It’s an unfortunate fact that people in today’s world are feeling pretty divided from one another. Even though most people are prepared to be polite and kind to each other, there’s always the potential for tempers to flare or mistrust to grow. This is especially true when folks feel like the group they belong to isn’t adequately accepting of them, or that they’re not truly welcome to be part of the group at all. Read more
Ah, corporate offsites: They can simultaneously strike fear into the hearts of retreat planners and either excitement (Hawaii, anyone?) or boredom (another Lego competition in the local park?) in the hearts of employees. Offsites can be incredibly valuable for team-building, but getting the event to go off without a hitch — while keeping everyone happy — often comes with some challenges. Read more
Many company founders start their businesses with the best of intentions in mind. They want to build a successful company, certainly, but they often also want to become pillars of their local communities. Read more
Aloha! Last week we gathered with TYR Sport in Long Beach to enjoy a sunset paddle for our Outrigger Canoe Team Building Race event. Participants were treated to a brief lesson on the history of outrigger canoeing in California and a hands-on lesson in paddling. Then it was into the canoes for the tournament!
Our experienced na ho‘okele (steerers) captained each canoe and urged the teams to huki (paddle fast)! Their expertise was welcome since outrigger canoes are much more difficult to navigate than regular boats. Outrigger canoes require synchronicity and communication between teammates. Hence, outrigger racing is perfect for team building! If crews are able to work together they can get their vessels cutting quickly through the waves. Their speed when manned by a cohesive team invokes the memory that these canoes were once used as powerful war vehicles. Read more
What can a group take away from an employee outing playing in the surf and sand? When teams are looking for a summer team building activity in Los Angeles or Orange County we LOVE recommending our Beach Olympics. This spirited competition challenges staff to work together in unique ways leading to improved communication and office engagement. So what can you expect from your team during a Beach Olympics?
Creative Problem Solving
Our challenges aren’t just simple lawn games you’ve probably played at a dozen family picnics. Each event will require players to think outside the box in mastering the zany activities we set up. When our facilitators explain the objective of the game we set conditions restricting players from the more obvious, simple solutions. For instance, when we play soccer Our cleats are 3 person wooden skis that teams use to travel down the field. Using our skis, team member must develop a strategy for navigating the field and scoring goals. It’s unconventional and deliciously challenging.
Team Spirit
Don’t worry, nobody is going to start singing “Kumbaya.” We encourage team bonding through friendly competition. By randomly placing participants in teams we circumvent cliques and forge new connections. Even those who don’t think they’re the “hoo rah!” type get caught up in the cheering. Each round of the Beach Olympics gets teams closer to the final Gauntlet, a fast paced relay style race for victory that has everyone laughing and rooting for the top teams.
Uncovering Hidden Talent
When you remove labels and classifications from your staff, you’ll find them performing in interesting ways. Employees who are normally quiet and reserved might step forward and lead the group during challenges. An event like this allows people to demonstrate aptitude in a areas like leadership, creative thinking, management, and connection. Watch your team closely and you may find your next product manager or thought leader.
At the end of the event our event lead will review the action with your group. What were the higlights? What did your team excel at? How does this apply to what you do in the office? What can we use to be successfull moving forward? We’ll help your team recognize the value and discuss how to apply it to the office.
A day at the beach is always fun, but your can supersize your return on investment by partnering with us. Get your game face on with a Beach Olympics team building in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. To engage your staff in a fun, active summer outing contact us james@fireflyteamevents.com
Put a spray paint can in your team members hands for an unforgettable graffiti team building outing!
