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Harvey Mackay: The ABCs of team-building

Posted by David Goldstein on 15 Jul 2010

Harvey is a great author and I thought I’d share this column that seems fitting now. Everything else on this particular blog is all Harvey :) Enjoy!

“A reader recently wrote to me about a column I penned several years ago: the ABCs of selling. She told me how often she used it and shared it with her colleagues.

Then she challenged me to come up with the ABCs of team-building, a topic that seems particularly popular in this era of reorganizations, layoffs and downsizing. The following concepts are what I consider the fundamentals of team-building:

A is for action. No team can function without a plan of action, even when the final outcome is to take no action at all.

B is for brainpower. If two heads are better than one, I would submit that a cohesive, well-assembled team should have enough brainpower to attack any project.

C is for cooperation and communication. Team members need to cooperate, even if they don’t necessarily agree. Clear communication is the roadmap to cooperation.

D is for dedication. As members of a team, you must be dedicated to the goals of the team, or you are on the wrong team.

E is for ears. Use your ears more than your mouth because listening skills are critical for team success.

F is for fun. Work should be fun, and working together is usually a lot more fun than working alone.

G is for the group effort. The motto needs to be “all for one and one for all” in order to be a real team.

H is for help. Ask for it if you need it, and offer it if someone else needs yours.

I is for the ideas that come from brainstorming and picking each others’ brains. Let the ideas flow and then choose those that hold the most potential.

J is for juggling. Combining all the company’s needs and desired results will often require a juggling act, but a competent team will be able to achieve that balance.

K is for kinetic — energetic, dynamic team members keep things moving.

L is for leadership. Every team needs a leader, and every leader needs to be able to depend on the team.

M is for motivation. Nothing motivates a team like trust placed in them by management to solve a problem.

N is for negotiate. Give and take is as important within a team as it is with outside clients.

O is for open mind. Team members need to be open to options they may not have considered and willing to expand their perspectives to find the best answers.

P is for planning. A plan doesn’t need to be rigid to be effective, but it must provide enough direction to keep the team on course.

Q is for questions. Asking questions is the best path to finding solutions. Don’t be afraid of asking any question. If you don’t understand something, chances are others don’t either.

R is for results. The whole point of forming a team is to achieve results. The only variation on that theme is that the results may not be what had been originally anticipated.

S is for solutions, which differ from results in that there may be more than one solution to any given problem. Then the team can implement the best choice.

T is for time management. A well-managed team uses their meeting and planning time efficiently, and understands when it is time to finish the project.

U is for unity. Once a decision is made, the team needs to be unified to implement the plans. If the team can’t act as a unit, then it may be necessary to reconfigure the team.

V is for voice. Every team member has to have a voice in the proceedings, and it is up to the team leader to insure that all voices are heard.

W is for work ethic. Each member needs to complete the given assignments and should have confidence that others will demonstrate the same commitment.

X is the X factor — the chemistry that makes a team productive because all members are committed to the same goal.

Y is for yes — say it as often as you can. “Yes, I can help. Yes, that’s a good idea. Yes, let’s move ahead. Yes, we did it!”

Z is for zeal. Passion, eagerness and enthusiasm are contagious; share your zeal with the rest of your team."

Mackay’s Moral: The team you build will determine the business you build.

Harvey Mackay is the author of The New York Times’ No. 1 best seller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his Web site, www.harveymackay.com, by e-mailing harvey@mackay.com or by writing him at MackayMitchell Envelope Co, 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.

Build a Tower, Build a Team

Posted by David Goldstein on 22 Apr 2010

Tom Wujec presents some surprisingly deep research into the “marshmallow problem” — a simple team-building exercise that involves dry spaghetti, one yard of tape and a marshmallow. Who can build the tallest tower with these ingredients? And why does a surprising group always beat the average?

I think this is a great video and something we may need to offer to our clients.

Customer Service Oriented

Posted by David Goldstein on 31 Mar 2010

Even after 20 years in the team-building and corporate entertainment business, I still am reminded of key lessons that help businesses thrive. For example, since the start of TeamBonding, we’ve partnered with a local venue with whom we’ve had a successful relationship for years. However, a mistake was made at a recent event which increased our costs by 25%. Rather than pass the cost onto our clients, we asked to negotiate, but were denied.

