Team Bonding Madness

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Cooper Fulantsie

Cooper Fulantsie

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Posts
9
Loc
Melbourne, Australia
I've heard of many methods of "Sales Team Bonding", but the one I heard today really makes me wonder whether some supply companies have lost touch with the picture framer, or they just don't give a rats. One of the so called 'major suppliers here in "OZ", at this weeks National Sales Meeting is "allegedly" having costume dress up role play scenarios. Just wondering how that will give them the knowledge they need to help the Mom & Dad picture framers grow their businesses. Still, as long as their enjoying themselves & the framers don't realize their indirectly paying for the costumes & all the other wasteful things that go on, who cares. I just figure there are to many gimicks & slight of hand among suppliers these days, especially down here, that some of egos have no idea what the picture framers needs actually are. CAN SOMEONE SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE STUPIDITY OF SUPLIERS AT TIMES?:shrug:
 
I have heard of some corporations like May Kay Cosmetics and Wal*Mart have these kind of “Happy, happy, joy, joy” kind of rallies. They are supposed to build corporate loyalty and coworker camaraderie.

Anonymous interviews with the coerced participants often think them a waste of time, silly and demeaning. They often are left with contempt for the company which they didn’t necessarily have before.

I think most event planners are useless lumps of protoplasm and should be drawn and quartered.
 
In previous life had a major international manufacturer as my biggest account. At an annual international sales rep meeting, all participants, including me though I was there as a vendor, were assigned to a "team". Our task was to select any song and perform it via karaoke. We chose "Happy Birthday"....shortest song on the list not already taken.

Still, I left and went home before my "team" had to stand up and sing. Figured getting home early for a game of B-Ball in the yard with my son was a better use of my time.

Always felt like these were power moves by higher ups as opposed to team building. Now, to build team spirit, I sit out on the patio and read the paper on a nice day at lunch. Makes me feel great....and motivated for the rest of the day.
 
I once had to go to a "leadership camp" in college because I ran a student art gallery, pure torcher.
 
I'm refuse to do jumping jacks with you people at 7 in the morning....and absolutey no cheer leading.
 
However, Steph, you will lift weights with us, yes?
 
This probably tells alot about our personalities and why we are best working for ourselves and probably alone

Bottom line: There are many personality traits and some are better suited for some positions than others
 
Motivational Posters

These are my kind of motivational materials:

http://despair.com/viewall.html

I bought a few to sell and they are appreciated by those who have had to put up with "motivation" and "team building" in past lives.
 

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Bob Carter said:
This probably tells alot about our personalities and why we are best working for ourselves and probably alone

Bottom line: There are many personality traits and some are better suited for some positions than others
Click to expand...

You hit the V-nail on the but. Having been to many of these "camps", "day events", "team building", "Core growth" events over the years, I took a big interest in what they were supposed to do. What I noticed was 1) Some got it, and some didn't. 2) The experience stimulated some to choose other career paths (quit) 3) those who stayed, actually exhibited a stronger work-together ethic (explained by them as "we suffered that day together")

So I befriended a couple who ran a "Wilderness Outreach" that I had taken a couple of years before. As part of my "understanding the dynamics", I went along as an ancillary host/guide to help with ropes, bridges, zip-line set-up and retrievals. I think I learned more about myself during my "working" then during the day "doing" the course. So over dinner we debriefed about my 5 experiences, and what I had learned about these "bonding" courses.

1) They weed out the non-team players. :icon11:
2) They provide an "un-normal event" that a team can have a "shared experience" as well as learn some things about how they operate in the world, and what to expect from other team members and how they operate.
3) I can repel off a cliff OK, but don't handle jumping out of trees at 60' very well. :help:

Learned later in life: 4) I don't do Karaoke. :icon9:
 
Hey Baer-Anyone that has been in the military or been through two-a-days understands the process. It's not so much if it's stupid or silly as much as it is to see who "fits". No shame for those that don't "fit", it's better to find out when it's fun and games than when it's serious and your well-being relies upon it

There are many activities that don't require you "buying in". It's part for you to see that and for them to see that about you

Personally, when it's "incoming", I want to be sure the guy next to me "bought in"
 
I think too that something should be said for independant thinkers and those among us who think out of the box. Frankly in a fox hole situation I hope there is a little variety of personality. Just because you haven't signed up for a bonding seminar doesn't mean your lacking team work or that you aren't there for your comrades.
 