Amazon.com’s App Store team asked us for a unique team outing in Dana Point. They’re a new team that works well together but their manager is working to elevate them to amazing. He wanted to dig a little deeper using creativity as a vehicle for interaction. Our Team Graffiti paired them up with a facilitator and a world class graffiti artist, ManOne Graffiti Artist. The team explored the concept of individual identity through graffiti “tags’ in Lantern Bay Park by the Laguna Cliffs Marriott. Each member created their own graffiti name, called a “tag” in the graffiti world. A tag is more than just a name it’s an identity much like a corporate brand. Colors, letter style, and writing style are important to establishing identity. As they shared their new tags with each other ManOne offered tips and technique mixed with colorful graffiti history. Markers in hand they turned our graffiti walls into a colorful feast for the eyes.
The graffiti equivalent of a team is known as a crew. Every artist has a one or more crews that they identify with. Crews provide safety, inspiration, help on large pieces, and family. The correlation with a project team resonated strongly with Amazon. The Amazon.com group was now a graffiti crew and ManOne graduated them to spray paint. After an interactive graffiti lesson, together they chose a word that has meaning and relevance to the team and their goals at work. Using the word “craft” the crew chose their colors for their final masterpiece on canvas. ManOne sketched it out in paint on a primed cotton canvas and the crew took over. They filled in the piece taking turns using the colors they’d chosen. ManOne took over after all the color was filled in and showed us why he’s a master of his craft. Hey added outlines and depth that made the canvas come to life.
Engage Your TeamBuilding engagement amongst team members is more than theme days in the office. It takes effort and additional investment by management. Finding unique ways like our Team Building Graffiti event is a great direction to go. Ready to plan your next meeting? Call us and let us help you get the most out of your team – Firefly Team Events – 877.267.1939
If your group is lucky enough to be in San Diego for your next team building event we’ve collected some great ideas for you. Of course there’s the beach, Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, and Comic Con, but when you really want to learn more about both the town and your team consider these San Diego corporate team building activity suggestions. We’ve updated the list to feature a few more for 2023.
San Diego is a big city made up of awesome areas and neighborhoods. Our favorites are Balboa Park and the Gaslamp District. In Balboa Park you’ll explore the lush gardens, Spanish architecture, and numerous museums. If you’re wanting an evening team building activity we’ll send you on a culinary adventure through the Gaslamp District. Hop on the trolley to see the sights and enjoy the culture of the town. Our San Diego scavenger hunts don’t just send you to look at cool stuff though, you’ll be completing challenges and snapping pictures to win your team 1st place.
Fun in the sun is the idea behind our Iron Team Challenge. It’s our version of a Survivor or Olympic style team event. Gather your crew, slather on the sunscreen, and hit the beach or park ready beat the competition in team building challenges you’ve definitely never played before. Get to know your team in a totally different environment and engage in friendly competition. Our Beach Olympics will have teams cheering as they build trust, communication and strategy. We design all of our challenges to maximize participation and minimize single player domination.
As you explore the city you may notice beautiful works of art spray painted around the town. The walls of North Park feature world class artists that you might find on one of our events. A professional graffiti artist joins us to help your team create a custom street art image featuring a word that resonates with your team. Corporate teams enjoy expressing their personality while having fun with the paint. It’s a big, bold, and colorful exploration of messaging and innovation. We guarantee your team has never done anything like this.
There has never been a time in the history of the world where adults cheered this madly when a balloon pops. It’s wild! We give each team a remote control car and have them build a new body for it complete with sharp pointy things. After attaching a balloon to the back they battle their opponents in our wrecking pit. Last team with an unpopped balloon is the winner for the battle. It’s fast paced, collaborative, and hilarious. Fresh ideas are gold in team building and this is one of the best.
Each team will turn a full size surfboard into a message of positivity and inspiration for veterans in the San Diego region. San Diego is home to the highest concentration of military personnel in the world. We partner with organizations that use surfboard as a form of therapy to process trauma. The veterans learn how to surf, how to find silence on the water, and build new relationships. They keep the boards so they can continue to learn and heal.
Staying near San Diego in Carlsbad? No problem! Our team of locals will be able to coordinate a memorable and engaging team building event in any area of San Diego.
To book your San Diego team building event click here.