Instead of relying on the relationship that was built, our partner decided to stand firm. In turn, we took the business to a competitor next door, who was more than happy to accommodate 1,000 guests at a lower price.
What was the lesson that helps businesses thrive? A repeat client is valuable, so much so that when we make a mistake, even if it costs us money, we do everything we can to keep that client happy. Why? Because you have competitors who would love to have your business. They’re just waiting for that one mistake that can’t be negotiated.

As a customer-service oriented company, we need to know that there are always partners out there willing to do what it takes for their clients. I am proud to say that we are, and will continue to be, one of those companies.

The Olympics are coming...

Posted by David Goldstein on 19 Jan 2010

I love the winter Olympics – the sports, the stories, the competition of amateur athletes, all the pomp and circumstance and of course, the Jamaican Bobsled team. My love for this type of activity and the request from clients prompted us to purchase the rights one of the most popular outings on the East Coast, the Outrageous Olympics. The 9’ torch, the DJ syncing all the events to music and the Outrageous Officials has made this a favorite program of our clients.

As they prepare in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, we too are preparing for the Outrageous Olympics in the Northeast which we do indoors and the outdoor version in Florida and anywhere in the Southeast. Is your team up for this type of competition and team building?

Chocolate Making: Trend setting or Trend following?

Posted by David Goldstein on 04 Jan 2010

In 2009 I created a new company and with it, new programs. Taste of Chocolate offers chocolate making and city chocolate tours and these programs will be making their way into TeamBonding, Recipe for Success and even a chocolate scavenger hunt for Scaventures. We have been offering Chocolate Team Building successfully for a number of years now and will be expanding the chocolate repertoire.

Our friends over in the UK at Progressive Resources announced this week that Chocolate Making was the most popular team building event for their client in 2009 Company Director Stuart Hedges saying that “Chocolate making is a clear task which must be carried out with limited resources in a set time frame. Adding the marketing plan makes it even more business relevant.” We certainly agree. More chocolate for 2010 – a TeamBonding New Year’s resolution!

700 Bicycles

Posted by David Goldstein on 14 Dec 2009

One of my favorite Broadway shows, In the Heights, there is this scene where one of the neighbors wins $96,000. The song goes on to talk about how much that is and what that will mean to them. In that neighborhood, $96,000 was everything.

Last night on Facebook, one of our facilitators Michael Riley, profiled in our recent newsletter posted that he was in Seattle putting the final touches on a charity bike building team building program and will be facilitating the building of his 700th bike of the year. That number, 700 bikes built and overseen but just one facilitator had the same impact on me, it blew me away. I own a company where children who have never received bicycles, get them for the first time, and around the holidays as well. I knew that and I knew the number was more as we have done many others with other facilitators but for a moment in time, I got to reflect and see the impact that my company is having on children. Between Thanksgiving and the holidays, I feel very proud and look forward to increasing that number in 2010 and am very thankful for you, our clients who really drive our philanthropic team building and without your teams, none of this would be possible. Happy Holidays!

How We Create a New Program

Posted by David Goldstein on 01 Oct 2009

I have to admit, my favorite job here at TeamBonding is discovering, developing and introducing new programs to our clients. We have over 70 programs on this site but with the customization and variations that we do, our offerings no doubt are over 100. The nice thing about working with us is that we have done these programs for teams like yours and have had great success doing so. Our most recent addition is a program we did in DC for over 700 people, for a repeat client who had done three similar events. They asked us to take one of our regular programs (Build Your Own Mini-Golf) and turn it into something that gives back to the community. Truly, our pleasure.

Tin Can Build Your Own Mini-Golf

We built and turned a miniature golf “course” into someone’s “main course”. The Tin Can Build your own mini golf course brought this team together for both service and team building. The idea was, first comes service. The group was divided into teams whose first assignment was to design their golf hole with the canned goods and other food items they were provided.

Once the can plan has was completed, the teams used them (temporarily) to build their own golf holes. They marveled as creative collaboration turned macaroni into a Master’s Course. Competition heated up as the teams competed in this Bogey, Birdies and Beans tournament.

And as competition play came to a close, every team felt like a winner as the canned goods and the indoor/outdoor carpet were presented to a local charities and the paper products were recycled, This is an event that keeps on giving and lends itself to a “19th Hole” celebration.

This is truly service with a swing!

Other new programs recently added include: Elves on a Mission (making toys for the holiday season) and Let them Eat Cake (a hybrid culinary and philanthropic program).

