Here Are The Limitations Of Most Teambuilding Programs

I have spoken to many clients about their teambuilding needs and realised that many companies want to have teambuilding programs without very clear objectives. Generic statements like the ones below are often uttered:

“We want them to be more cohesive and have a spirit of camaraderie.”

“Foster closer ties and have teamwork.”

“We have gone to __________ (insert your previous venue) before, can we go somewhere else different this time?”

I know that there are reasons behind those statements but what is it that they are really tackling? Whenever I talk to my clients, I try to help them gain clarity in their purpose to make it a fun and yet meaningful experience for them.

Most teambuilding programs have severe limitations and here are the things that it cannot do:

1.    Solve deep rooted resentment among specific individuals. If certain colleagues are already angry with each other, teambuilding programs might not be the best answer. It is better to trash it out openly between them then send them to a teambuilding program.

2.    Streamline processes in work, thus making things more efficient. You need a process consultant, not a teambuilding expert.

3.    Change corporate culture. Culture is already embedded into the company and it does not change overnight.

So, after knowing what teambuilding cannot do, the question is then “what can it do?”

1.    Inspire change in mindsets. My experience is that we can shift or break certain old patterns of thinking by introducing new ones through activities. Using activities are great because most people have better retention rates if they experience the lessons rather than just hear them through a lecture.

2.    Get people to start opening up and sharing with each other.

3.    Create a sense of belonging to the company. When people play together with each other and not against each other, there is a sense of unity.

4.    Give important principles about team concepts and winning with people. Principles are easily remembered and will not change with time.

5.    Help participants know that the company cares for them. Companies provide what I call “meaningful fun” rather than just play games and not learn anything serious.

So, before you start to choose a company for teambuilding, consider your objectives first and then get a company with a great track record. They must be consistent in providing an experience where your colleagues can feel inspired to make a change in their lives.

Here’s an interesting video on how everything goes wrong in a teambuilding exercise by American Airlines. Enjoy!

Article Featured in Straits Times, Recruit (Pg C30- Dated Friday, 21 Mar 2010)

This is my 4th article to be featured in the Straits Times and is personally one of my favourite since a lot of people constantly ask me if motivational talks really work at all.

Read the truth behind such talks and what value it can bring.

You can read download the article here.

Niche Markets and Mini Sites Profits - The War Has Begun!

Niche markets and mini sites are taking lately by storm the Internet marketing field. But despite of all kinds of free information you receive, there still plenty of tips couple of Netpreneurs “forget” to tell you about.

Now don’t get me wrong, I would not go here into deeply analyses of niche marketing and mini sites strategies. The subject is too big to discuss it in one single article. Rather than this, I will try to outline couple of things which been overlooked and might influence in a good way your mini Net empire profits.

Find Niche Markets

Knowing how to find niche markets is one of the keys to affiliate marketing success. Many beginning affiliate marketers choose to focus their efforts on broad categories, such as clothes or jewelry or money making products. However, there is so much competition in these broad categories that it’s easy for your efforts to get lost.

Further, when potential customers do internet searches for broad terms like these, they’re usually in the very beginning stages of their buying cycles. People usually do lots of research on products before they buy, narrowing down their search words each time to be more and more specific, until they find exactly what they want. You want to catch people at the end of the buying cycle, once they know what they want and are ready to purchase it.

Free Traffic – 3 More Zero-Cost Ways to get Visitors to a Site Almost Overnight

Failure Is Not The End, But The Beginning

Let’s face it, people hate to fail. I don’t like failing, but if I ever need to fail, I have to fail forward. Failing forward means to learn something from my experience and still do something good out of the situation.

Donald Trump, America’s biggest real estate tycoon shares in his book: Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life:

Do not view any failure as the end. Learn from your lessons quickly, then move on. Do not dwell on the failure. Start thinking big again. Fill your mind with thoughts that make you feel good, plans for the future, past successes, good things your friends said about you, anything that puts a positive spin on your inner dialogue.

Economic Crisis: What does the future hold?

Get Back 20% of Your Time Lost At Work!

Believe me, I have been there. I used to think that being busy was extremely important, not till I found out that I was doing a lot of things, but nothing productive was done. In this world of multi-tasking, I asked myself is there something I could do to make myself more effective and yet have more time for myself?

The answer was a resounding YES! It is so simple and you could do it too. Now is the time to do less and yet be more effective. Follow these lessons and you will immediately gain back your lost time!

Affiliate Marketing - For Dummies!!

Affiliate marketing is a concept of revenue sharing between online advertisers/merchants and online publishers/salespeople, whereby compensation is based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales, clicks, or registrations.

The translation of the revenue share principles to mainstream e-commerce happened almost four years after the origination of the World Wide Web in November 1994.

Cybererotica was amongst the early innovators in affiliate marketing with a cost per click program. During November 1994, CDNOW launched its BuyWeb program. With this program CDNOW was the first non-adult website to introduce the concept of an affiliate or associate program with its idea of click-through purchasing.

I Have Learned - Very Inspiring

I came across a very inspiring poem by a famous writer Omer B. Washington … Go thru it and do share your thoughts ……

I’ve Learned

I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.
I’ve learned that no matter how much I care,
some people just don’t care back.
And it’s not the end of the world.
I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust,
and only seconds to destroy it.
I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life,
but who you have in your life that counts.
I’ve learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
After that, you’d better know something.