Every time we facilitate our popular Bridge to the Future™ program, someone hears the explanation of what’s about to happen – that teams will be building sections of a cardboard bridge that will then be duct taped together and have a manned golf cart driven across it – and doubts it’s possible. “Cardboard isn’t that strong,” he might say. But when the group succeeds and the bridge holds up, it’s these very same people who often feel the most connected to their team; just as pieces of cardboard, when put together just right, can hold up a multi-ton vehicle, the individuals of the team, when put together just right, find they have bonded and can do just about anything. Check out this video!
Best TeamBuilding Incorporates High-Tech into Corporate Events
“A successful team beats with one heart.” -Erin Howe
You might have noticed that more and more of the programs on bestteambuilding.com have that little yellow label beside them that reads “iPads®”. From our flagship high-tech scavenger hunt SmartHunts® (which uses the proprietary app we created) to culinary competitions like Fiesta Fun!™ and from our many charitable CSR programs to collaborative challenges like Catapult, we now incorporate the latest technology into what we offer.
There are numerous reasons this is a step in the right direction. It’s green (old-timey scavenger hunts can use a lot of paper and other resources, none of which are necessary when everything’s self-contained in one iPad per team). It’s streamlined. And most of all, it’s modern and fun! You can’t keep your team moving forward with outdated team building techniques, so we’re always developing, refining, and innovating what we offer. Welcome to the future!
Bike Build Donation with iPads®: Video of the Week
We’ve updated the tried and true bicycle donation program with the latest in technology: Apple® iPads®! Now not only do groups build strong teams while building bikes and take part in the heartwarming presentation of the bikes to deserving children, but they also use our proprietary SmartHunt app to progress through the program. No paper garbage, no muss. It’s the latest innovation in one of the most popular charitable corporate events of all time and we’re proud to have innovated it!
We Put the Team in TeamBuilding
“A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.” -Japanese proverb
Having met and worked with so many DMCs, planners, and corporate managers, we know that those who make their living organizing events are already experts at the details of their job: working with clients, knowing the logistics of their destination, building upon their connections to various industries to arrange a conference or meeting perfectly. So they’re always delighted to find that we here at Best TeamBuilding add to the ease and quality of their work.
Why? Because we’re experts at what we do, too. As the largest team building company in America, we have deep roots, experienced facilitators, and innovative delivery systems, all of which means that we augment what they are already doing. Our team’s expertise supports their team’s expertise, which supports the client’s eventual improved teamwork thanks to our effective programs.
In short, we help those who help companies thrive. We help planners plan. And we put the team in team building!
A Minute 2 Win It: Video of the Week
There is almost nothing funnier than watching someone try to move a cookie from his or her forehead to his or her mouth using nothing but facial muscles. Go ahead, grab a cookie from the kitchen and try it in a mirror. Tilt your head back and, without using your hands, get it moving. It’s genuinely challenging, unusually fun, and just one of the many wacky tasks groups might get to take on when they do our A Minute 2 Win It program. Get a taste of some of the others, which all use household items to set up a surprising challenge, in this energetic video!
SmartHunts® a Smashing Success for DMCs
From the moment we ran our high-tech scavenger hunt for the world’s foremost Destination Management Companies at the ADMEI conference in Montreal, glowing feedback has been popping up online. Here are a couple:
Jill Tate from Boston’s Corinthian Events wrote “SmartHunts® are so much fun! Opening with a SmartHunt® executed by Best Teambuilding, we were forced to make fast friends, explore Montréal (in beyond frigid temperatures) and bring back school supplies and warm clothing to be charitably donated.”
Padraic Gilligan, Vice President of Industry Relations at MCI and Vice President of Ovation Global DMC, MCI’s destination services division, called the SmartHunt “a brilliantly conceived scavenger hunt” and recommends it highly as “a great event and one that can bring immense value to a corporate or association event.”
We’re proud to prove to event specialists that our stellar programs make their jobs easier and their clients happy – and we’re glad they had a blast participating in our SmartHunt!
Chili Cook-Off: Video of the Week
You’ve probably never seen members of your team in cowboy hats, wearing first-place medals, posing for pictures, and laughing like they’ll never stop. Well, that’s exactly what you will see when Best TeamBuilding® and Corporate Events brings our spicy and exciting Chili Cook-Off program to your meeting! Delicious food, collaborative creativity, and a whole lot of fun jump-start your group to brand new team building heights: check out the grins on the faces in this video!
The 36th Teddy Bear (A Team Building Success Story)
“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” -Mother Teresa
Sometimes it’s one little gesture that makes all the difference. We were reminded of this recently when one of our Managing Partners, Dyanne, shared this sweet story with us:
While facilitating a successful 350-person Build-a-Wheelchair® and We Care for Kids™ combination program, Dyanne got to spend time with the corporate client, a “super nice, super pregnant lady named Renee,” she reports. Because they were slated to build 35 bears to donate but the parts come in lots of 6, there were materials enough for a 36th.
“I had my staff make the last teddy bear,” says Dyanne with a smile, “and we gave it to Renee for her new baby. She was very touched.” In the midst of some visible generosity (the wheelchairs were donated to veterans and the teddy bears to deployed soldiers’ children), we know this quieter generosity had huge impact as well. We’re proud to make positive impact in ways both big and small – and we value our person-to-person relationship with each of our clients!
The ADMEI 2013 SmartHunts® Event Kick-Off: Video of the Week
This past weekend in Montreal, hundreds of the world’s top Destination Management Companies gathered at the ADMEI conference, and we here at Best TeamBuilding and Corporate Events were delighted to host the kick-off for the entire weekend: our high-tech, fun-filled team building program SmartHunts®! It proved the perfect way to introduce attendees to one another, to the venue, and to the surrounding area.
Fourteen teams of DMC executives braved the cold weather (with wind chill, it was well below zero) to explore highlights of the historic city and take part in a wide variety of challenges, all led by our proprietary SmartHunts app on Apple iPads along with our experienced facilitators. Teams toured Old Montreal, The Underground City, Place des Art, Saint Catherine Street, and The Old Port, in addition to encountering Amazing Chase and A Minute 2 Win It-style stations along the way with customized event-related content.
Check out this video to watch those who plan incredible corporate entertainment be very entertained themselves by this world-class scavenger hunt, as they dance Gangnam Style, share personal stories, succeed at wacky physical tasks, face fun video and photo missions, and much more – all with unmistakable grins on their faces! We loved getting to show these professionals just what the largest team building company in America can offer.
Billions in Business thanks to IMEX 2012
“It is better to have one person working with you than three people working for you.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower
Have you heard? The exit survey from last year’s incredible IMEX America trade show, where we debuted our 7-foot iPad to great acclaim, has revealed that as a result of the conference, $3.3 billion in business is expected. This is a 17.5% increase from the previous year and a great indicator of the reported upswing in spending on corporate events, destination travel, and meetings. Our team had an absolute blast meeting so many industry leaders at IMEX and look forward to a fruitful year based in part on those connections forged!
