Team building from everyday objects

When Lego meets Art (or team building) it delivers more than you’d expect.

Lego fiend Nathan Sawaya has recreated and exhibited his Lego versions of great works of art around the world; but not always to critical acclaim.

Is it art? Or the result of well funded self-publicity?
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Ewe and I make a great team…

A run through the countryside demonstrated how a group can quickly become a team when faced with an unexpected challenge.

Two ewes and four lambs were out of their field and roaming the woods on a local running route, so we responsibly set about coaxing them back through the gate to the rest of their flock. Only a video could do justice to the comedy value of a group waving, bahhing, heading off sheep and trying to behave like sheepdogs. However, on reflection, we went through the following team development process…

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Domino Effect – a brand new team building exercise

A regular client approached us in September asking for a new team building challenge. 

The participants would be the top 50 managers of a leading food producer. The CEO wanted a novel, intense two hour event that couldn’t be spoilt by the weather, involved everyone, would work across functional boundaries and most importantly encourage cooperation.

Within 48 hours we had submitted three ideas for brand new, never-been-run-before activities. …

How innocent’s Richard Reed Leads his People

Starting on September 12th, Richard Reed the founder of innocent smoothies will front a new business show on BBC Three called “Be Your Own Boss”.

Richard knows a thing or two about growing a business – innocent went from an idea to a £100 million business in just eight years, and we took a film crew behind the scenes to see how they did it.  Alongside great products, quirky marketing and a steely commercial edge, innocent’s success is largely down to the way they hire and lead their teams.

They recruit and manage against five critical behaviours no matter what the role:…

Woodland Leadership – a unique leadership programme

When a client asked us to come up with a unique ending to their 6 month leadership programme, we decided to break with convention and exchange their hotel for a woodland habitat.

This next generation of senior managers already spends much of their time in hotels. To conclude this programme in yet another hotel would dilute the impact and miss an opportunity to create lasting memories. Instead we began with breakfast and an intensive session exploring Insights Transformational Leadership before heading into the woods after lunch….

Vodafone Fail to Make the Connection

If you’ve travelled on the London Underground recently you might have seen a series of posters featuring team building exercises.

Vodafone have launched an advertising campaign suggesting that with their service teams can connect without the need to spend time together.

We would challenge this assumption on the basis that whilst it is possible to convey information by phone it’s almost impossible to build trust.

Trust is the single greatest differential between good and bad teams and to build trust takes a combination of time, commitment, shared experience and common values.

Smart phones might be clever but even they have their limitations.

What are your thoughts?

Will the Olympics Spoil Conferences?

If your organisation holds a large annual conference, prepare yourself for a very different experience in 2012.

A combination of the Olympics, the Farnborough Air Show and other major events between June and September means that many of the larger hotels and conference centres already have bookings confirmed for this period and are unable to accept large bookings during the summer conference season of 2012.

Whilst this might send a shiver down your conference organiser’s spine, they needn’t panic….

The end of email? 5 tips for reducing email overload

James Murdoch must be wishing News International had stuck with printed memos as the Leveson enquiry threatens to pin the blame on him for the phone hacking scandal.

The rest of us face the daily battle to select the important from the apparently urgent, as we try to spend time on the priorities that will drive our organisations forward and not fall into the trap of our Inbox becoming our To Do List. Some solutions to this will be part of our next workshop “How to be more Productive with Less Stress” on Friday 16th March 2012.

The Financial Times recently reported that…

Resolve not to Regret – 5 Reasons to seize the day

As we consider what resolutions we will make in 2012 it is sobering to reflect on the regrets of those that have gone before us.

Bronnie Ware was a palliative nurse who cared for many people in the final weeks of their life. Over time, she compiled a list of their most commonly held regrets. Interestingly in each case people don’t regret things they have done but in fact regret things they have not done.

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

So as opportunities arise in 2012 let’s not be put off by the consequence of our actions but instead seize each day.

Our new team building event – it’ll really get up your nose

This month it’s been hard to miss the highly polished and celebrity endorsed TV commercials for exotic perfumes.

Scent forms a significant part of all our lives whether we wear perfume or not – our food, washing powders, cleaning products and even hotel lobbys are infused with odours designed to make us feel either calm or energised, happy or nostalgic.

Our latest team building event The Perfume Challenge is…