| Morale Booster Ideas |
 |
 |
 |
|
When building a successful team, I use events to teach specific aspects of marketing and generate enthusiasm in the organization for the changes going on. Many of these events are now annual celebrations at companies where I've started them. Besides being fun, they give your team a marketing workout. (c)2005 Laura Ricci These events are carefully designed to suit the business environment. The events have been done safely, with minimal disruption, nominal cost, nominal preparation time and maximum fun! These are free for your use! Stress-free Friday - Chili Cookoff - Office Olympics Stress-Free Friday Flyers delivered on the morning of the event are Ransom note style (cut letters from newspaper headlines): It's all set. We're breaking out today. 1:00 - If you have an intercom, Play a little "Jailhouse Rock" and call everyone to the meeting area. Hand out flyers guiding folks to the different rooms where Stress Reduction activities are taking place: Here's the Deal We're breaking out - looking for relief from the stress * this session featured all the manager's pictures blown up and pasted down on foamboard, with an ample supply of darts. Each room is identified with signs and has a prominent sign-up sheet for 10 minute sessions in each room. People wander from room to room, peeking in to see what's offered, sign up for whatever they want and then return to work. The visiting professionals are happy to come for a nominal fee and the opportunity to market their services to a new clientele. [Up] Halloween Chili Cookoff Start the publicity for this event at least six weeks ahead of time. Send flyers or E-mail to solicit contestants. THIS IS IMPORTANT - Recruit chili cooks. Don't wait for them to sign up or interest will wane. The event will not generate voluntary sign-ups for a few years, so this recruiting effort is the team's responsibility. Interview chili contestants about their secret ingredients and include those threats in the next round of publicity. Recruit clients or managers to be Chili Judges. Chili contestants should bring their chili in crock pots to be plugged in when they arrive at work. One person will need to keep a close eye on the chili pots to check for boiling over, or blowing a fuse. Power strips used to plug in computer equipment come in handy when trying to get 20 chili pots going. 11:00 Judges arrive to judge chili. 12:00 Everyone else arrives to eat chili. They contribute $1.00 or $2.00 and get to eat a bowl of chili. Self serve. Most folks take dabs of several chilies. After everyone has served themselves, and made their own pronouncements about the best chili, the judge's decisions are read. The cash collected is used as prize money for the chili winners. After just two years this event will be awarding $60 or more for first place. Besides a place to plug in the pots, you'll need:
Be sure to send out thank you notes to the judges (and enclose an antacid). One firm I'm working with now is planning to expand the event to their offices around the world. They'll ship the winning chili (frozen) from each of their offices by overnight delivery for a corporate-wide SuperChili bowl. Another organization begins circulating "chili threats" several months ahead when the lead contestants are harvesting their home grown special ingredients. [Up] Office Olympics This event requires outdoor space and nice weather. If you have a parking area you can cordon off, or a tennis court, you are all set! The events have varied on the two Olympics I've worked on, but these are my favorite events designed by the sponsoring marketing teams: File cabinet relay race - Runner 1 runs Up to the file cabinet, opens top drawer, removes files, runs back, the second runner puts files away in second drawer, etc. Paper box toss - Tape the paper boxes closed and measure the distance of each team's best toss. Wastebasket ball - Each team gets a stack of paper. They must work together to throw the largest number of sheets into the wastebasket by the end of time. Find a spot sheltered from wind for this event. Eggathelon - First Leg: Design an egg carrier from office supplies. Judged on inventiveness and stability during the race. Second Leg: Decorate a raw egg (bald CEO? require his likeness!) Judged on beauty and creativity. Third Leg: A relay race, carrying the raw egg, in it's carrier from person to person. Judged for speed. Safe carriage of the egg wins extra points Office chair ballet - To their choice of music, each Olympic team performs synchronized office chair ballet while staying firmly seated in the rolling chairs. The Olympics take place over the lunch hour. A few people work Up a sweat, but they must be easily excited to do so. Observers cheer and bring a sack lunch. This event needs a critical eye for safety hazards. [Up] Laura Ricci will be glad to explain how each of these events trains marketing teams. |
Ricci Legacy
The Ricci family has been consulting and supporting success for hundreds of years.