New Resources: learn from over 19 years of experience

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand” Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC).

In a world of iPods, iPads and 3D TV, it is perhaps surprising that technology has yet to find a more memorable and effective way to put across a message than the simple act of doing.

For over 19 years Fresh Tracks have been coming up with practical activities that improve understanding. We appreciate that it’s not always possible to take a team out for a day and so we’ve developed a selection of resources that can be used in team meetings and training sessions….

What a laugh – Our new laughter workout

Much like exercise, laugh hard enough and your muscles will begin to ache. Similar to physical exertion, when we laugh the elation we feel combats the effects of stress, our body relaxes and endorphins (natural painkillers) are released into the blood stream.

Last week Fresh Tracks ran our first Laughter Workout at a conference for a team from the BBC. This 45 minute energiser led by our expert Amanda Bate had some participants crying with laughter. Although different people respond in different ways everyone felt able to participate and even the most reserved delegate came away having felt a natural high….

New Team Building Event: The Bigger Picture

Try our newest team building event and create a giant piece of sand art that represents your team’s strengths and character.

The day starts with a facilitated discussion about the nature of teams and what kind of team the group is. After a session encouraging creativity and different approaches to art, the team is asked to begin designing a piece of art that can be scaled up to a finished product of around 100m long. …

Why BA Baracus would like the launch of ‘innocent success’

During my first week as an intern at Fresh Tracks, I followed Dan Collins to London to observe the launch of the brand new training film, Innocent Success. Being no ordinary company, it is perhaps unsurprising that Fresh Tracks chose to launch this exciting new venture in an extraordinary way.

After experiencing my first ‘webinar’ (which, after a small amount of research I discovered was not in fact a German composer, but actually an interactive live seminar on the web), I’ve been contemplating the enormous effect of the communications ‘revolution’ that has followed the development of the internet. …

Volunteam – team building from a different angle

Its not a real word I know but the principle of a ‘volunteam’ is an interesting one.

I’ve been visiting a relief project in Morocco that is building new homes for widows and the very poor following the earthquake in 2004.  Incredibly over 5 years after 12,000 homes were destroyed an enormous number of people are still trying to survive without a home in the hills around Al Hoceima….

Fresh Tracks live on Channel 4 again!

It’s always gratifying to be asked back and repeat business is the best measure of a job well done.  So we are very chuffed to be back on Channel 4’s Paul O’Grady show at 5pm today.

This time we have created an exercise that will have X Factor runners up JLS competing against Paul & Co to see which group can perform best as a team under pressure.  In a matter of minutes the two teams will have to first understand the task, before coming up with a plan that will utilise their strengths and earn them maximum points.

Being an entertainment show today’s challenge will involve lots of water and a fair amount of chaos but the essence is the same as in any other sports or business team – Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Do tune in to Channel 4 at 5pm tonight but if you can’t get to a television do come back to the blog in a couple of days or follow us using your RSS feed because we’ll upload a video of the team building activity!

A day in the life of an event manager

From protecting the event equipment from monkeys to facilitating a team building programme for 140 managers, event management can require a lot of different skills.

Trying to explain to the curious staff at the Virgin check-in desk quite why we needed two aluminium pyramids, 65 hoola-hoops and 140 white baseball caps was the easy part…… Managing to make 200 lengths of rope, 35 pencil cases,  staff uniforms,  assorted event equipment and a bundle of paperwork meet the strict baggage restrictions was not so easy.

The look on the honeymooners’  and holiday makers’  faces as we struggled across the terminal with our  peculiar luggage was priceless at 5am in the morning. Little did we know what lay ahead; we faced a 9 hour flight sitting  with the Barmy Army England cricket supporters also on their way to the Caribbean . Let’s just say we got no sleep whatsoever!…

Performing under pressure

So far this year I’ve spent more hours than I care to remember trying to calm the nerves of fraught conference organisers.  Often days before the event has even started.

Today I spent the afternoon on the set of a live TV show.  With just two hours to air the production team managed to deal with numerous unforeseen crises calmly and confidently.

Much has been written about stress and its impact on individuals but this afternoon’s experience got me thinking about team stress.

It’s surprising how often we allow anxiety to build from within our teams, limiting productivity, stifling creativity and eradicating the fun from work….

Fresh Tracks live on Channel 4

Dan Collins has been invited onto live television to talk to the masses about team building.

As you all know, at Fresh Tracks we are passionate about how teams work and improving motivation, whether in business or socially. Therefore when we had a request from Paul O’Grady to appear live on his Channel 4 show today (Wednesday 4th March 2009) to talk about the importance of having fun at work and how to get the best out of a team, we jumped at the chance.

So if you would like to see Dan Collins run Paul and some of his production team through a team building exercise please tune into Channel 4 at 5pm today and then post a comment below and let us know what you thought.

Successful Corporate Event Planning

 Here are some handy hints to make sure you get the best out of your event:

1. Be clear about your objectives
Before you even start thinking about content, the venue or even a date, you need to establish what it is you’re holding the event for. Is it to communicate a particular message,  to announce a new initiative,  to motivate staff, or purely as a social and fun occasion? In particular, ask yourself what would a sucessful event look like? The rest of the planning – style, content and delivery – should then refer back to these objectives….