Leadership Book: "A New Earth" -- Oprah interviews author Eckhart Tolle

Oprah just finished a fantastic 10-week webinar on a must-read personal and leadership development book entitled "A New Earth -- Awakening To Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle.

If you've had a desire to become a more conscious leader then download and listen to (or watch) all 10 sessions for free HERE.

In A New Earth, author Eckhart Tolle shows how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world.

Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.

A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual manifesto for a better way of life—and for building a better world.

Building a better world is what leadership is all about.

Team Hoyt: Inspirational Father & Son Team

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races.  And if they're not in a marathon they are in a triathlon.  Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.

It's a remarkable record of exertion -- all the more so when you consider that Rick can't walk or talk.

For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 65, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines.  When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing.  When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike.  When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick.

At Rick's birth in 1962 the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain.  Dick and his wife, Judy, were told that there would be no hope for their child's development.

"It’s been a story of exclusion ever since he was born. When he was eight months old the doctors told us we should just put him away — he’d be a vegetable all his life, that sort of thing. Well those doctors are not alive any more, but I would like them to be able to see Rick now."

What are some lessons here for teams and those who lead teams?

• When things look tough you still get to choose how you will respond.
• 100% dedication to your teammates can be an inspiration to others.
• Listening to the well-meaning advice of "experts" will not necessarily give you the life you desire.

Here's a heart warming video of Team Hoyt that's been viewed on YouTube over 8 million times.

Teambuilding Game: Hot Stuff (aka Nuclear Waste Transfer)

The Hot Stuff teambuilding activity requires a team to use a unique "tool" to grab a can filled with golf balls and dump the golf balls in another can all while remaining outside a roped off area.

What makes this activity tricky is that the cans are different diameters - - the tool fits snuggly on one and not the other.  Teams can also have difficulty figuring out how to dump the golf balls (tipping the can in a controlled manner).  And to make it really challenging on the team, just supply them with the raw materials needed to make the tool (bicycle inner tube and rope) and require the team to make a tool (no hints).

This teamwork exercise is sometimes called "Nuclear Waste Transfer". 

Would you like to lead this teambuilding game with your group?

I'll send you the complete teambuilding game write-up!  Just subscribe to my free TeachMeTeamwork.com teamwork ideas e-newsletter (see the form in the right hand column).  In addition to receiving a free teambuilding games e-book, I'll regularly send you complete and detailed lead-it-yourself instructions to teambuilding games like the one above.  The lead-it-yourself instructions include: 

• Setup & Preparation directions
• Rules
• Comments and insights about the teambuilding game
• Debriefing suggestions
• Variations
• Detailed "how to make it" if props are involved
• Video clips and photos

Over time you'll receive over 100 new and different lead-it-yourself teambuilding game write-ups for FREE. 

CLICK HERE for a sample teambuilding game write-up.

Do you need immediate access to my growing online archive of lead-it-yourself teambuilding games?  When you purchase my popular Multimedia 3-CD Training Bundle, I'll immediately send you the password to my online archive of teambuilding game write-ups.  Learn more HERE.

>> Lead consciously.  Learn how HERE

Teambuilding Game: Helium Stick

The Helium Stick teamwork activity is easy to lead and offers a powerful lesson.

I’ve successfully used this activity to help the leadership of an organization realize that having a company mission is one thing and making it a reality is another.  I did this by leading the group in a four-hour company mission and vision statement workshop. 

After everyone was in agreement about the mission and vision statement and understood it I had the group do the Helium Stick activity. 

Here is the metaphor I shared with the group:  The tent pole was the company vision and by successfully lowering it to the ground they achieved their vision. 

What happened next was eye opening!  The tent pole immediately went in the OPPOSITE direction from where they were trying to go. 

After 50 minutes of trying to lower the tent pole to the ground they succeeded. 

In the debrief I asked the group if they experienced any parallels to real life while doing this activity.  YES they said…everyone had to be committed to the process, blaming and excuses didn’t make things better, staying calm and focused was critical, and so on.

Would you like to lead this teambuilding game with your group?

I'll send you the complete teambuilding game write-up!  Just subscribe to my free TeachMeTeamwork.com teamwork ideas e-newsletter (see the form in the right hand column).  In addition to receiving a free teambuilding games e-book, I'll regularly send you complete and detailed lead-it-yourself instructions to teambuilding games like the one above.  The lead-it-yourself instructions include: 

• Setup & Preparation directions
• Rules
• Comments and insights about the teambuilding game
• Debriefing suggestions
• Variations
• Detailed "how to make it" if props are involved
• Video clips and photos

Over time you'll receive over 100 new and different lead-it-yourself teambuilding game write-ups for FREE. 

CLICK HERE for a sample teambuilding game write-up.

Do you need immediate access to my growing online archive of lead-it-yourself teambuilding games?  When you purchase my popular Multimedia 3-CD Training Bundle, I'll immediately send you the password to my online archive of teambuilding game write-ups.  Learn more HERE.

>> Lead consciously.  Learn how HERE

Social Spreadsheeting -- an effective tool for collaborating using Google's free apps

Google's free online apps (word processing, spread sheet, and more) offer you and your team the opportunity to collaborate quickly and easily.

CLICK HERE to read an interesting description on "Social Spreadsheeting" at the Google Docs blog.

On a related note, HERE is how a classroom teacher uses Google Docs to promote collaboration in the classroom.

"How to talk about training games" by Thiagi

If you're a trainer then I urge you to subscribe to Thiagi's free monthly newsletter.  I enjoy reading every issue.

In his April issue Thiagi (prounounced "Tee - Ahh - Gee") offers a great way for you to respond to “So tell me all about the training games you play”.  Instead of telling them, Thiagi plays a game to demonstrate what it is all about.

CLICK HERE to read the complete directions on how to lead this simple easy to lead game.

How to destroy team morale by following the rules

Each week I receive emails and phone calls from people in organizations who want to create a strong team culture.

Teamwork requires a serious and long term focus on building trust and win-win consciousness.  Virtually every company worth mentioning will announce the importance of "TEAMWORK!" and "TRUST!"

Words are one thing.  Deeds are another.

Take for example Enron.  They had the lingo down.  In their 2000 annual report they stated their top values as "Communication, Integrity, Respect, Excellence".

Enron is dead so let's apply this lesson of creating win-win team culture to another prominent business:  WalMart.

Here's a quote from the WalMart "corporate fact sheet" from their website:

"We're all working together, that's the secret.  And we'll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we'll give the world an opportunity to see what it's like to save and have a better lifestyle, a better life for all.  We're proud of what we've accomplished; we've just begun."  Sam Walton

Now watch this video which shows how the WalMart lawyers work to destroy the sense of team culture and trust within their own organization! by following the rules!

You can read an article about this fiasco HERE

The Coming World of Collaboration -- Howard Rheingold shares his genius

In this 19 minute video from a TED conference, you can get a glimpse of the coming world of collaboration, participatory media and collective action -- and how Wikipedia is really an outgrowth of our natural human instinct to work as a group. As the presenter Howard Rheingold points out, humans have been banding together to work collectively since our days of hunting mastodons.

Turn off your TV and watch these amazing videos of inspired talks by the worlds greatest thinkers and doers presented at the annual TED (Technology, Education, Design) conference.  You can watch over 200 TED videos on YouTube HERE