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Atricle Dump - Outdoor Team Development - Harmless Fun or Serious Learning?
It is my belief that if anyone is to suceed in any type of business then the business needs to be marketed to it's target consumers in an effective manner. In order to do this effectively rather than in an ad hoc, probably expensive, manner I propose the construction of a marketing plan. This is something you can do yourself quite simply, but it will need some time for research and thought if it is to be worthwhile and achieve results.So, have read this far and not run away yet you will be wondering how to go about it. I see it as a very simple 5 step process as follows:1) Get your information together and analyze itFind out all you can about the industry you are in, it's sales channels, anticipated growth, products etc. Look at who your competitors are, who you expect your customers to be and your wholesalers. Look at pricing, distribution channels and product ranges.Next complete some SWOT analyses. This is a simple analysis of your Strenths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats which will be of great help in clarifying your thoughts and putting them and the information into some order.2)Write down your main challengesThe SWOT analysis should have helped you to see what they are e.g. one of my weaknesses is in how to drive traffic to my website. After all we need
The Sales Director had seen the outdoor management and team task approach done before and was convinced that the “non-arduous” type of outdoor team activity
Construction estimating is a multi million dollar business. When a contractor is building a home or structure, there are huge amounts of cash involved that are transferred to the contractor in increments. It is critical the job flow that the estimate is done correctly to avoid any delays. It is estimated that forty percent of a construction job is used for labor and laborer are paid an hourly rate. If there are any delays because of cash flow problems, the laborers still get paid the hourly rate for just sitting around doing nothing. This will add to the final cost of the project and the project will not be finished on schedule.Construction Cost Estimating – How to do a Professional JobThere are a lot of factors involved in drawing up an estimate. Attention to detail and experience is needed to draw up an accurate estimate.An experienced estimator knows that there are two parts to creating an estimate. The first part is deciding on what type of structure is being planned. Whether it is a home or business, or an addition to a home, or even a swimming pool, all parties’ involved need to sit down and form a plan. This gives the estimator a rough idea of what will be needed including any land that will be purchased for the construction. Once all of this is decided on, the
The “rumour-mill” was working overtime. “We’re going abseiling.” claimed one sales representative. “No, I have heard it is an orienteering challenge.” claimed another. “That river close by must be in the equation. Maybe there are canoes involved – or even rafts!” Minds were going into over-drive and with the rain starting to fall and the cloud cover starting to not only increase but appear to get lower and lower, a gloom descended both in weather terms and in terms of individuals’ motivation. The bar presented a much better option!
There was a surge of interest in the late eighties and nineties in “outward-bound” type team building exercises involving very challenging physical activities centred around canoes, rafts, abseiling and generally “roughing it”, but there is a lot of anecdotal feedback that this type of the teambuilding tends to support individual development as opposed to actually developing teams.
What is potentially needed are less strenuous outdoor team activities that not only challenge both team and individual but also create experiential learning that participants can take back and apply with their teams in their own work environment. The activities also have to be fun and not induce a fear of one’s personal safety being compromised!
The Sales Director had seen the outdoor management and team task approach done before and was convinced that the “non-arduous” type of outdoor team activity
If you do, it means:you don’t value tracking the perceptions of important outside audiences whose behaviors could sink your ship:you don’t care about setting a public relations goal designed to correct misconceptions, inaccuracies or rumors that can hurt you;you care even less about strategies to get you from here to that PR goal you already don’t care about;and you certainly don’t value the persuasive messages you need to convince your key outside audiences that their damaging perceptions of your enterprise are dead wrong.Man, that’s risky and an awful lot not to care about!Actually, I don’t believe you don’t care, and I don’t believe you’re really ignoring public relations. If you were, by now your organization would be on its last legs, Kaput!, Morto!In fact, you may be a closet PR person who knows better. Why you may even buy the fundamental premise of public relations:“People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the public relations mission is accomplished.”I’ll
The “rumour-mill” was working overtime. “We’re going abseiling.” claimed one sales representative. “No, I have heard it is an orienteering challenge.” claimed another. “That river close by must be in the equation. Maybe there are canoes involved – or even rafts!” Minds were going into over-drive and with the rain starting to fall and the cloud cover starting to not only increase but appear to get lower and lower, a gloom descended both in weather terms and in terms of individuals’ motivation. The bar presented a much better option!
There was a surge of interest in the late eighties and nineties in “outward-bound” type team building exercises involving very challenging physical activities centred around canoes, rafts, abseiling and generally “roughing it”, but there is a lot of anecdotal feedback that this type of the teambuilding tends to support individual development as opposed to actually developing teams.
What is potentially needed are less strenuous outdoor team activities that not only challenge both team and individual but also create experiential learning that participants can take back and apply with their teams in their own work environment. The activities also have to be fun and not induce a fear of one’s personal safety being compromised!
