PlayTime Inc. Team Building & Leadership News

Social Enterprise Business Plan Accelerator!

	Social Venture Accelerator  An intensive, cost-effective method for creating a profitable, social-purpose business. Do you want to start or expand a business driven by a social-mission? Are you struggling to get started or unsure of how to proceed? Would you like professional assistance, but think it's too expensive? Designed for Non-Profits, Government Agencies and Social Entrepreneurs.  Sessions begin April 26th Learn More Now We are limiting the Accelerator to the first 10 teams who sign up. This is the last chance to participate in Seattle for 2005. Contact Kirsten for more information: Kirsten@socialenterprisegroup.com or 206.903.8578 You may unsubscribe from this e-mail list at any time.

April 2005 Issue Theme: The Dream Development Team Features

April 2005 Issue Theme: The Dream Development Team Features
Software Developer Online Fri, 11 Mar 2005 2:30 PM PST
What if you could have a staff of five software development superheroes? Whether it's building the Mars Rover or Amazon's new A9 search engine, no task is beyond this team of mythic proportions, endowed with the skills and experience of IT greats. Plus: How to build your dream team.

Siemens Wireless Modules and Wherify Wireless Team Up to Deliver the World's First GPS Locator Phone

Now if we could just get one of these in our events...;-)

Siemens Wireless Modules and Wherify Wireless Team Up to Deliver the World's First GPS Locator Phone
RedNova Thu, 10 Mar 2005 7:10 AM PST
Wherifone(R) To Provide Security and Convenience Across the Globe Via Siemens' Powered Enhanced-GPS and GSM Wireless Technology Siemens Communications, Inc., and Wherify Wireless, Inc.

Outdoor enthusiasts find new way to play in woods

Outdoor enthusiasts find new way to play in woods
Springfield News-Leader Sat, 05 Mar 2005 9:39 PM PST
The inaugural Cabin Fever ROGAINE Race on Saturday had nothing to do with hair loss, although a few racers who finished the event lost some hide.

What does ROGAINE have to do with geocaching?  What are you trying to say about our target audience? ;-)  (You'll search for a cache, inside you'll find the fountain of youth? ;-)

TECH TIP: HELP KIDS LEARN ABOUT ONLINE SAFETY

TECH TIP: HELP KIDS LEARN ABOUT ONLINE SAFETY
Last month, Microsoft and several partners launched Web Watchers, an online campaign that educates teachers, parents and kids in grades 3-8 about Internet security. At the Web Watchers site, you can view a four-minute overview that highlights steps you can take to secure your computer. You can also vote for your favorite school.
Visit:
http://www.webwatchersonline.com/

ANTI-SPAM NEWS: MICROSOFT AND PFIZER TEAM UP TO FIGHT SPAM

ANTI-SPAM NEWS: MICROSOFT AND PFIZER TEAM UP TO FIGHT SPAM
Last month, Microsoft and pharmaceutical company Pfizer filed lawsuits against spam rings that are promoting the sale of illegal knock-offs of Viagra. The unsolicited email marketing of fraudulent Viagra is illegal.
Read more
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/ebusiness/story/0,10801,99708,00.html?SKC=ebusiness-99708

Both Microsoft and Pfizer are clients of PLAYTIME Inc.  Whoever said "Business makes strange bedfellows" didn't know how Viagra would play into that!  ;-)

Clif Bar Makes All the Right Moves in Building its Business

Clif Bar Makes All the Right Moves in Building its Business By LYDIA GANS
Berkeley Daily Planet Fri, 04 Mar 2005 11:02 AM PST
Itbs a hundred-million-dollar-a-year business, a business that provides outstanding benefits for its 147 employees, that engages in many practices to protect the environment, supports community building around laudable causes, avidly promotes participation in sportsband produces something indescribably delicious and outrageously healthy.

I've been a clif bar fan since power bars become tent stakes above 10,000 ft.  Check out this article and learn from a company that I highly respect!

Necessary but Not Sufficient: The Role of Expertise in Technical Team Success

This is an article from one of my colleagues.  We have considered using their assessment, but are looking for a client willing to experiment with it.  If you're interested, attend one of their seminars, then let us know if you'd like to pursue. 

-John

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You can view or download the article, Necessary but Not Sufficient: The Role of Expertise in Technical Team Success from our website at... http://www.great-teams.com/ktep/cutter.htm

Here's how the article begins...

Teams established for technical development and innovation in IT and other knowledge-based industries are typically selected on the basis of the technical expertise required for the task. Conventional wisdom says that organizations should first assemble the right mix of technical expertise and intellectual capability in a team, then set an important and challenging goal. If there is enough intellectual horsepower and technical knowledge, the team will be successful.

Our research and experience with technical teams show that this belief is quite false. Professional or technical expertise is the least important differentiator between teams that succeed and teams that struggle or fail to achieve their goals. It is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for success in technical teams. The most important differentiators for team success are factors such as trust, goodwill and cooperation, clarity of purpose, and information sharing....

[View the whole article at http://www.great-teams.com/ktep/cutter.htm ]

And there's more...

The download also includes an interesting 3-page "Opening Statement" by our very own Christopher Avery.

If you're interested in more information about the Cutter IT Journal itself, their website is... http://www.cutter.com/itjournal/index.html

Attend a KTEP Webinar...

Each month we hold a free KTEP Webinar.  This 45-minute presentation gives you an introduction to KTEP, where it came from, how to use it, and some quick-start options for putting it to use with your teams.  For more information about our webinars and to register for one, visit http://www.great-teams.com/ktep/webinar_info.htm .