January-December 2004

Team Energy Helps to Bond Muskie Fellows
The United States Department of State, in conjunction with the American Councils for International Education and the Open Society Institute, administer the Edmund S. Muskie/Freedom Support Act Graduate Fellowship Program, bringing together hundreds of bright young professionals from the former Soviet Union countries. Teambuilding, Inc., in partnership with Team Concepts, Inc., supports this effort by conducting important team development activities intended to foster greater community and collaboration among the participants. The most recent event involved about 120 Fellows in our Team Energy session. An additional 25 Fellows who had previously experienced this session were challenged to develop Hollywood-style films through our session Team Hollywood. Testimonials at the end once again confirmed that this kind of teambuilding is powerful in bringing together diverse peoples. Click on the pictures to enlarge and enjoy!

What's Lifting Productivity? The answer is more than new technology
According to the May 24, 2004, issue of Business Week magazine¹, innovative ideas from frontline workers are having an impact on productivity improvement in U.S. businesses. Economics professors Sandra E. Black from UCLA and Lisa M. Lynch of Tufts University state that innovative workplace practices such as "production ideas from non-managerial employees, job rotation and sharing, and tying compensation to performance" are adding to the productivity boom. They also conclude that from 1993 to 1996, innovative workplace practices in manufacturing accounted for as much as 89% of the growth in what economists call "multifactor productivity."
1. Business Week, Economic Trends, "What's Lifting Productivity" by James Mehring, May 24, 2004.

Teambuilding, Inc.'s Fearless Leader Checks Out BoatWorks^TM!
This month Teambuilding, Inc.'s Peter Grazier spent a day sailing in formation with a dozen people previewing BoatWorks^TM, one of our newest team building sessions being conducted in cooperation with our friends at GEL. "What surprised me," said Mr. Grazier "was the excellent design of the team building intended to demonstrate how organizations must not only work as a team within their departments (one boat), but also with other departments (multiple boats). It was a challenging, but achievable, task to have all boats working in unison on a timed course. And with practice and excellent training from the coaches at GEL, we improved our times continuously. A wonderful day!"
Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Team Energy Leadership Training Welcomes Fulbright Scholars
The United States Department of State, in conjunction with the Institute of International Education, welcomed 60 Fulbright Scholars with our 4-hour leadership training session called Team Energy. The highly experiential and motivational session enthralled the participants with its unique approach to learning key aspects of true leadership. Testimonials once again affirmed this session as a powerful, high-energy learning experience. Click on the pictures to enlarge and enjoy!

Costco Bucks the Trend and Pays Higher Wages
With the "Wal-Martizing" of industries worldwide, there was a startling article in the April 12th issue of Business Week magazine that may shake up the current conventional wisdom regarding one aspect of super-low expenses. Low wages have generally been associated with this cost-cutting approach to retailing; however, comparing Wal-Mart and Costco's overall performance indicates that higher wages may translate into better productivity overall. Costco pays workers an average of $15.97/hour and covers health care costs for 82% of its employees. This compares with Wal-Mart's $11.52/hour and health care that covers only 47% of employees. Additionally, Costco covers 91% of its employees in a retirement plan versus 64% for Wal-Mart. So how does this help Costco? Turnover at this smart retailer is only 6% per year compared with 21% at Wal-Mart, labor and overhead costs are 9.8% of sales compared with 17%, and profits per employee are $13,647 compared to $11,039. It seems that an experienced workforce with proper pay and benefits simply out-produces its low-wage rivals. For more on this story, visit Business Week's website and search for the article entitled "The Costco Way."

Teambuildinginc.com Sets New Record for Site Visitors!
Well, we've done it again! Our site traffic just continues to grow as we respond to your inquiries and suggestions for improvement. The month of March saw 33,158 visitors for an average of 1,070 visitors a day. Thank you for supporting our work, and don't forget to tell us how to improve.

First All-Spanish Vortex Workshop in Mexico City
We are pleased to announce our first all-Spanish Vortex workshop conducted by Stu Noble and Hector Moguel in Mexico City. Stu's company, 3D Learning, designs and conducts challenging and instructive business simulations. This workshop, entitled Harnessing the Vortex, was conducted to accelerate the ability of this top leadership team to operate more strategically. In the words of the company's President, "It exceeded all of our expectations!" For our friends in Mexico and other Latin American countries, Hector Moguel is now offering Vortex in-house workshops. Contact us for more information. Click on the picture to enlarge.

Louis Vuitton's Success Due In-Part to Teams
The world's biggest and most profitable luxury brand isn't that way by accident. The well-managed company does a lot of things right. Of course, what caught our attention was their use of teams. All Vuitton factory employees work in teams of 20-30 employees, focusing on one product at a time. Team members not only suggest improvements in manufacturing, but also benefit from being briefed on details about the product, pricing, and how well it is selling. The goal is to make employees as multi-skilled and autonomous as possible. As a result, employees make meaningful contributions to Vuitton's incredible product quality. One team of employees recently noticed that decorative studs on the new Boulogne Multicolor bag were causing the zipper to bunch up and suggested they be moved slightly. Problem solved. Teamwork and collaboration pay off again. For more on this story, refer to Business Week magazine, March 22, 2004, "The Vuitton Machine."

What's New in Information Technology Training? ...Team Skills!
According the the March 1, 2004 issue of Business Week magazine, programmers must undergo the career equivalent of an "extreme makeover" to survive and thrive in the new economy. With basic programming jobs going overseas, and salaries declining 17.5% in the last 2 years, those with team management skills will continue to thrive. As evidence, pay for programmers with project management skills has risen 14.3% since 2002. To cope with this change, Carnegie Mellon University has added courses for programmers on how to manage teams and lead the diverse work groups who will ultimately design software architecture.

Costa Nursery Farms, Inc. - Leadership Training with a Twist!
For the second year in a row, Costa Nursery Farms, Inc. of Miami, Florida, chose Teambuilding, Inc. to support its yearly management meeting. This year, we incorporated two of our activities, the Mission Impossible Caper! and our Portable Ropes Teambuilding, to enhance the learning objectives of the two-day meeting and inject some good-natured fun. The theme of the training was Leadership During Times of Dynamic Growth. Our hats go off to this dynamic leadership team for their organization's success in creating one of the fastest growing companies in their industry. Click on the pictures to enlarge and enjoy!

NEW IN CATALOG - Get Fit for Coaching - This program assesses and teaches the skills of coaching, so that leader feedback is meaningful and productive.

NEW IN CATALOG! - Managing the Change Curve - A 1-2 hour program to help individuals, teams, and organizations understand, accept, and move through the experience of change.

NEW IN CATALOG! - Toobeez^TM Construction Elements - Were you ever looking for the perfect props for building something during a team building activity? Well, we've found it. Take a look at these GIANT tube construction elements. See example on how to use it in team building.

Teambuilding on the Water - Team Sailing is Definitely "In"! In cooperation with our new partners at GEL, we can now offer team building training and outings at multiple locations around the U.S. using the growing sport of team sailing. It's team development with wind at your back and spray in your face. An unforgettable experience for your team. Check out our new webpage with all the details. (see "News Archive")

NEW IN CATALOG! - Facilitating Win/Win - At last! Tools and techniques to help teams reach agreement. The facilitator's friend!

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