BRIAN COLE MILLER is the principal of Working Solutions, Inc., a management training and consulting firm whose clients include Nationwide Insurance, Kellogg's, and the Ohio State University. He is the author of Keeping Employees Accountable for Results and other popular books.

Acknowledgments  ix

Introduction  1

Part I. Getting Ready

CHAPTER 1.How to Run a Successful Team-Building Activity 9

STEP 1.

BEFORE: SELECT AN ACTIVITY THAT'S GOOD FOR YOUR TEAM 9

STEP 2.

BEFORE: PREPARE FOR YOUR TEAM-BUILDING ACTIVITY 10

STEP 3. DURING: EXPLAIN THE ACTIVITY TO THE TEAM 11

STEP 4.

DURING: CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING BEFORE BEGINNING 13

STEP 5. DURING: RUN THE ACTIVITY 14

STEP 6. DURING: DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY 15

STEP 7.

AFTER: REINFORCE THE LEARNING BACK ON THE JOB 16

CHAPTER 2.What Could Go Wrong in a Team-Building Activity 19

Part II. The Activities

CHAPTER 3.Communication: Listening and Influencing 31

CARD TRIANGLES 32

COPY CAT 35

LISTEN UP 39

ME, MYSELF, AND I 42

NAPKINS 45

ORIGAMI 48

SHARED VALUES 51

CHAPTER 4.Connecting: Getting to Know Each Other 55

GOSSIP TIME 56

HUMAN BILLBOARDS 59

MY N.A.M.E. 62

NEIGHBORS 64

A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS 67

RATHER THAN 70

READY, SET, REORGANIZE! 73

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES 76

SWEET STORIES 79

CHAPTER 5.Cooperation: Working Together as a Team 83

CATCH! 84

COUNT OFF 87

FLOOR DESIGNS 89

HELIUM STICK 92

PASS THE CARD 95

POPCORN 98

PUZZLED 100

STAR POWER 103

CHAPTER 6.Coping: Dealing with Change 105

BRIDGES AND TOWERS 106

CHANGE TIME LINE 109

INDEX TOWERS 112

MACHINES 115

MAKEOVERS 117

MY ABC'S 119

NUMBERS 122

PUZZLED THUMBS 124

SQUARES 127

CHAPTER 7.Creativity: Solving Problems Together 131

BALLOON SCULPTURES 132

CARD STACK 134

CONSULTANTS 137

IMPROVE THIS 140

MAGIC CARPET RIDE 143

ONE-WORDED STORIES 146

PAPER SHUFFLE 149

CHAPTER 8.Teamwork: Appreciating and Supporting Each Other 151

BLAME GAME 152

BUT NOTHING (FEEDBACK) 155

BUT NOTHING (IDEAS) 158

ENVELOPES 161

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 164

JUNK TO JEWELS 167

KUDOS 170

LABELS 174

THANK-YOU CARDS 177

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT ME 180

Index 183

About the Author 189