By 3 min read

Idea #73 Speed up your Reading

Do it When you want to develop your team members. 
As you know team members do not have time to read books. Consequently, if they do not read, they cannot develop their skills. So here is one tip how you can motivate them to develop themselves on a daily basis. Every week one of them should start to read a book. During that week he/she should read only 30 pages of the book. At the next meeting he/she should make a small presentation on what he /she has learned. Then, all other members of the team should write down their own ideas about: How it can be implemented in their organisation. After you do that just once per week for one year period, you all will have 6 books read. On the top of it, you will have a special box full of ideas that can be implemented in your organisation. This is something that I suggest to all companies I cooperate with. Everyone is in the good mood praticing: presentation skills, brainstorming ideas, as well as learning something totally new and developing each member of the team.
narrative-794978_1920

Now coaching questions for you:
1. Which book do you suggest that … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #58 Be a 10 minute Observer

Do it When you want to make a change in your company. Everyone in the group still sitting in their chairs has to mentally leave the group and take some of the corners of the room. Now, looking from that position to the group he/she has to imagine a business scenario for the next year. What changes in the team have to be made? What would be the most effective thing that each of us has to make? Write down everything and discuss in the end. Do it now, because: “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine the next business year on your market! What changes do you see?
2. How those changes are affecting your business?
3. What are advantages of those changes?
4. What are the bad things in those changes?
5. What else is even more important to your right now?
6. How important to you is to make necessary changes?
7. Who else will benefit from those changes?
8. Make a list of all actions that you have to make so you will be prepared for the change?
9. Now, think about … Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #35 You in 5

Do it when you have to explain the importance of change. Give a flip chart paper to participants.  Their task is to draw. First, in lower left part they have to draw them in present time. Their faces are toward center of the paper. Then in upper right part of the paper, they have to draw themselves in 5 years. Again faces turned to the center of the paper. Now they have to connect those 2 pictures. They can choose type of the line. It can be straight or more in the waving mood. But it has to start from left lower corner and finish at upper right corner. Now they have to draw and explain critical moments in those 5 years. What they predict has happened and how they have overcome it.
Crucial is that suddenly they will come to the idea that they have to change themselves.
At this moment mankind posses only 5% of the knowledge that it will have in 2060.
So we have to invent and to learn 95% of it.  Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine yourself going in year 2060 and taking that knowledge. Remember now you have only 5% of … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #24 Masters I give you 3 wishes each

Do it When you want to know what is really important to your people and what they want to change. Just imagine that in a basement of your company building you have found an old lamp.   When you rub it a good genie appears.  The genie gives to each member of your team 3 wishes.  Everyone has to make 3 changes. You have to change yourself, your manager and your job.

You have 5 minutes for preparation and then you start presentations, one by one.
You can make variations by making dividing people on groups of 3, so they can work and make presentation together. In that case give them flip chart. when you finish make a picture of presentations and use them in your company, Of course send one copy to us.

1. While that good genie is in the house, ask him for one additional wish. What it will be?
2. Why is it so important to you, that you will spend that one wish on it?
3. What changes in your life it will make?
4. How might you take it even further?
5. What skills would you need for it?
6. How are going … Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #21 How to learn a new skill?

Do it When your team have to learn some now skill or to face a difficult change.
People say that:” The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change”. But employees are often afraid of a change. Sometimes they are even afraid of some new skill that they have to adopt. Show them that learning new skill is easy as A, B, C… or should I said Z, Y, X…?
Ask your group to say alphabet from A to Z. People will laugh and did it with moderate speed. Tell them that new task is to do the alphabet backwards. They will laugh even more and say that is not possible without reading.
Tell them that it is all up to them. If they think it is not possible, for sure they are right.
But they have 3 minutes to prepare strategy for learning and 10 minutes for practicing. During that time they can use whatever they want just to learn that new skill.
After those 13 minutes for sure they will succeed. Ask them:
How did they feel when they heard for the first time what the task is?
In which way preparation of strategy … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #18 Make Your Team Rules

Do it When you motivate your team or during team building. Nobody likes rules.
That’s because rules are limitations that someone else is putting on us.
That is so demotivating. But rules are necessary for doing business.
Without them we would be in anarchy. So lets turn it around.
Ask them to write down 10 rules that are so important for them on the job.
Then one by one has to say his 10 rules and someone is writing on the flip chart. Obviously, some of the rules are gonna be said several times. Just count it like votes.
At the end you will have 10 rules or you can narrow to 5 rules that are confirmed by all of them. Those rules are your company values and can be easily transferred into company mission.
!#18
Now coaching questions for you?
Imagine that you have to make your life according to 3 rules.
1. What would you choose?
2. What sort of person would you be if you obey those 3 rules?
3. Who else would benefit then?
4. Why is this important to you?
5. What will be your next steps?
Write down on comments or if it is more … Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #17 Learn from the Zig & geese

Do it During team building. Great Zig Ziglar had funny story about gees.
He would ask participants 3 questions and encourage them for answers.