Sign me up too for independent thinkers in my foxhole. Give me a few MacGivers any day over those who did the silly drills.

Caveat is if the drills relate directly to what needs to be done on the serious side. Then two-a-days are great and I loved 'em. But make me stand on a chair and sing the school song.....I'd rather run extra wind sprints after practice.

But, as in all things, takes lots of personalities to make this world spin. Course, I'd be singing something at the top of my lungs if I jumped out of a 60' tree!
 
Nothing wrong with independent thinking

Plenty of seminars for "outside the box" thinking. Personally, I wish they could come up with a better term. And, rest assured, that some of the exercises (been there, done that) are pretty "silly", too, to many

It's all about what they are attempting to create and achieve

Speaking personally, my oldest and dearest friends are those with whom I have shared that type of common "bonding". To this day, I can still tell you the founders of my fraternity, my original service number and my school fight song

Can't remember my wife's birthday (LOL)
 
Don't get me started on Mary Kay.

Bill Henry- said:
I have heard of some corporations like May Kay Cosmetics and Wal*Mart have these kind of “Happy, happy, joy, joy” kind of rallies. They are supposed to build corporate loyalty and coworker camaraderie.
Click to expand...

Oh I had a Mary Kay lady in here trying to get me to sell make up. As if this shop doesn't take up enough of my time, I'm gonna add a second job to that? She invited me to this lame "color party" so I could try stuff. Turns out it wasn't a "would you like to buy Mary Kay" party but a "how would you like to sell Mary Kay" party. I was peeved that I wasted my time for a bunch of "Rah! Rah! Sis boom bah! Mary Kay is great and wouldn't you like to join?" b*llshi*t. She still calls thinking I'm going to change my mind. She obviously doesn't realize that's not gonna work.
 
RParrish said:
New name ? Here you might be interested in these.
Click to expand...

Thanks Randy. No, I'm new here, first time poster. I heard about these Cooper posts on the grumble and thought I'd join in the fun. I work with Cooper.
I fit in here at work well, but I do fnd these bonding weekends annoying. I have a family and I'd rather be spending my time with them. We work hard during the week, I like my job and I am motivated, so I don't think I need to bond. We all get along well, well most of us do anyway. All the bonding in the world isn't going to change me, or my thoughts.
 
Bob Carter said:
Personally, when it's "incoming", I want to be sure the guy next to me "bought in"
Click to expand...

Do you give personality test to applicants?

Doug--very very funny posters. I could see my college crowd buying those. Will investigate. OTOH, I frame a certain amount of motivational posters for customers, so I'd have to be careful with display. A recent customer bought a signature mat for her own retirement party. The picture in the mat was a motivational poster.

I did a brief but serious stint in network marketing for an electronics company and an industrial clean up product (really!) and have had my share of motivational speakers. A few points stuck though, and I became a somewhat better public speaker.
 
Omigosh!
Those demotivational posters are so funny!
As if Jack Handey grew up and put on a business
suit. Thanks for sharing that.
It cheered me right up.

I agree about not finding those contrived
team-spirit building scenarios tolerable.
It probably has to do with how suggestible a person is.
I'm a great team member in real situations,
but am not able to role play like that to save
my life.

Well,...maybe to save my life I could.

If it was down to being eaten alive by a
pack of rabid mongrels or going to one of those
workshops, there's probably the glimmer
of a chance I'd choose the latter.
But they couldn't make me like it.

You're right, that independent thinking
is probably what leads a lot of people
into self-motivated creative jobs.

1:09 a.m. goodnight.....
 
