Now that I have metrics for my website I noticed that my previous blog post about Solo Entrepreneur Survival has been very popular. So it’s reminded me that sometimes I need to stop being strategic, or thinking too much about team building posts, and just write what I’m living at the moment. So here it is: AARRGGHHHH!!!

Yeah – really; that’s been the past month and here’s why: I’ve succeed past my first three years of Team Building Through Song. I now have a track record with proven success…and it’s killing me! I can’t claim the newbie-underdog mantle anymore. I’m sort of established and now I have to grow another 65% this year to meet the goals my advisers and I have set. Put this in the heading of ‘good problem to have’, but still a problem. Gone are the days when I spent a week in my office just crafting my mission statement, my company biography, looking for logos. Now it’s all like; How many proposals are going out? Why hasn’t the phone rung yet today? When will that next event close? And where is my free time?

Solo Entrepreneur Team Building Part II

No, this isn’t a cheap ploy to get my keywords on page heading. This is what you must do now – Build Your Team. I’m outsourcing administrative work to a virtual assistant(VA). If you don’t know what a VA is, find out now. I’m using an expert to help my website get found. That would be Joe Chura at Launch Digital Marketing. I’m still relying on the steady hand of Rent A Geek Mom and the close advice of my brilliant and successful business man brother, Jim Kirsch.

Exhale Now

Wow, just writing this has made me feel better. Tomorrow, I’m off to Atlanta for an MPI conference where I’ll see some friends and make some new contacts…Guess I’m not so alone, even though I am a solo entrepreneur.

• My biggest problem is that I don’t call on my support network often enough or soon enough
• My new goal is to reach out when I’m feeling overwhelmed by my solo-ness before I spend a week stewing…
• How do you handle the ups and downs of being passionate yet solo? I’d really like to know so please comment below!

I’ve been in a slump, dang it! No, don’t worry – the team building business is still thriving, but I’ve been uninspired. I know you can relate to those times when you’re going through the motions, working hard, but without passion. I’ve been focused on detail and operations and I’ve lost site of the big picture – the underlying motivation that fuels my love for musical team building. So I approached yesterday’s task of creating my February newsletter with a bit of dread. Then, while looking for quotes for the newsletter, I came across the lyric that our client, Hobsons, created at a recent event. Over 100 people came together and created an impactful song that represented the best of what they do; highlighting the Why, the Meaning and the Importance of the work.

The Lyric:
We change the world through education
Changing students lives through seamless integration
Hobsons provides the pathway to your dreams…

The song creation process enabled this group to go from day-to-day operational mindset to empowering mindset. They remembered that they seriously believe their products change the world through education. That belief, and subsequent enthusiasm, is contagious and can reinvigorate an entire company. And now I’m excited again. Because I realize all the day-to-day operational stuff I have to slog through is worth it; worth it because I believe in the power of our program. It’s just that sometimes we need other people to remind us of that power, of the underlying meaning and motivation behind our work.

So you may notice this is my first blog post in a couple of weeks. My goal is to post something interesting about team building ideas twice a week. But lately, every time I start to write I’ve been stymied and uninspired. I recently realized the reason has been that I’m thinking too hard. I’m now using ScribeSeo by copyblogger to help me optimize my posts for keywords around team building, creative team building ideas, etc. But now that I’m becoming aware of what I should be doing to gain strategic advantage, it’s overtaken my usual ability to just express what I’m feeling about the work I do.

Late last night I realized I had to return to the essence of why I do all this. Because I’m passionate about creativity, innovation and helping groups integrate those attributes into their work life through corporate team building programs. This realization also reminded me of why our programs work – because team songwriting helps groups to get back to the essence of what they do, to the underlying motivation and mission that, in theory, should drive the every day experience…

Team Building Tune Up

So late last night I realized I really needed my own tune up. I needed to remember why I blog and why I love the work I do. I’m passionate about it because I genuinely love to help companies get in touch with what’s really real – the meaning behind the day-to-day madness. The song creation process enables teams to distill a mass of information into a concise, meaningful message through song. And the process itself is fun, with equal doses of laughter, play and work.

Keeping It Real

If we can remember what’s really important in our work, what motivates us; while having fun and also getting some real work done – well then we’re really rocking – We’ll be creative and efficient; innovative and effective. What could be better than that?

We’re never at our best when we’re fearful. Fear can be an upfront, overwhelming feeling or a subtle part of our everyday workplace environment. Creative people know that being afraid to fail is a stumbling block to trying new things and thus, to problem solving and innovation. Team Building Events help groups confront their hesitation to act, moving teams outside of their normal comfort zone. That zone isn’t always a good one. It’s just where we’re accustomed to being.

Really? You’re Scared of This?

I recently lost a big team building event because a corporate VP didn’t think he was a good singer. He believed our program would enable his group to come together, to have fun, to learn more about themselves and their company. He understood the value in creating a song that captured the essence of what his company did, a song that would be a lasting take-away. Seriously, he got all of that! He actually told me, “I know this would be a fantastic team building activity.” But he kept getting stuck on his own insecurity.

