Team Building: Four Steps for Managing Negative Self Talk

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 by Dave Blum In a recent article from ASTD’s Training & Development Magazine titled “Coaching Teams for Emotional Intelligence in Your Diverse Workplace”, the authors discuss the team impact of negative “self stories”. Tell me you haven’t heard at least one of the following statements from…

Leadership Skills: The Personality Makeover

Monday, March 9, 2009 by Dave Blum There’s a great article in the latest issue of Inc. Magazine about the “personality makeover” of the CEO of Ruckus Wireless, a Sunnyvale, CA Wi-Fi start up.  By all accounts, Selina Lo is a hard-charging, successful executive leader; at last count, her company…

Building Teams & Allignment: with Open Space

Friday, March 6, 2009 by Dave Blum Have you ever been to a conference where there are intentionally no plans, no programs, no designated speakers, and the agenda is made up from scratch that morning?  Well, that’s exactly the crazy/fascinating meeting I attended here in San Francisco this past Tuesday,…

Watch Your Step, part 2

Thursday, March 5, 2009 by Dave Blum So there I am on a Balinese beach, sitting in the sand, my feet full of sea urchin spines.   (How’s that for a lead sentence!) Sprinting off towards the nearest hotel, my girlfriend, Yumiko, can be seen from a distance, negotiating animatedly with the local…

Management Lesson: Watch Your Step!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 by Dave Blum What were *you* doing back in 1987?  If you’re a Millennial, you may not even have even been born yet!  (Wow, that makes me feel OLD.) For my part, back in the later 80’s I was foot-loose and fancy free, having just finished…

Scavenger Hunt Ideas: 3 Ways to build a list

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 by Dave Blum Here are three types of scavenger hunt lists you’ll want to consider when creating your own DIY team building exercises: 1) A List of Items: When we were kids, our parents often set up our birthday or holiday scavenger hunts around the house…

Team-building: Building-in Imperfection

Monday, March 2, 2009 by Dave Blum >Years ago while teaching English in Japan, I was struck by the fact that many of the female models and pop stars had (at least) one crooked tooth.  Clearly there was some peculiarly Asian aesthetic going on here that I was missing, an…

More Advanced Treasure Hunting…

Friday, February 27, 2009 by Dave Blum A couple of days ago, I wrote about last weekend’s Bay Area Treasure Hunt (BATH), run by our Dr. Clue puzzle writer, Alexandra Dixon.  Well, James (also a Dr. Clue puzzle writer) filmed the whole day for our team and put it up…

Star Trek treasure hunt cruise

Thursday, February 26, 2009 by Dave Blum Over the years, I’ve been amazed and amused by the odd treasure hunt ideas that have come across my plate.  (I guess that’s what happens when you combine corporate team building activities and scavenger hunts for a living.) For instance, at one point I was…

Enneagram — part 2

Friday, February 20, 2009 by Dave Blum The beauty of the Enneagram is: 1) You don’t need to take a multiple-choice exam to determine your type; you simply read a list of descriptions and decide, on your own, which type best fits you. 2) Each type has at least two off-shoots: a positive…