The BEST Moves
Start at the End
Ten minutes before you choose anything. Write the sentence people say on the way out, then pick the program that gets you there.
3 min read The move is free From 10 Business Scenarios
How to run it
You can do all of this yourself, on Monday, without calling anybody.
Picture it over, and it worked.
Before anyone mentions a program, imagine the event has just ended and it went well. Write the one sentence people say to each other on the way out. That sentence is your goal, in the words your team would actually use.
Decide how teams get picked.
Either you assign them, or the activity mixes people who rarely work together. Assigned teams practice working as the unit they already are; mixed teams build relationships across the company. Pick one on purpose.
List what this group has done before.
What flopped, and why? What did they love, and what made it great? A format they loved can be repeated for a new group, and one that flopped tells you what to avoid.
Now pick the program.
Hold each option up to the sentence from step one. The right one gets you there. The rest are just a good afternoon.
Watch out: Do not write the sentence alone. Take ten minutes with whoever signs off, or you will pick the program for your goal and be judged on theirs.
Why it works
The mechanism, not the marketing.
Most events that disappoint were fine events booked for the wrong goal: a fast, fun competition for a group that needed leadership work, or a serious workshop for a team that needed a night off. Starting at the end puts the goal into a sentence before anyone falls for a program. The two questions after it, how teams get picked and what worked before, are the details that turn a good program into the right one for this group. It is the same order our own planners follow in a needs assessment, and you can do the first pass yourself in ten minutes.
“One approach is to “start at the end.” What are the outcomes the client is looking for? If they imagine the activity is over, and it was very successful and the employees are walking away not only smiling but also more engaged, what were the factors that made it a success?”
Best Corporate Events, in 10 Business Scenarios Where Team Building Leads to Success (p. 141)
Why some people distrust team building
Usually they had the wrong activity for the goal. Sixty minutes of A Minute 2 Win It! is a great program for engagement and team problem-solving, and the wrong tool for building a management team’s leadership skills.
10 Business Scenarios (pp. 143 to 144)
Success needs a definition first
The first of six steps to a productive event is to establish exactly what success will look like for this activity. It also lets your provider advise you properly.
10 Business Scenarios (p. 144)
Where this move came from
Or take the whole book.
10 Business Scenarios Where Team Building Leads to Success
Ten common business situations, the programs that fit each, and Roy’s notes throughout.
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Activities that do this for you
If you would rather not run it yourself, these are built around the same job.
