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Chocolate – good for he heart, mind and business

Fifteen years ago we created an indoor team building exercise in based on chocolate. Our research at the time found that good quality chocolate contained vitamins, antioxidants and the only edible fat that doesn’t fur the arteries.

Chocolate – good for he heart, mind and business

This week the BMJ (British Medical Journal) published a comprehensive study (external link to BMJ) suggesting that eating chocolate (in moderation) can reduce the likelihood of heart disease by up to 37%.

So not only does chocolate make you feel good, it can help your heart and if eaten with your colleagues can build your team.

Find out more about our chocolate team building event.

Should Bosses Cut Short their Holidays?

This week David Cameron has cut short his Cornish holiday, having returned home early from Tuscany a few weeks ago.

Richard Branson’s Holiday Home early on Monday morning

Should we interpret this as a sign of a dedicated leader putting his duty before his own need to rest with his family? Or is it a sign of a Prime Minister unable to delegate or make decisions remotely? It’s interesting the different value we put on holidays. For some of us holidays are the reason we work throughout the rest of the year; for others the August and Christmas slow-downs are simply an annoyance….

5 Tips To Get New Teams Performing

Remember Bruce Tuckman’s wise words about new teams are as true now as they were 50 years ago: A new team will go through 4 stages of development Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.

Having a high performing team does require all members to function as a unit but using this extreme a method to make this point is not necessary!

If you find yourself leading a new team here are 5 ways to get your gang performing from the outset:…

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.

In response to increased requests for team building activities that generate some community benefit, Fresh Tracks have created The Toy Factory

In response to increased requests for team building activities that generate some community benefit, Fresh Tracks have created  The Toy Factory. This is a half day event that can be run in any  meeting room  and  yet results in beautifully crafted, hand made, wooden toys.  Our connections with children’s hospitals and charities mean that the resulting toys from the exercise can be donated to children or sold, with money raised going to the host company’s  chosen good cause….

5 Ways to increase your energy so that you can get more done

Stress and staying on top of heavy workloads is a challenge for us all. Time is finite and runs out whereas energy is renewable and extendable.

Here are a 5 ways to increase your energy so that you can get more done:

If, like the gentleman above, you are feeling tired at work try the 5 tips below

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5 Steps to great virtual team communication

Increasingly, teams don’t sit in the same office and even those that do probably rely to a large extent on electronic communication.

No 3. Take the time to know the real person rather than their digital alias.

So in a ‘connected world’ how can we ensure that team members truly connect, collaborate and build trust?  Here are 5 steps to great virtual team communication:…

Top 10 Summer Leadership Tips to Beat Stress and Boost Productivity

Summer brings lighter days, not just in terms of sunlight but also in workload as clients and colleagues take their annual holiday, here are 10 tips to get the most from the next few weeks:

One idea to help your team is to buy ice creams for your team, spontaneously, one sunny afternoon

For yourself:…

Leaders shouldn’t be managers

I’m beginning to wonder if we should pay managers less and administrators more.

Is there such a thing as too many managers?

Electronic diaries along with other initiatives and technological developments mean that far fewer of us use secretaries now. It also seems to have led to an inordinate amount of a manager’s time being spent organising their own diaries and fighting off email rather than efficiently managing people and projects.

While these managers are failing to manage, I’m often pleasantly surprised by the efficiency and competency with which good secretaries can organise events and manage those around them. It could be argued that the loss of one administrator to a business would be more destructive than the loss of one manager. So if you are a business leader looking to hire new talent you might consider recruiting another administrator before expanding your management population.

7 Things That Will Help Make Your Team Great

Being a team in name alone is not enough. Having the right people on board, in the right roles and led by a strong leader will all help but it’s the day-to-day behaviours that make a truly great team.

Tuckman’s Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing team development model is as true today as it was in 1965.

So here are 7 day-to-day issues that make a truly great team:…