Testimonials
- Check out our testimonials...
- It was exactly what we needed! I haven't laughed that hard with this group of people EVER before! The staff loved it and it helped to cement our foundation of trust and collaboration for the rest of the day's professional development topics: we had honest conversation about hard-to-swallow student data, and there were no hurt feelings. Thanks so much for offering the program to us! I'll be sharing the idea with the rest of my colleagues to use in the future!
- Leslie Hochsprung, Principal, Thomas Hart Benton Elementary School, November, 2010
- We had a ball! It was phenomenal. Our teams really got into it. We did do the distraction game and it was a great game. It has really given us an opportunity to bond at the start of this school year. Thank you so much for offering this program. It is great!!!!!!!!
- Jennifer Dean, Principal, Bailey Middle, Cornelius, NC, August 2011
- Best staff meeting we've had in years!!!! I'll definitely recommend this to other principals.
- Stacy DeCorsey, Principal, Jordan Elementary, November 2011
- It was a great deal of fun! You just wouldn't believe some of the entrances that the teams made into the library for the contest. I'll send you pictures as soon as I get a chance. Thanks so much for such a great time!
- Kevin Williams, Principal, Wieland Elementary, December 2011
- Yes....please add us to both lists so we can do the next version! I had so many staff members state that they hadn't had this much fun in a long time. We also are so blown away by the funds we were able to raise for a food shelf.
- Sheila Berger, Principal, Sumner Elementary, December 2011
- The event was great! I know that it bridged a lot of staff members together all throughout the week. A lot of great ideas were generated and acted up on throughout the week. Several staff members were reaching out to each other and doing acts of kindness. The grand finale was very meaningful but also allowed staff members to let their hair down and be themselves in front of each other. Honestly, there were several staff members that got involved that really were not planning to get involved at first.
- Aaron Butler, Principal, Mt. Auburn International Academy, October 2011
- We had a great time!! It was amazing! Thank you for everything!
- Ernest Saxton, Principal, McAlpine Elementary, December 2011
- We had a super fun time! Staff would like to do this again in the future! So far we raised $935.00! and I'm sure more will come in later on! Please keep in contact for the next version's release date. Thank you!
- Jennifer Villines, Principal, Chisholm Elementary, December 2011
- Wow!! I'm extremely impressed with how well each of our teams did throughout the week to show unity, team building, and appreciations for others. Your responses to the challenges, creativity, and demonstration of talents was impressive!
Here are some of the highlights from the week: parading of teams, decorations everywhere on campus, pinwheels in the kinder area, french fries provided, balloons on the marquee, luck necklaces handed out, trash collection, candy offered, talent show gift cards provided, chips and salsa, a powerpoint slide show, a singing video, coverage of yard duty, covering dismissal duty, extra preps offered, and $340 raised to support sending a child to Camp Dakota . . . there are over 50 examples of activities listed on my "tracking sheet" for the week. TRULY IMPRESSIVE!!!
- Brian Jones, Principal, Brentwood Elementary, November 2011
- We had a fabulous time. I got a lot of great ideas and EVERYONE had fun at the ending activity/supper. How can we double check on the money raised for CampDakota.org? I want to report that to the staff at the end of this week!
- Daria Neal, Principal, GEE Edmonson, December 2011
- It went great... Teachers had a ton of fun!!! Thanks for the opportunity
- Shane Boeve, Principal, Spirit Lake Elementary, December 2011
- We had a great time! We look forward to participating again next year!
- AJ Murray, Principal, Crandall Middle, TX, October 2011
- Thanks so much for offering your team building to Torrence Creek. Coming into a school as a new principal and having a lot of new staff, your program was a huge step in the right direction for our school family. Thank you for the organization, timeliness, and support!
- Brian Schultz, Principal, Torrence Creek, Cornelius NC, October 2011
- The staff thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The talent show was enjoyed the most. I would recommend this program to any other school.
- Dr. Felicia Stewart, Principal, GR Clark Elementary, Chicago IL, April 2011
- Great program, ALL of our staff couldn’t wait till the staff meeting and all wanted to stay longer.
- Kim Cross, Hanes Elementary, TX, March 2011
- The staff loved it and want to do it again next year!
- Melanie Powers, ACCLAIM Academy, September 2011
- We had a GREAT time. Version II is even more fun than version I. The teachers have increased participation because they know what fun version I was.
- Tamar Andrews, Principal, Temple Isaiah Preschool and Kindergarten, CA, March 2011
- This is an excellent run program. It was just what we needed. It was great to see the teachers step out of their comfort zone and interact.