• You don’t have to sing and you don’t have to make a fool of yourself.
• You don’t even have to contribute.
• But you do have to show up.
• And sometimes, that’s asking too much.

Fun Team Building (is it an oxymoron?)

No! Do you want to get on the giant roller coaster before you do it? No! Do you revel in the experience and talk about it for days afterward? Yes! No new idea, no innovation, has ever been created in a safety zone. If you play with us, and venture into a meaningful team building activity, you’ll re-discover the potential you used to be aware of. The potential you’ve gotten used to living without.

• We don’t judge – we just do
• We don’t equivocate – we create
• If it was easy, everyone would do it!

I’ve often shied away from using the term corporate team building. Strategically, I didn’t want to have less appeal to associations and non-profits that don’t fit the typical corporate team building mold. But honestly, corporate culture is where people work together closely, often in teams, with goals and project deadlines. The working relationships require team building so workers stay happy and engaged – engaged not only as individuals but as team members.

The Art of Work

When I’m at the piano writing a song, or immersed in a good book time zooms by. I’m in a state of contentment and animation, focused, and in the zone. When we’re creating we’re naturally engaged. The two go together. Creative team building will actually enable your workers to practice being in the zone together and give you tangible experience; a model from which to build on. There’s real value in this. A great read on the subject is the art of work. Imagine if your team could function at this level. Firing on all cylinders with the work day flying by. You’d be more creative and innovative. Your level of employee engagement would rise dramatically.

Corporate Team Building is Team Tuning

There are warning signs you can look to, in order to discern just how badly your company is in need of some team tuning. Here’s a great blog post listing some of the signs that you may need a little corrective work. But remember, this is an opportunity to improve, so grab it! Don’t just read the article and feel sorry for yourself. Embrace the challenge to get more of your team in the zone, firing on all cylinders, creating, debating, innovating and celebrating success.

• Team building is really another term for a tune up
• You tune up your car when it needs it, for obvious reasons…SO
• Why wouldn’t you tune up your team?
  
  

  

This is where it all started for me, and for a lot of us. I know I’m biased but Nashville corporate team building is sort of synonymous with music team building. I ran into a client recently and he introduced me by saying I had invented the idea of team building through song. Well that’s not true, not at all.

What’s Unique About Nashville Team Building?

I decided to try and find the originator of music based team building programs but I couldn’t find one source. It’s unique to Nashville in that it’s woven into the fabric of our city. The Nashville Songwriters Association International, The Country Music Hall of Fame and the CVB have all offered musical solutions for corporate team building for quite some time. Great songs tell stories, music brings people together. Coming together to create your story in a fun musical environment is music team building, but it’s not forced. It’s team building for the I hate to do this group.

If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it – Albert Einstein.

There’s a reason companies as diverse as Google, Target and GE are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and resources to help employees become more creative and innovative. Creativity is vital, not only to innovate, but also to solve day-to-day problems, to stay energized and enthused in the work we do. In our fast paced, ever changing world, creativity and innovation are the hallmarks of survival, growth and health for every organization.

Musical team building programs will help you create a culture of passion, innovation and purpose, encouraging the ability to experience change and growth and increased efficiency through sharing of best practices, common questions, concerns and challenges. Nashville is a passionate, creative town; a great place to tell your story through song. I hope you’ll join us the next time you’re here.

]]> http://kidbillymusic.com/blog/nashville-corporate-team-building/feed/ 0 http://kidbillymusic.com/blog/nashville-corporate-team-building/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KidbillyMusic/~3/D7XamSZAPBg/ http://kidbillymusic.com/blog/i-hate-team-building/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:05:41 +0000 Billy Kirsch http://kidbillymusic.com/?p=4790

I’m a creative type and as such I’ve always been a little different. As a kid, if you told me to go right, I’d go left. If everyone was doing one thing, I always wanted to do another…off by myself like a typical creative. So I really relate to potential clients who tell me they hate their team building days. I’m not one to embrace a group activity or relish the thought of being put in forced situations.

So Why Does This Work?

Our team of hit songwriter facilitators are all performers. We like to have fun in an unassuming non-forced way. Music is a common language that enables people to relax, to let go of inhibitions and to become involved. We’re not talking about white water rafting or ropes courses here and we’re not talking about potentially embarrassing situations. We’re talking about hanging around really talented performers who share music with you and enable you to create your own story through song: Inclusive, non-threatening, completely absorbing, productive and really, really fun.

The Skeptics’ Testimonials

A few testimonials from real clients who dreaded team building until they met us!

“I’m a skeptic and expected to hate the experience. I actually ended up loving the process. It was fascinating to see who would sing their proposed lyrics, who shouted them out and who wrote them down and then passed them to the front anonymously. But, most of all the session was so much fun that I laughed until I almost peed in my pants! I highly recommend Billy and team building through song for even the most skeptical individuals.” Encore Health Resources

“Our group of (mostly) male, (mostly) middle age hospital CEOs were not enthusiastic going into the team building sessions with Billy’s songwriters. After one hour, they came out READY TO PERFORM! Some of them texted their wives, letting them know they won the best song award! More than fun and games, though, this was an effective opportunity for our company’s leaders from across the country to work together in a non-stressful environment, to develop relationships that will be valuable networking sources for them throughout the year.” Quoram Health Resources

“One of our toughest customers to please was actually leaving the room after hearing that we would be writing and singing our own song when I stopped him. I asked him to give it a chance and promised that we wouldn’t embarrass him so he stayed. Later he came up to me and thanked me for talking him into staying. He said he had a great time and would have been sorry if he had missed it.” National Comfort Institute

This is fun, watch the video

Teams in action - singing their songs!

