PlayTime Inc. Team Building & Leadership News

8/12/2007 - Dropping over a Class 4 Waterfall, White Water Rafting

Geoteaming CEO John Chen with Michael Connolly, Erica Curnutte and JJ Connolly drop over the Class 4 Husum Falls!

Find your favorite things with a GPS-enabled phone

Find your favorite things with a GPS-enabled phone San Francisco Chronicle Mon, 20 Aug 2007 0:29 AM PDT Jordy Mont-Reynaud, a Palo Alto Web developer, never bothered with mapping and navigation on his Global Positioning System device. He found another use for GPS technology: checking up on his friends and letting them know where he is. "It's like when instant...

Retreats That Work – How to Plan Corporate Getaways That People Actually Want To Attend

Retreats That Work – How to Plan Corporate Getaways That People Actually Want To Attend
If you're planning a corporate getaway, then you must read David Volk's article from the Seattle Business Monthly. Here are the top points from David's great article:
* Know Your Desired Outcome
* Find A Good Theme
* Become a Social Engineer
* Don't Do Things Your Participants Won't Value
* Follow Up On Lessons Learned

http://www.geoteaming.com/uploads/files/060501_Retreats_That_Work.pdf

August 2007 Geoteaming Newsletter

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	Hi Welcome to the August 2007 Geoteaming Newsletter. A big thanks to all of our clients that allow us to keep growing! This month: * Article - Retreats That Work - How to Plan Corporate Getaways that People Actually Want To Attend * Aug 23rd, 2007 - An invite to CEO John Chen's Amazing 40th Birthday Party * Sept 20th, 2007 - The ONLY Open Geoteaming Session of 2007 * Plan Your Geoteaming Event Today Retreats That Work – How to Plan Corporate Getaways That People Actually Want To Attend If you're planning a corporate getaway, then you must read David Volk's article from the Seattle Business Monthly. Here are the top points from David's great article: * Know Your Desired Outcome * Find A Good Theme * Become a Social Engineer * Don't Do Things Your Participants Won't Value * Follow Up On Lessons Learned http://www.geoteaming.com/uploads/files/060501_Retreats_That_Work.pdf You're Invited! - Come Celebrate CEO John Chen's 40th Birthday, a benefit for The Technology Access Foundation. Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 8:00 p.m. until you go to bed 750 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109 Water, Fire, Earth and Air combine in a fundraiser for the Technology Access Foundation http://www.techaccess.org, providing technology education to underserved students of color. Suggested donation: $100 instead of any presents. Highlights Include: * Element-themed menu from John Neumark, Executive Chef of award-winning restaurant Serafina, recently recognized as “Seattle's Most Romantic Restaurant” by Seattle Magazine * Live Piano and Ice Bar Lounge * Dance Performances from Crooked Toe Dance Productions * Live Music from Smoking Bill, who just released their latest EP * Stilt-walking, Aerial, and Fire Performances from Seattle's Cabiri with Special Guests * Birthday Cake from Mike's Amazing Cakes, who have appeared on the Food Network's Cake Challenge * DJ Yuba Foxfire breaks down the evening by spinning all night long. "I wanted to bring in my 40th birthday with a fundraising event that redefines how fundraising should be done! For ten years, Technology Access Foundation has prepared underserved children of color for educational and professional success through a rigorous K-12 curriculum. I’m proud to support this organization, and 100% of your donations at the event will directly benefit TAF. This is the MUST-BE-HERE party of 2007! This evening will be truly magical, so RSVP today!" - CEO John Chen If you can't make it, feel free to reply to this email and wish John a Happy 40th Birthday! http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=137361 Sept 20th, 2007 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm - The ONLY Open Geoteaming Program of 2007 Come to the ONLY Open Geoteaming Program of 2007 and experience the power of Geoteaming at an 85% discount. For only $29, learn the 7 Keys To Cross Team Collaboration September 20th, 2007 12:00 pm – Registration 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm Geoteaming 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm After Hours Cocktail Hour with CEO John Chen and the Geoteaming Team at Chinook's Discovery Park Visitors Center 3801 W Government Way Seattle, WA 98199 http://www.geoteaming.com/contests.html Plan Your Geoteaming Event Today What a year, we've booked over 111 events this year and we're on to another record breaking year! Make sure to make plans for the very busy fall season and lock in your date today for the best team building event you can have. http://www.geoteaming.com/request_a_quote.html Thanks again for joining us and I look forward to helping you with your next corporate team building event! -John Chen CEO & The Big Kid

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The Leader's Blind Spot

Dear Leader, Welcome to The Key: the monthly letter to leaders. In this Key we focus on the Leader's Blind Spot and what you can do about it. This awareness helps you and the people around you proceed more safely, collaborate better, grow and succeed. We'll be glad to hear from you with your comments, as well as your strategic, leadership development and coaching needs. Our passion is to help leaders realize greatness. Sincerely, Aviv Shahar

