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.

Having a problem with too many emails? Some solutions to this will be part of our next event "How to be more Productive with Less Stress" on Friday 16th March 2012

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.

What will your new year's resolution be?

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.

Could your team make the next big celebrity endorsed perfume?

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…

Large scale team building event – when co-operation is the name of the game

The very nature of team building activities encourages participants to co-operate with their team members to achieve success, but a lot of these activities rely on competition rather than co-operation.

The Team Machine, an energetic, large scale team building exercise requiring participants to co-operate with other teams to achieve a common goal

Messages about the importance of co-operation and communication across the whole organisation rather than just within a small team can therefore be missed. With this in mind Fresh Tracks developed a new large scale team building exercise a couple of years ago – The Team Machine – based on a construction exercise that many will recognise from their childhood….

Team Briefings – Boring or Brilliant

On 21st October Fresh Tracks hosted a seminar entitled “How to Deliver Tremendous Team Events”. In preparing the programme we’ve talked to several team leaders and one of the greatest areas of concern currently is that regular Team Briefings are lacking and ineffective. This is particularly the case in organisations undergoing change.

A good team briefing can make all the difference

In pondering how to add value to Team Briefings in the workplace I couldn’t help but wonder how Martin Johnson approaches the half time team talk he gives the England Team playing in the Rugby World Cup. These short pep-talks can make all the difference as brilliantly illustrated by Al Pacino’s character in the American Football movie: Any Given Sunday (YouTube clip).

Sometimes a pep-talk isn’t appropriate – perhaps an open discussion is a better way for the team to air their feelings; or an energising activity can be used to illustrate an important team behaviour.

Whatever the approach, it’s important that these opportunities for teams to come together aren’t wasted. In a world where most of our conversations happen via a screen we really need to make the most of face to face meetings.

This workshop has now happened so if you are interested in finding out how to deliver tremendous team events do call us on: 01920 822 220.

It’s national Play Day on 3rd August and yes this affects your workplace!

Wednesday 3rd August is National Play Day, inspired in part by the fact that over 80% of adults feel that children should be encouraged to play more outdoors because it builds community spirit. Yet we live in a society where just 20% of children play outside their homes, whereas 30 years ago that figure was 70%.

“If you want your people to be more creative, give them more time to play” John Cleese

Play isn’t just diminishing in the lives of children. As workplaces become busier and leaner there is less time for informal conversations and light hearted activity. This drive for efficiency might not be quite as good for business as you’d think. Comedian, psychologist and successful businessman in his own right John Cleese said “If you want your people to be more creative, give them more time to play.”…

Team Building For A Good Cause

With the number of disgraced companies rising every month – starting with Enron, then BP last year and now News International – the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda shows little sign of diminishing.  Added to this is the fact that increasing numbers of employees are saying that they are keen to ‘give something back’ and ‘make a difference’ through their work.

Happiness at Work – why does it matter?

Happiness at work – why does it matter is a half day event being hosted by Roffey Park with our own Dan Collins on Wednesday 6th July in central London.

Come and find out why happiness at work does matter

According to research recently published by Roffey Park in The Management Agenda there is:

• a clear, well-defined link between the well-being of staff and the bottom line
• evidence that organisations that are steadfastly driven by their purpose – not their shareholders – are the most financially successful

Put simply, businesses that do well by their people, help them find fulfilment through their work and who demonstrate ethical leadership are rewarded by loyalty and higher performance and productivity.

Please join us, to book (external website run by Roffey Park Institute).

New Team Building Event

Way back in 1997 Fresh Tracks created the Chocolate Challenge it brought team building indoors and replaced military style tasks with a sensory experience that was both enormous fun and conveyed important messages about business and teamwork.

The Chocolate Challenge & Team Machine are events we have created in the past but what will this years be?

Every few years we develop more events, like The Team Machine, and we are currently creating another completely original team building exercise that responds to the needs of the present time….

The X Factor of teams

As we approach the year end it’s good to reflect on our achievements. It’s even more gratifying to reflect on the achievements of others, particularly those we’ve helped along the way.

Some time ago we were asked to create a team exercise for X Factor runners up JLS. As the video above shows their performance was outstanding and it’s no coincidence that a year later JLS are have become one of the most successful teams in their field.

Our normal candidates for our team building activities are work teams and during 2010 we’ve seen teams from industries including oil, wine and management consulting all raise their game having adopted some of the same principles that pop stars JLS exemplify:…