" Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is sucess." - Henry Ford

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Teamwork is essential. We will provide you with teambuilding exercises,free teambuilding activities, corporate teambuilding days and more tools for your toolkit.

In today’s competitive global economy companies need a win-win attitude. Teambuilding is a must to survive. When I was going to college in the 1970’s we studied the Management by Objectives strategies in Business Administration classes. I never heard about Teambuilding. During the 1970’s my father, who worked for Ford Motor Company in Cleveland, Ohio,USA, told me about Quality Circles. Small groups of employees would sit down and talk about specific ways to improve their production. It was in the 1990’s, during my graduate studies, that I learned about Teambuilding, Dr. W. Edward Deming, and Total Quality Management (TQM).

Find more about Dr. Deming

Management needs to continuously improve and use employee empowerment by using teams. After World War II, Dr. Deming promoted his TQM plan to Japanese business leaders and they listened to him. Japanese business has taught us that teambuilding works. Now, thirty years later, I teach teambuilding exercises at a local community college. It is my plan to share my 28 years of Human Resources Management experience and my 18 years of teaching experience with you.

Here are some Teambuilding Exercises to add to your tool kit:

Before you begin the activity break your large group into small groups. I have found the best size is four to seven people per TEAM. If the group is smaller it can limit the synergy needed to perform tasks or solve the problem. When the group is too big it may cause social loafers.

teambuilding exercises : Balloon Tower Supplies: Roll of making tape, 150-200 balloons for each Team Time: 20-30 minutes. Every five minutes give the team a time update.

Instructions: Give each team their balloons and the masking tape. Explain to them their objective is to build the tallest balloon tower. Tell the teams the time limit. The rules are the balloon tower must be free standing and cannot be taped to the floor, walls or other structures. They key to this exercise is that the Team needs to build a solid foundation. The better the foundation the taller the tower. The real learning takes places as each team is asked to debrief their teamwork process after they have built the tower. Ask them these three questions: 1. What did you, as a team, do well? 2. What went wrong with the team? 3. How could the team improve? I do like to offer a special prize (candy bars, small gift.) to the winning Team. This is a fun TEAM exercise.

teambuilding exercises:Egg Drop

Supplies: Roll of making tape, box of straws, and raw egg for each Team. Virtual money account with supply price list-listed on a chalk or dry erase board. Time: 30-45 minutes

You need to find a location where an egg can be dropped two or three floors down. Instructions: Each team is given a virtual of $5,000 allocation to buy supplies. It costs $250 per straw and $100 for every inch of masking tape. Instruct the teams to build a basket/container in which they put the egg and then drop it the two to three floors without breaking the egg. Encourage the teams to plan out their strategy before they start to buy products. All teams must stay within their budget. When the teams have completed their baskets test them out. Let them drop. Have your cleaning supplies ready!

teambuilding exercises:Scavenger Hunt

Instructions: Pick out 20 to 30 different items or information resources within the company, organization, or on campus. It is good idea to alert the other departments or individuals in your organization that this scavenger hunts will take place. Give each team a specified time to find the items on the list. The debriefing of this activity creates a bonding and the team members can learn a lot about the organization in fast time. This works great with new teams and new employees.

teambuilding exercises :Earthquake Drill

Supplies: 10-12 different size rocks and blindfolds Creating a rock formation into a unique design. Explain to the team that there has been an earthquake. Instructions: Send half of the team out of the room. Ask the team remaining in the room to study the rock formation for one or two minutes. When the time is up ask the team back into the room. Have them close their eyes. Give them a blindfold and explain to them there has been an explosion. They are blind. Explain to the team that stayed in the room, that they must now get verbal instructions from the blind team members. Using their verbal skills they must get the team to reconstruct the rock formation in order to "Save the World." This is a great communication exercise.

teambuilding exercises :Greenlighting

This activity is to look for different options and promote creativity.

Instructions: Identify a problem you would like to tackle or correct. Appoint a scribe for the group to gather all the ideas. Have the group form a circle. Tell the group that no one is allowed to make a negative comment. Like brainstorming, every idea is okay. Each member then gives his or her ideas on how to solve the problem. Only greenlighting, positive ideas are spoken. Go around the circle until all ideas have been shared. This is great idea to solve problems.