The Leader's Blind Spot                                     August 2007

What is every leader's blind spot? Think of all the people who look up to you - people in your family, your organization, in the community. They often follow your example and look to you for leadership. What is the basis for their trust? What gives them confidence to follow you? The answer is: They look to see how you are living your life, how you are managing, and how you are leading. And who is the first person you lead? You lead yourself. The leader's main blind spot is failing to recognize that the first person you lead is you. People are ready to follow you because you appear to be leading yourself well. When you trust yourself to take the next step, they in turn trust you and are ready to take this step with you. What do leaders do? The first principle of leadership is self-leadership. And the first step of leading oneself is self-awareness. When people look up to you, they look for the following:     1.  Do you know your abilities and strengths and will you recognize theirs?     2.    Do you love to learn and will they learn new things when they are with you?     3.    Do you enjoy what you do and will they enjoy collaborating with you?     4.    Do you listen attentively and engage fully and will they have a chance to be fully engaged when they are on your team?     5.    Do you stay clear, calm and centered when faced with ambiguity and uncertainty and will you help them stay clear and centered?     6.    Do you solve problems, take action and get results and will they have a chance to take action and get results when they are with you?     7.    Are you growing and evolving as a leader and a human being and will they have an opportunity themselves to grow around you?     8.    Do you stay fresh and vital and bring new ideas and energy and will their experience with you be stimulating and energizing?     9.    Do you turn setbacks and challenges into growth opportunities and will you help them turn their challenges into stepping stones for their personal growth?     10. Are you appreciative and grateful for what you have and what you are doing and will they be able to feel grateful and appreciative when they are with you? People around you quickly sense that you are listening to your own conscience and following your inner compass and that they will be allowed to respond to theirs. They look to see that you are committed to your goals and objectives and that they will be better able to achieve theirs with you. Take stock of your own self-leadership. Do you follow your own advice? Do you practice what you preach? The road less traveled  In one of our recent executive retreats we had a stories circle. This is one of the learning tools we use to access the knowledge and wisdom in the group. The theme of that particular stories circle was - the road less traveled. I asked the managers to each share a story about a situation when they had taken the road less traveled: Made a tough decision or followed an unpopular course of action because it was the right thing to do. There were many powerful stories with a teaching message. One of these recurring messages was: The road less traveled is choosing to walk your own talk and to practice what you preach. To overcome the leader's blind spot you must recognize that you are the first person on your own team. Emotions are contagious: If you bring reservations, resistances and resentments you propagate these feelings around you. You are the first person to hear and listen to what you say and the first to know you can be trusted. Leader action  Here are some simple actions to re-energize your self-leadership so that you and the people around you can proceed safely, grow and succeed:     1.      Stay focused on what matters most.     2.      Act in accordance with your values.     3.      Exercise to stay energized.     4.      Make the right food choices and note how it impacts your energy.     5.      Take a 20 min break: Go for a walk, enjoy a chat or have a powernap.     6.      Reflect on your short term goals and long term aims.     7.      Learn something new this week.     8.      Listen to your inner guidance system - your intuition and conscience.     9.      Count your blessings.     10.  Enjoy what you do. People feel it when you lead yourself from the inside out. They want to join in to find their own self-leadership. They respond to your congruency and it inspires them to be congruent in their actions. They will see good things happen where you are and want to be a part of it. Now it's your turn. Turn the key! © 2007 Aviv Shahar

Severance - Team Building gone Wrong

Severance
Reel.com Tue, 07 Aug 2007 0:12 AM PDT
(2006) Starring: Laura Harris , Danny Dyer Director: Christopher Smith Synopsis: A team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe goes horribly wrong for the sales division of a multinational arms manufacturer.

I'm adding this to my Netflix list!

Severance - Team Building gone Wrong

Severance
Reel.com Tue, 07 Aug 2007 0:12 AM PDT
(2006) Starring: Laura Harris , Danny Dyer Director: Christopher Smith Synopsis: A team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe goes horribly wrong for the sales division of a multinational arms manufacturer.

I'm adding this to my Netflix list!

Team Building & Effective Leadership Skills

Team Building & Effective Leadership Skills
AME Info Mon, 06 Aug 2007 1:33 PM PDT
- To provide a powerful platform on which delegates can build and develop effective team management skills. - To explore the personal management styles and team role preferences of delegates. - To examine the skills required for effective communication within teams.

China will use GPS to track Olympic food

Geoteaming Meets Top Chef!

China will use GPS to track Olympic food
AP via Yahoo! News Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:01 PM PDT
China said Monday it will use global positioning satellites to ensure food safety at the Beijing Olympics as it steps up efforts to blacklist manufacturers who violate safety regulations.

Observe The Ah Ha Idea (and then ignore it)

On of the most common occurances during Geoteaming is for someone (usualy an introvert or interspective person) gets the Ah Ha idea that can change the whole event, they mention it and the louder, Type-A's ignore or deny the idea and the whole event leads to competition until later.

At a recent event, I had a team that had been profiled to have one of their top values to be Collaboration and this exact same occurance happened.  What was interesting was the team that suggested the idea was denied by the other teams, so they left to go get caches.  The remaining 3 teams stayed back and started to collaborate!  Imagine how that 1st group felt when they discovered everyone had collaborated, but left them out when it was THEIR idea!!!  It was an enlightening exercise for this team and a unique case I had never seen.

The key for this is to listen to all the ideas.  A great team facilitator will make sure everyone's idea gets a chance to be heard before making a decision, even if it means someone passes or says nothing.  What great ideas are you not hearing that you could hear today?