  1. Why are geese flying in “V” formation?  And most of the people are familiar that using that trick geese save 70% of the energy.
  2. Why from time to time geese change formation for several seconds? Again, there is in every group someone that will explain that leading goose is accepting the majority of the air pressure and for a while another goose will take its position
  3. Why is one leg of the formation always longer than other?  Looks like everyone has noticed that but no one has logical explanation. Then Zig would say: “Because in that “leg” are more geese!“

This will make people laugh, more connected and prepared for main topic. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q40h8dPmgwQ&feature=related[/youtube]

There much more we can learn from the geese.
1. Geese flying at the end of formation are honking for supporting ones at front.
2. When a goose drops out of formation due to sickness or tiredness, two other geese join her and protect until it is ready again.

Now, you can make a discussion:
Imagine our team being more efficient… Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #9 Your Company Island is waiting Sir…

Do it When you want to think about recycling and during team building.
Maybe you have heard of Richie Sowa, a man who built his own floating island. Important thing is that island is made from old plastic bottles. Making something useful Richie has recycled something that was planned to be trash.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvn9l1pJ3-A[/youtube]
Now, inspired with movie let’s see how we can make the similar. Your company for sure deserves an island. If you have no lake (or license) to build it, you can make an island at your backyard. It doesn’t have to be by 250,000 bottles, but use as many as possible. Make a small island, just for your team. You are not allowed to buy anything in the store for making it. Just collect things that you normally throw away. When you finish your company island make discussion.
What have you learned during this event?
What was important for each of us during this event?
What else might be a good idea for growing your island?
Come aboard on your island, have fun 🙂 and make a picture.

     
 
 
 
    
… Read more
By 2 min read

Idea #8 Tea of wishes for closing Team Building

Do it When you want to connect your people, talk about strategy, values and at the end of any training.
This is perfect for cold winter days when you are having team building outside. At the beginning of any event people have some expectations, or wishes. It is very important to have them at the beginning of any training. If you don’t know what they are expecting how can you fulfill those expectations? So, carefully write down what they say and by paraphrasing be sure that you understand it.
!8

During the last break or at the end, when they will score evaluation form, prepare them a tea. Make those tea bags really special. On each tag write in just one word what they expected at the beginning. Now it is time for each of them to say aloud what is written on his tag, and how this training (team building) helped him in fulfilling his expectations (wishes)?
What have you learned?
How beneficial this training was on a scale from 1 to 10?
You can encourage discussion by asking the others what they can add. And I am encouraging you to say
what variations of this, or other ideas … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #4 Company Logo from Values

Do it When you want to connect their values with values of the company.
Company values are something much more than a poster on the office wall. It is our life guidance, and if our company values are different from our personal values, we are in the wrong company, living a miserable life.

So, let`s start with drawing a company logo on the white board. The logo has to be big, so there will be enough space for posting yellow or colored tags. Each person has to write a value that is important to him and post it on the company logo.
When everyone has posted his value, people will start voting for those values. The value with more votes will be posted higher on the logo.
In the end you will have a company logo made from your real values. Take a picture and send to all of your employees and/or frame it at work and place it in some premises important to them.
!#4 Company Values
Coaching questions:
1. What 3 values are you looking for in your career?
2. Why are those values important to you?
3. For each value, how satisfied are you on the scale from 1 … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #3 Chess as Your Corporate Gift

Do it When you want to make a really special company gift or during Team building when you want your team members to have a fun and think about the company strategy.
The history of chess spans some 1500 years. The earliest predecessors of the game originated in India, before the 6th century AD. A lot of business people play chess.
At least we are all familiar with the pieces used in chess.
chess_set

King, queen, bishop, knight, rook and pawn. So, there are 6 different pieces for showing your creativity. Choose 6 your products and use them for all 6 pieces. Even if you don’t make a real corporate gift, you can use this example on your team building while discussing importance of each product.
1. Which one is major and the company will not survive without it (king)?
2. Which one is the most valuable on the market (queen)?
3. Which one is the cheapest product, available in every store and generates a profit everywhere (pawn)?
Encourage every idea that your colleagues will brainstorm. Good luck!

     
 
 
 
    
… Read more