In This Edition...

Working Matters

Quick Tip

Hands in Action

Recipient Story of the Month

Featured Product

Tipping Point of the month

Client of the Month

Word of Mouth

In the Media

 

 

Working Matters

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."

-Will Rogers

We've had the privilege to work with clients in Holland and are on our way to Romania shortly. Regardless of the country, or company, we are in, people are always grateful for the chance to look up and realize they are an important part of the "immensity of the sea."

I believe commerce is the foundation of our economy and our humanity. It is the way we have learned to express value to one another. We call it Dollars, Euros, Yen, etc. These expressions are important to the satiation of our bellies, the roof over our heads and the wellness of our souls.

However, there are a few challenges that the paper expression of value presents. First, when business is slow, or the economy is weak, there is less transaction of those pieces of paper and it is easy to lose our sense of value and sense of contribution. Second, the further we get from our agrarian legacy, the more dis-connected we become from our customers - they use to be our neighbors, or at least, nearby villagers, now they may be on the other side of the world. Without a face to connect our value, our work can feel meaningless. How does washing the dishes in a restaurant or fixing a bug in a software program give us purpose? How does what we do matter to the community?

Fortunately, even if we don't have the paper to express gratitude, there is still value in a well-placed "Thank you." Being grateful is a blessing many people seem to be born with; however, it is a discipline that requires awareness and practice for the rest of us. "Thank you" is more than the words that you speak. In fact, only 7 percent of meaning is derived from words, 38 percent from tone and 55 percent from physiology. And feeling is the birthplace of tone and physiology. If you don't genuinely feel grateful, it is difficult to convey it in words.

The paper expression only takes us so far anyway. Odyssey has worked with countless companies and individuals who have plenty of it - which theoretically should indicate a sense of peace, pride and contribution. But their cultures have begun to rely on it so much that when there is even a subtle decrease in it, the culture starts to unwind, mistrust begins and the inequities of "collecting wood," are the conversations of the day.

In tough times, we need to be reminded that our work matters - and be patient for the paper expression that validates this. At the same time, we need to practice the audible expression of gratitude more often and have it come from a place of feeling. In good times, when we are flush with the paper expression of gratitude we must not forget that we have a responsibility to be grateful and humble that the community has rewarded us for our form of contribution.

Bill John, President, Odyssey Teams, Inc.

Quick tip for teams and leaders

There is a cliché that says: People don't leave companies, they leave managers. Managers have a tremendous responsibility. It is indeed a difficult job with much riding on it. This month's quick tip is to remember that people are likely to forget what you say but may never forget how you made them feel. This is true whether you are addressing one of your workers in your office or addressing the entire company at your next all-hands meeting.

Be sure that you genuinely feel good about something they HAVE done before looking for the words to express something they HAVEN'T done. This sets up your physiology and tone to communicate the most important thing that they will be listening for...that you care. The words that follow will be enough to make your point, recommendation, suggestion, etc.

LN-4 Hands in action, Bikes on the road

Bikes on the road: 11,570

Hands in action: 1,181

 

Donated through Odyssey Teams Philanthropic Teambuilding programs Life Cycles and Helping Hands, respectively

 

 

 

 

Recipient story of the month:

With the recent Earthquake in Haiti, we are all wondering how many people will have tragically lost a limb. With LN-4 hands delivered to 25 countries at this point, it is entirely possible that our LN-4 hands will end up on victims there. This tragedy gives us just a glimpse into similar tragedies that our recent recipients, like young Malvo (pictured), have endured. In every case, we bring hope. And we are grateful that your hands, heads and hearts have made this possible.

 

Featured product/service of the month

If you have not heard of Sociomapping™ - you will.

Think of the revolution GPS has had over the use of paper maps and you can start to understand what Sociomapping is about to do for organizational development. Like GPS, the effect of Sociomapping is simple: Better situational awareness allowing you to clearly see the answers to 'Where are we now'? Where do we want to be? And, are we navigating correctly?

GPS is simple to use because the complexity is taken care of for you; satelite data is captured and analyzed by complex software that organizes it in a 3-dimensional view. Sociomapping does the same thing but without rockets and satellites.

Sociomapping data is captured and analyzed using either 'direct' parameters (with focus on communication analysis, effectiveness of cooperation, team formation or decision-making); or, indirect parameters from sources such as MBTI™, Hogan™, insights™ or other standardized personality profiles.

So what does Sociomapping have to do with Odyssey Teams?

First, we will be using Sociomapping with our clients as a way to assess, diagnose, plan for implementions, interventions, events, and finally measure progress. Second, together with our European affiliates, Odyssey Network™, we have become the Regional Distributor for the North American market of Sociomapping - A proprietary product of QED GROUP™.

Odyssey Teams will be officially unveiling Sociomapping in June of 2010. In the meantime, if you are interested in being one of only five client's partnering with us in this pre-launch, with possible channel distribution opportunities, please let us know.

For a sneak preview visit: map-your-team.com and then contact Bill John at 800-342-1650. In Europe contact Martin Ruman at 011-420-224-310-629 (skype: odysseycz)

Tipping Point™ of the month

Finding myself at altitude, I realized it was not the height I feared, or even falling. It was the failure of not standing up...

Adam Klein, UCLA Anderson School of Management, MBA student. (after completing the Odyssey Team's Ropes Course)

What's a ‘Tipping Point'? At the close of every Odyssey program we invite participants to author an original quote that captures the main lesson, insight or inspiration from the session. Each participant's Tipping Point is then entered into our system and then each business day following their program one of their Tipping Points is randomly selected and e-mailed to everyone on their team who participated in the event. Odyssey developed this process after a discussion with Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point." The Tipping Points help keep the shelf-life of the experience fresh and serve to ‘tip' people into better performance. The Tipping Point of the month is selected from over 30,000 quotes in our database from past participants.

In the words of our clients...

89 percent of our employees indicate that communication at PRN improved in the past year. I believe that Odyssey Teams was a big part in helping us achieve this success

Christine Stout

- Premier Retail Networks

Word of mouth gives a hand!

Pass this newsletter on. If your colleague books a program with us we'll donate three LN-4 Helping Hands to landmine victims in your name.

In the media

Todd Demorest, Odyssey Teams, contributing author, Meetings:Review. Article on Corporate Social Responsibility

Lain Hensley, featured in Meetings:Focus. Article titled 'Higher Calling'