How Not To Be Alone

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(Editor’s note:   I found this in the Times a few days ago and was very impressed–and moved.   Please see my comments afterwards. DB) By JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER (reprinted from the NY Times, June 8, 2013) A COUPLE of weeks ago, I saw a stranger crying in public. I was in…

Banff, Alberta, Canada teambuilding scavenger hunt

Northwest

A great place to hold a corporate team building scavenger hunt in Banff Event Description: With its tremendous physical beauty, Banff is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada, with soaring mountain tops, well-maintained hiking trails, crystalline lakes, and an over-all, laid-back Canadian vibe. It’s a superb place…

New York – Bronx Zoo teambuilding scavenger hunt

East Coast

A fun site to hold a team building scavenger huntin the Bronx Zoo Event Description: An truly “wild” site for a corporate team building event, the Bronx Zoo is one of the world’s largest metropolitan zoos,  showcasing some 4,000 animals representing about 650 species. Location History: Built upon grounds once owned…

Lessons from Collaborative Games

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What exactly is a “game”?  A quick search on Wikipedia delivers this definition: game /g?m/ Noun “A form of play or sport, esp. a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.” Although I agree that games must necessarily have rules (and structure), what strikes…

Increase Performance of Your Virtual Teams

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Are you tired of the same old dry, serious, virtual meetings? As organizations continue to globalize and departments become more and more geographically dispersed, teams are increasingly turning to cyberspace to complete important projects and to get work done.   With opportunities to gather together  “in person” becoming fewer and farther…

Oakland — Downtown teambuilding scavenger hunt

Bay Area and Beyond

A dynamic place to hold a team building activity in Oakland     Event Description: The third largest city in the Bay Area (after San Jose and San Francisco), Oakland is the principal city in the East Bay and home to the famous Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders sports franchises. …

Should Games be More (or Less) Competitive

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There’s a popular social movement in schools these days, compelling teachers and coaches to minimize competition on the playground while increasing collaboration.  It’s gone so far that one school I heard about even removed the scoreboard from their high school football field, insisting that keeping score put too much pressure…

The Wave

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A few days ago, I watched a fascinating movie from 2008 — “The Wave” — available widely on DVD, Netflix, etc.  Although the film takes place in Germany (with an all-German cast), it’s actually a dramatization of the true story of an unusual teaching experiment conducted by Ron Jones at…

What is the value of team building?

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When I’ve asked this question to clients, they’ve responded with a broad variety of answers, such as: –Team building helps people bond –It raises morale –It lets us blow off steam –It allows folks to get to know people with whom they may not work on a regular basis –It…