- Jay Mullens, Principal, Pearl City Schools, IL, March 2011
- Thank you - they really got into it!!! The teachers said this is the most fun that they have had all year. We can’t wait to do it again next year!
- Teri Bracewell, Principal, Starke Christian School, FL, March 2011
- It went great! They were so excited! Awesome experience!
- Lori Campbell, Principal, Earle Elementary School, Chicago IL, March 2011
- A good time was had by all participants. We truly enjoyed every minute especially the last day. It's really beautiful! My staff had the time of their life. Thank you so much for all of your time and cooperation. Put me on the list for next year.
- Janice Richardson, Principal, Carstens Elementary, MI, March 2011
- Yes! We had a great time and I forwarded this on to 2 other schools.
- Nathan L. Wear, M.Ed., Principal, Pence Elementary, IA, March 2011
- My teachers had a GREAT time. This was a very easy program to run. Thank you.
- Kay Bolt, Principal, Humboldt Elementary and Middle School, KS, March 2011
- We loved it! All of my staff know each other on a different level now. I look forward to it next year!
- Trish Cherveny, South Bendle Elementary, MI, March 2011
- The teachers were really into it. They embraced it to the point that they did some really unexpected and unscripted things. Thanks for the partnership. We really enjoyed it.
- Jay Jones, Marvin Elementary School, NC, February 2011
- The staff had a great time during the week, and many, many of the teams really got into the spirit. The week was a lot of fun, and our staff really invested themselves into the activities. The teams clearly enjoyed the camaraderie that was developed as they met and planned. As an administrator, I enjoyed receiving suggestions from teams on how to make our school a better place. I also enjoyed how the students responded to the competition and to the fun atmosphere in the rooms and hallways.
- Tim Lutz, Principal, Kelliher School District, MN, February 2011
- This is fun and funny! We have teachers delivering newspapers, giving out Crystal Light, and taking over duties! Whoop whoop!
- Minnie Guerra, Principal, IDEA Public School – Alamo, TX February 2011
- Everything went well. The talent show was probably the most enjoyable event.
I think the experience would be good for others and I will tell other principals about it. Thanks so much. It was great.
- Renee’ Simms, Principal, Hillcrest High School, MI, February 2011
- The contest was really fun for the staff. There were a lot of laughs and a good time was had by all. Thank you for making this opportunity available to us.
- Marie Weber, Director, St. Mary Child Development Center & St. Mark Christian Academy, MN, February 2011
- It was a great morning. One of my teachers said it was the best staff meeting she ever attended. She took down many of the posters to put in her "Why I Teach" folder. Thanks for all your assistance.
- Bob Watson, John F. Farrell-Emmett Elementary, MI, January 2011
- Awesome! I have recommended it across the district.
- La Shawn Ray, John Adams Middle, January 2011
- We had a ball; the activities were well received. Our staff worked well together, enjoyed one another, and formed stronger bonds. During the week, they went above and beyond to make colleagues feel special; they even created various tokens of appreciation for colleagues. There were even some tears shed today! Mrs. Dockery and I thank you for helping us to inspire our staff to work together for the benefit of Westcott students and other children as well.
- Dr. Sherron J. Bibbie, Asst Principal, Westcott Elementary, Chicago, IL, April 2011
- Everyone had a blast. It was one of the best team building experiences we have had. I really appreciate your help in this. The games were great, and the staff really got excited about what we were doing. I would love to share some of our video clips with you. I may post some of them on youtube. I will send you the link once I do.
- Mike Harvey, Principal Benton Heights, May, 2010
- Great program, ALL of our staff couldn’t wait till the staff meeting and all wanted to stay longer.
- Kim Cross, Hanes Elementary, TX, March 2011
- Hilarious! We had a police officer who stopped by and saw us during our staff meeting and commented how every school needs to do this. It was great! Thank you so much. Everyone wants to know what's in store for next year???
- Jennifer Gnann, Lead Administrator, Pine Lake Prep, August, 2010
- OMG!!! Already I am being showered with gifts and staff are doing such nice things for one another. This is awesome!! Can't wait to see what happens next!!!! Thanks
- Tamar Andrews, Principal Temple Isaiah, May, 2010
- We just finished our staff meeting. What a great time we had! The entire week was a blast. It truly helped to create an atmosphere of fun and excitement that I believe will last for some time. It was a great time of year to do it. Thanks so much for introducing me to the program and for helping us to facilitate it. I definitely would like to do it again next year..
- Jay Jones, Principal Marvin Elementary April, 2010
- This has been so nice and came at the perfect time. I have sincerely considered the way it is all working out a "God-thing" because it has been so successful. And we haven't even had our final contest yet. I have pages of suggestions and the teachers have competed in such fun ways.
