.co.uk