I hate team building, but I love team building through song.

What does it mean to get right brained? Does it require a BFA in fine art, a film degree or a passion for guitars and bar bands? I don’t believe so. Our clients discover their right brained-ness by diving off the creative cliff with us during our musical team building programs. They discover they are right brain all stars themselves, as they reconnect with their inherent abilities to create and innovate. Ninety-eight percent of young children are highly creative. Come play with us and we’ll help you rediscover your inner four year old, it’s easy.

Why do I need right brain all stars?

Every organization has problems; but that’s not a bad thing. Problem = Existence | Problem solving = Evolution. We want to exist and we want to evolve. That’s why creative people embrace problems as welcome challenges. To solve a problem you’ll need to find a solution. To find a solution you haven’t thought of yet you’ll need to be creative and that’s where we can help. We’ll enable you to demystify the creative process and teach your organization how to Harness Your Creative Power.

An integrated solution for your right brain needs

I spent a lot of time from last August through the end of December trying to solve a medical problem. After seeing no less than four highly recommended specialists I was still afflicted. My gut told me that the specialists I’d seen were unable to solve my problem due to their own narrow focus. I finally found a medical practice founded on an integrated approach; and ten minutes into my first visit my problem was diagnosed. Fifteen minutes later it was solved.

• The Right Brain All Stars provide an integrated, sequential set of services that will enable your team to experience innovation and creativity.
• A sequential series of events that will enable your organization to internalize the creative process to the point where you can actually do real stuff!
• RBAS will provide a beginning, middle and beginning (we don’t like to say ‘the end’).
• Real take-aways and plans for continued, actionable, problem solving and creative thinking.

This is so new you’ll have to Contact Us to find out more.

Right brain priorities are becoming mainstream

“We’re looking for fun team building activities, one’s that don’t suck!” I can’t tell you how many times that’s the first thing I hear when I answer my phone. I commiserate – I get it. How many times have you been dragged into an uncomfortable group activity that doesn’t deliver what it promises? Dare I say it; I don’t like team building activities…or at least I never used to like them. But now I’m passionate about them, and not just because I facilitate team building programs. Adding a corporate social responsibility component to team building is great because it heightens the feeling of shared accomplishment.

At our first CSR team building event last April and I discovered something exciting. After the team song competition, our client’s workforce was joined on stage by a group of talented high school students and they all performed together. After this rousing, completely unrehearsed performance, the students accepted donations of musical instruments for their school band program. The emotion in the room was electric, the memories powerful, the actions impactful and the team building effect – very real. My client and my team of facilitators were all moved by the talent and the need of the students who took part in our program.

I’m passionate about team building activities because I’ve experienced the empowerment, the camaraderie and success that comes from a well put together event. I love seeing the evolution of team members from skeptic to total engagement, as so aptly put by one of our participants – “I’m a skeptic and expected to hate the experience. I actually ended up loving the process. Most of all the session was so much fun that I laughed until I cried.”

Team Building Activities with Meaning

• A well planned event will empower your workforce to engage, create and innovate as a team.
• Adding a corporate social responsibility component to your event will heighten the emotional take-away.

I’m not big on metrics but when I see supporting evidence of what I’ve instinctively known to be true, I’ll jump on it! So I was thrilled to read Gallup’s research, “the path from the individual engagement elements to financial performance is stronger than the path from financial performance to engagement.” When your employees feel a sense of ownership you will reap financial rewards. However, financial compensation, in and of itself, does not necessarily promote engagement.

I just got off the phone with a client who wanted advice about free team building activities he could employ at his company to boost retention. I sent him a copy of my eBook, Every Day Team Building – see link above. This guide includes fun, interactive ideas your team can utilize to boost camaraderie and shared problem solving. My client had come to the realization that while his younger employees were well compensated that wasn’t enough to keep them. The new workforce demands engagement on a level not previously required to build loyalty and retention. They need to relate on a visceral level to company mission and to share a sense of purpose and meaning. The good news is, this young workforce is willing to work hard and contribute when they feel like they’re part of the team.There are great tips here from inc.com highlighting 9 Things That Motivate Employees More Than Money. I think it’s a worthwhile reference.

Clients enjoy success with team building activities as a catalyst to improve engagement.

• Practicing every day team building can grow involvement long term.
• With more and more supporting evidence, it’s no longer a stretch to allocate resources for programs that boost workforce buy-in.
• Smart companies are now embracing team building and enjoying not only the programs themselves, but the results that come from a having a unified and engaged workforce.

Nothing takes the place of interactive fun - building teams

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