- Phillis Dickinson, Principal Cedarville Elementary, April, 2010
- It's been going great, the poems were amazing - I'm actually going to post them on our website...they were incredible.....and the staff are working together the best I've ever seen. It has been so refreshing...thanks so much and we have our staff meeting on Tuesday so I'm going to give all the prizes out on Tuesday...
- Renae Plant, Principal Camelot Kids, June, 2010
- Went great! We laughed so hard and everyone participated in all the events! Thank you.
- Tammie Marberry, Principal Hardin High, August, 2010
- Good Evening... it is not yet midnight, so I am sneaking this in just in time. I'm not sure if any of my team members have emailed to let you know of random acts of kindness, but.... I just wanted to let you know that the activities and stories we have shared this week has shown me how kind each individual in my group is. Random acts have come in unexpected forms for a group of individuals who really didn't know each other all that well just 2 days ago. As I reflect on my team's "stories to inspire" I am awestruck by the emotions that have been evoked. We have supported each other with laughter, a pat on the back, encouraging words, and often times tears. Not only am I appreciative of what my cohorts have to share, but what individuals in other cohorts have shared as well. So, I guess my random act of kindness is to thank you for allowing me to get to know my colleagues and begin to build a sense of community that will certainly strengthen the foundation of PLP. I heard a quote once that goes something like this, "When you know better, you do better". Thank you for helping us know a little better.
- Email from Teacher to Principal, August 2010
- And because we also run the game for businesses too, here are some of their comments...
- Great Job! It's a FANTASTIC game! Very Creative.
- Bill Cocke, IBM
- Thank you so much for your help during this game and getting it right. I have forwarded on the info to other District Managers so they may contact you themselves. Thanks again for everything!!!!
- Kim McGlothlin, Kindercare Learning Centers
- These pictures and captions are hysterical and they came up with some very creative ways to make the other teams do what they wanted. This was awesome!
- Samantha Rembo, Intuit/Turbo Tax
- If you are looking for ways to encourage your staff, have fun, build strong teams and also create opportunities for employee recognition then look no further then Smart Teambuilding. You will be amazed at the powerful outcomes. We highly recommend them.
- Rich Woods, Jones Consulting
**Special Endorsement**
“Real team building is about behavioral changes and encouraging the new behaviors to become permanent.”
- Colle Davis, Certified Master Coach
After nearly 25 years of grooming top leaders in a wide variety of companies we have found that the term ‘team building’ is terribly overworked and mostly misunderstood. The usual buzzwords are often used to encourage people, the requisite and appropriate trainings suggested, and the right books encouraged. But then, management actually thinks that by continuing the same behavior they have been engaged in all along that they will get different results. Read that sentence carefully again and realize it is the definition of insanity. To really light up your group, you have to find a fun and exciting way to have all of them meld into a TEAM. Team building is one of the trickiest and least understood exercises a company can undertake. I know because I have been teaching team building for years. Too many times the training can become a frustrating, thankless task that everyone is delighted to get through so they can stop the suffering.
Well done team building exercises have enormous and long lasting effects on all the participants and on the company. The trick is to find a venue which can entice and engage everyone in the group to participate. Ropes courses, white water rafting, off-site team trainings and on-site special events can all be powerful team building events. However they seldom yield the results management is looking for over time because they are all FAR TOO SHORT. In two or three days the enthusiasm wears off and you’re back to the same old stuff. Real team building is about behavioral changes and encouraging the new behaviors to become permanent. Smart Team Building has discovered a unique and very powerful alternative to regular team building. The time they spend involved is far more than any other program I know of available today. The great part for your company is the cost is negligible and the actual time taken during work time is minimal. Your entire group gets to play a game of skill and daring. They’re in a spirited competition, they have to cooperate in order to compete, they collect data and carry out real time assignments and all of this contributes to their ability to work together as a well oiled team. Your company's payoff is the beginning of the team you have only dreamed possible before today. I encourage you to contact Smart Team Building for more information or call Executive Mentoring and Coaching, Inc to get our unbiased perspective on the value of team building with this new and exciting program.
Colle Davis CEO Executive Mentoring and Coaching, Inc
www.mycoach.com
1-800-95-COACH
cdavis@mycoach.com
Coach Colle Davis, CEO of EMCI, is a nationally respected executive coach and keynote speaker. He has been a trusted advisor to Fortune 500executives, small to mid-sized companies, and individuals. His twenty-three years of executive coaching have produced solid career enhancements and organizational improvements for his clients.