The Sales Director had seen the outdoor management and team task approach done before and was convinced that the “non-arduous” type of outdoor team activity
If there is one thing that this world will never stop needing, it's people who work to find other people jobs, or employment agents. This can be a very challenging and rewarding job. If you have the right personality and can get the most out of both ends of the equation involved, you can make a nice living as an employment agent. What you're about to read is a brief description of what's involved.Obviously, as an employment agent, your job is to find other people jobs. But the obvious doesn't always really tell the whole story of what's involved with a job. Being an employment agent is no exception. The best way to explain the challenges of an employment agent is to give you fictional example of the process.A guy comes into your office and says he's looking for a job. The first thing you do is have him fill out a very long questionnaire. This will give you a good idea of the person's background and what they're looking for. The agent will take some time to look over the application and then call them into the office to talk.The conversation that follows is more to get a sense of the applicant's personality than his skills. Those things are all on paper. The agent wants to get a feel for the person's confidence level with his skills. A big part of getting an applicant a job is
There was a surge of interest in the late eighties and nineties in “outward-bound” type team building exercises involving very challenging physical activities centred around canoes, rafts, abseiling and generally “roughing it”, but there is a lot of anecdotal feedback that this type of the teambuilding tends to support individual development as opposed to actually developing teams.
What is potentially needed are less strenuous outdoor team activities that not only challenge both team and individual but also create experiential learning that participants can take back and apply with their teams in their own work environment. The activities also have to be fun and not induce a fear of one’s personal safety being compromised!
The Sales Director had seen the outdoor management and team task approach done before and was convinced that the “non-arduous” type of outdoor team activity
As someone who has been heavily involved facilitating strategic planning processes with organizations during the last 15+ years, I often find it somewhat amusing how people answer the questions I pose.For example, if I ask people, “What is your unique differentiation in the marketplace?” or “What does your organization really excel at?” They will almost always reply, “It has to be our client service.” Almost no one will admit to being “lousy” in client service, any more than they will talk about living in an average town with average kids. Instead I see the “Lake Woebegone Syndrome.” In Lake Woebegone it seems all the women are pretty, all the men are handsome, and all the kids are well above average.If while getting to know someone’s agency or company, I ask the question, “If I hauled you into a court of law and accused you of being a ‘world class’ client service provider, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Many times, unfortunately, their answer is, “Probably not.”Therefore, if so many people think client service and satisfaction is so critical to the success of the vision and the execution of the strategic plan, why is it not usually monitored with the same intensity as the financials? After all, financials are a lagging indicator (telling what happened after the fact) wh
What is potentially needed are less strenuous outdoor team activities that not only challenge both team and individual but also create experiential learning that participants can take back and apply with their teams in their own work environment. The activities also have to be fun and not induce a fear of one’s personal safety being compromised!
The Sales Director had seen the outdoor management and team task approach done before and was convinced that the “non-arduous” type of outdoor team activity
Kim is the Assistant Hospital Administrator at General Hospital, where she's worked for the past 5 years. Based on negative publicity the hospital has received recently, Craig, the Hospital Administrator, has asked her to head up an inter-departmental task force devoted to improving quality of care to Emergency Room patients. Seven staff members have been assigned to help her: the Director of Nursing, an Accounting Department clerk, the VP, Human Resources, an ER nurse, an ER doctor, a Public Relations assistant and an Admitting Supervisor. Kim has been asked to provide a report outlining changes to the ER that will improve the patient experience as well as the buzz in the community. Her dilemma: Not one member of the team reports directly to Kim and yet her ability to lead this project team successfully will greatly impact her career advancement. Her question: How does one get results when managing a group of people over whom she has no authority?The short answer is this: manage from the side. While heading up a project group--by definition--involves directing individuals who do not report to you, in an increasingly competitive, rapidly changing business world, even in day-to-day management, the conventional approach of issuing orders and delegating down is giving way to a later
The Sales Director had seen the outdoor management and team task approach done before and was convinced that the “non-arduous” type of outdoor team activity was the way forward. At the pre-event brief, expectations were managed and fears subsided. No, there was no abseiling, rock-climbing, canoeing or orienteering. Instead each sales team had a number of outdoor tasks to achieve in a specific timeframe and each team would be observed by an external coach supported by a “safety-advisor” who knew the tasks “backwards”. Each team would be scored on their planning, decision making, communication and flexibility in their attempts to undertake the various tasks which involved doing a number of things with pipes, cages, ropes, ladders, balls, and an assortment of other implements and structures. The sense of relief around the room was very evident but there was still a sense of “what I am going to learn from this?” around, especially as the rain continued to fall and the darkness closed in!
Why outside? Performing tasks outside has several advantages to performing them indoors. Firstly, it takes the teams out of their work environment and gives them a release from the pressures of the office or the conference room in the hotel. Even the rain and wind can be a refreshing change from the constant ring of the mobile and the dulcet tones of the manager! Secondly, the sheer movement from one location to the next frees up the mind and also releases energy for use both physically and mentally. Finally a good picturesque location can very inspiring and motivational. The great outdoors also gives people space to think and space to m
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