How to Select the Best Group Experience to Maximize Your Meeting or Conference

The relentless pace of today’s workplace mixed with constant technological advances results in people spending less time together face-to-face. As a result, meeting and conferences provide a rare opportunity for the relationship development that is critical for effective teams.

When talking to our clients about how they make the final decision on what team experiences to include in their agenda, they often comment that it is very challenging to decide from such a wide range of options that include team-building, keynote-speakers and golf. The reality is that all of these options have some great benefits and unique opportunity costs.

To read more, download our winter 2007 newsletter in PDF format by clicking here.

We have the rare privilege of working with a wide variety of teams each week in all sectors of business including corporate, not-for-profit, and government. Although every
team is very unique, one thing I find consistent with almost all groups is that they identify “change” as a factor that is currently impacting their effectiveness.

To read more, download our winter 2006 newsletter in PDF format by clicking here.

As an organization with the motto “all work. all play.”, it seems logical that The Frontier Group would utilize an experiential approach. However, this action-based process is much more than just fun and games – research strongly suggests that it produces some of the most powerful learning possible.

To read more, download our fall 2005 newsletter in PDF format by clicking here.

The necessity for a high performing team is now more important than ever. It seems that every best selling business book and management guru is commenting on the same thing – in North America, now more than ever, an organization’s last competitive advantage is its talent. With globalization, technological advantages, and unprecedented change, others around the world can often do it faster and cheaper but the service, experience, productivity, and power of a high performing team is still a competitive advantage that cannot be matched.

To read more, download our summer 2005 newsletter in PDF format by clicking here.

In the last five years of delivering programs with The Frontier Group, I have witnessed time and time again the numerous benefits an effective teambuilding program can deliver. When teambuilding is done right, results include stronger relationships between team members, an elevation in team spirit and morale, an improvement in critical team skills such as communication and trust, and adding momentum in moving a team towards a common goal and a shared vision. With that said,however, I have also talked with many business professionals who as soon as the word "teambuilding" is mentioned, have very different pictures that come to mind; negative images of programs that lacked relevance and appropriateness.

Why is this the case? Why is it that when it comes to teambuilding, there seems to be a lack of middle ground – Experiences are either fantastic or a deemed a waste of time?

I believe that this is a result of a few key questions that are often neglected during the purchase process - the make-it-or-break-it questions whose answers every client and every teambuilding provider should be absolutely clear on long before the program is developed and delivered. I call these the "ABC's Of Teambuilding".

To read more, download our summer 2004 newsletter in PDF format by clicking here.