Ice Sculpting –World’s Coolest Team Building Event

Posted by David Goldstein on 01 Oct 2009

When I first proposed this to our staff, ice sculpting as a team building event, everyone laughed. When the laughing died down, they asked if we were providing chainsaws to our corporate participants? How is our liability insurance and finally – would people really choose to do it?

When developing programs for a company like ours with your needs in mind, these are challenges that each program must go through before being presented on the site for you to choose. Truth be told, I didn’t decide one day that teams would enjoy ice sculpting as I had seen it on a site in the UK. What I did however if find a great ice sculptor/facilitator on the East Coast (and now another one in San Francisco and Las Vegas) to facilitate these program so that not only would teams create something special as a team but would work together and the finished result would be something to be very proud of and a debrief would be lead.

Not a week after we put it on the site, we had our first client in the “coolest” of locations, the Castle on the Hudson and although it isn’t even cold yet, we have quite a few more on the schedule. TeamBonding is an innovator in bringing you great team building events, first in the US to do this program and your team can be next.

The Power of Play

Posted by David Goldstein on 10 Sep 2009

To celebrate the relaunch of our website, I wanted to share with you the method behind our madness. We were founded and we design our events based on a strong belief that people need to play more. There is a growing mountain of evidence characterizing people who have fun at work as:

• more productive
• more creative
• healthier
• more motivated
• more flexible and resilient
• better able to meet job demands

A major benefit of team building play is learning to tap into the brain’s right hemisphere, which is often underutilized in the workplace. This is the cerebral real estate that hosts imagination, creativity and intuition. Long thought to be useful only to artists, writers and musicians, we now understand that right-brain thinking also plays a vital role in the business world.

So why is “play” such a wonderful learning tool?

1. Play is Involving. The best way to learn new skills is through action — actually doing things. Research shows that subjects who just sit and listen to a teacher retain only 20% of what they hear. But participants involved in active learning (doing a real job, a simulation, a training game, etc.) retain 90% of the information.

2. Play is Low Risk. Play offers participants a safe environment in which to explore, risk, try new ideas and make mistakes. Edison discovered over 1,800 ways not to build a light bulb. One of Madame Curie’s “failures” gave us radium. Columbus was looking for India when he found America. Mistakes are simply an integral part of innovation.

3. Play explores Team Dynamics. Team play allows a group’s dynamics to be examined and evaluated under controlled conditions. Every group develops a distinct personality of its own. How does your team function, breathe, eat, produce, communicate and plan? How does it make decisions? What are its unique weaknesses and strengths? How does the group adapt to change? Play gives us these answers.

4. Play promotes Self-Awareness . Just as a team can be evaluated in a controlled play environment, so can the team’s individual members. New experiences and new ideas set the stage for moments of self-examination and awareness. This also gives team members the chance to view teammates in a new light. We hear it again and again: “I had no idea Harry was so creative!” or “Who knew Mary was that clever?” Greater awareness of ourselves, and of those around us, can dramatically improve team effectiveness.

5. Play Builds Trust. Everyone within a group becomes more comfortable as members become familiar with teammates, sharpen their awareness of group dynamics, and begin to clearly understand where they fit in. Allowing people to work together in a play environment effectively builds trust within the team.

6. Play shows the Value of the Team. Play is an excellent tool for convincing the skeptics of teamwork’s value. Many workers are so competitive, or so inexperienced at working as part of a team, that they question the benefits of teamwork. Fun team exercises afford skeptics the opportunity to see that sharing information and responsibilities can bring amazing results. Group play also affords participants an opportunity to discover the strong value of diversity.

7. Play Promotes Pleasure. The pleasure of learning through play can work wonders to revitalize a group and rebuild morale. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between pleasure and productivity. Pleasure also affects participants’ commitment to the exercises, helping them learn more and retain knowledge longer. It makes perfect sense that pleasure would be a powerful motivator.

8. Play Provides Specific Lessons. Each TeamBonding event delivers its own lessons, skills and experiences for participants. Many involve problem solving, while others tend to be more physical. Some are designed to enhance communication skills, with others focusing on organization. While some of these are group lessons, others are more individually targeted. TeamBonding has the expertise to fine-tune a program that meshes perfectly with your group and goals.

Play with us and you and your team will experience the Power of Play.