I figure if you can get up in front of your collegues & bosses to do whatever has been requested of you, & carry out any given task without any mental discomfort, you obviously have what it takes to be in sales anyway.

If on the other hand, you struggle to perform in front of your peers at these "team bonding" jaunts, well then you've probably chosen the wrong career anyway, as no amount of role playing, rope climbing or listening to motivational speakers will give you the personality required to be successful in sales.

Companies would get far more positive response from a simple team dinner & a movie. I think companies who indulge in these Rah! Rah! team bonding weekends or camps simply run a high risk of insulting or offending the successful & scaring off or intimidating the try hards.

Maybe companies who consistantly indulge their egos & wallets in these often very expensive outings, might be better off offering their customers a weekly special on mouldings or mats. Would save having to hire a costume or a motivational speaker. I think too many people look left field simply because it's trendy, when more often than not, the KISS method is far more effective.:soapbox:
 
My years in corporate was long before all this #### became common. To build team spirit after work we would just all go out and drink more than we probably should have.

I was staying at Len Aaron's house in Los Angeles after one of those team building forums. I showed up reasonably blitzed, at 2:00 am. Len let me in, I thought my career was more than likely over. Nope, he took me into the kitchen, broke out some more beers, some cheese and crackers and kept me up the rest of the night. He looks at his watch and says, you better go and get cleaned up, we got a lot to do today. He worked my butt of until almost 9:00 pm that day. I was like an animal when we finally got home. He takes me into his bar/game room and says, want a beer?

Anyway, that was the last time I attended a team building workshop when I was in Los Angeles. I don't think I ever drank again with "the team"

John
 
Wow John, he never offered me a beer. Now I'm crushed/impressed/betrayed/delayed/neutered/spayed, pick one for what ever straining is going on.

As for jumping out of that tree..... I wasn't singing..... I used to be able to swear in five languages very fast. I was looking for a sixth long before I hit the ground. :eek: The stupid thing was, I was back up that same tree two weeks later.
 
Baer, Len and I remain friends, we see each other about once a year. He or I call each other every other month or so. The years I worked for Aaron Brothers, I worked directly for Len. We had some great adventures & I have a whole lot of stories. I've told a few of them on The Grumble over the years. He was one very funny and shrewd businessman.

He would deliberately let people put one over on him, just to make them feel good. His memory is almost spooky. We would go into any store together and he would know the names of every one working there. Nothing escaped him. He could rattle off all the figures of any store, any time. The biggest mistake anyone could make who worked for him was trying to bull5hit him, it just flat out never worked unless he wanted it to.

One year I was at a party at his house, this was when everyone smoked... early seventies. We were standing in a group of people, his daughter was standing beside me. She pulled out a cigarette and a joint fell out of her pack onto the floor. She turned white, I put my foot over it so Len nor anyone else would notice. I recovered it, being all slick about it and everything, and gave it back to her.

The next day I was in his office, he casually thanked me for looking out for his daughter.

John
 
Oh, about jumping around in trees and such, we did a little of that kind of stuff in Recondo School at Fort Campbell. A little more at Fort Benning. It wasn't teamwork they were interested in though. :)

John
 
JRB said:
The next day I was in his office, he casually thanked me for looking out for his daughter.

John
Click to expand...

Yup, thats 110% Len. He was in United Picture Frame and just gotten back from lunch with Norman when I got the call that my sisters daughter had been run over and killed. I was numb. I just wanted to go back to making frames and "work it off". Norman was very upset and didn't know how to make me see reason, he knew I was in shock.
Len quietly asked me where "home" was. Then we talked a bit about Bishop and my family and my niece. Then Len quietly took $80 out of his wallet and shoved it in my hand telling me 'family is the most important thing in the world, take care of family or you will never take care of yourself'.
I stood there looking at more money then my paycheck... he whispered... 'don't worry about it. I'll take it out of Norman's hide later.'
I didn't see him much, but he always had that kind of effect on me. You are one wealthy SOB to call him friend.
 
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