Teams

Building a team is like building a house.

What is the core component of every successful organization? The work team.

How do you make a team strong? Begin with the right foundation.

You see, building a team is like building a house. After deciding what you want your house to look like and obtaining a plan, what’s the first thing you do? Lay a solid foundation, say concrete reinforced with steel.

But you don’t have to.

No, you could build a great house without laying a solid foundation. You could make it beautiful and, for a while, it would serve you well.

Right up until the rain fell and the wind blew. Then your house would start to crack and, if the stressors were high enough, it would crumble to the ground.

Same way with a team.

But with a work team the foundation is not concrete. It’s trust. Oh you don’t have to lay a firm foundation of trust. No, you can create a team without it. It will still look like a team and, for a while, it will serve you well.

But when the stress comes and the deadlines loom, your team will start to crack. If the workload is high enough, it may crumble before your very eyes.

Not so with a Bulletproof Organization.

The difference is the bulletproof culture. Here is what team members say:

  1. High performance is expected.
  2. We make sacrifices for the good of the mission and the team.
  3. We genuinely care about one another.
  4. We trust each other implicitly and prove it by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable.
  5. We love what we do because we are good at it and we believe that what we do matters.
  6. We encourage each other and hold each other accountable.
  7. Being on this team is a privilege.

How can you start to make your culture a little more bulletproof?

Start with building a little more trust. Why you ask? Because, according to 2016’s How Report, high trust teams perform six times better and are eleven times more innovative.

Why don't we trust each other? Well, we refer to it as the Hitchhiker Problem.

You're driving down the road and see a hitchhiker. Do you pick him up? Most people say, "No way!" But why not? He might be the nicest guy in the world. Or a billionaire with extra cash to give away. Or an escaped serial killer.

The bottom line is that you won't pick him up because you don’t know him.

The same way we don't know the people we work with. Oh sure, we know them a little, as coworkers, but not as people. So take your teammates to lunch and don’t talk about work. Talk about hobbies and families and life. Get to know them as other humans.

Or consider letting us help with some of our world-class experiential teambuilding programs. Not just going bowling or playing golf together – but an activity with a specific purpose.

World-Class Teambuilding from Performance Insights, LLC

CSI:YOU

The hottest teambuilding event in America puts your team in the middle of a crime scene investigation. CSI:YOU is realistic, its relevant and it gets results.

Imagine - your team gets briefed and led into an alleyway not knowing what to expect. Once there they find a crime scene that’s as real as it can get without a body — filled with puzzling clues that must be gathered and interpreted in order to catch the killer.

Forced to rely solely on each other, participants soon learn valuable lessons that apply directly to work. Things like creative problem solving, open communication and attention to detail. They walk away with valuable insights as well as a plan to put that new knowledge to use.

Featured in publications from the New York Times to Et Carriers in Paris, the CSI:YOU phenomenon has helped such well known companies as Kimberly-Clark and Marriott and PepsiCo.

Improve Thru Improvisation

This is teambuilding for people who hate teambuilding. Improve thru Improvisation is like Ken Blanchard meets Drew Carey, with complete audience participation. According to Fast Company, learning improv is one of the top five hobbies that make people better at their job.

During Improve thru Improvisation your team will rediscover how to have fun at work and get more things done. They will learn:

  • To get acquainted and build trust.
  • To generate better ideas.
  • To innovate and improvise better solutions more quickly.
  • The "Yes, and..." approach to better relationships and teamwork.

Let us help you and your team work harder and smarter by playing harder and smarter – with improvisation. Hey if it works for Tina Fey and Google, why not your team?

Firefighter

A rare opportunity for a first-hand taste of America’s most respected profession and to learn the secrets to their success. Whether it’s extricating victims trapped in a car wreck or fighting structure fires, everyone is happy when these professionals arrive on scene. But the circumstances they face can only be conquered with prior training and exacting teamwork.

The same can likely be said of your team.

I think we can safely that there is little more memorable than donning bunker gear and handling a high-pressure hose. Your team can experience this together and learn how these everyday heroes manage to perform under stress in this fascinating vocation.

Dog Whisperer

Teambuilder + Dogooder = A better life for some fortunate dogs! In this innovative exercise, team members travel to a local animal shelter and learn the basics of training dogs to become better citizens.

Your team will partner with some down-on-their-luck pups who need a home, teaching behaviors like walking on a leash without tugging, sitting when asked, and coming when called. They will be the recipient of a lot of tail-wagging canine love during the experience and the gratitude of whomever takes these pets home one day.

It's an opportunity to understand the challenge of changing behavior in pets and human beings as well as substantially improve chances for adoption for several dogs.

SWAT – The Ultimate Team Experience

Challenging. Intense. Empowering. Words that describe some of our best experiences.

The same adjectives your team will choose when they complete one of the most difficult but rewarding experiences of their lifetimes: SWAT –The Ultimate Team Experience.

Lasting between eight hours and three days, this isn’t for every team. Only the ones who truly want to be top performers. This seminar brings together all the key elements in effective leadership and teamwork in one exciting package. Is it for you?

Note: Counterintuitively, while it involves selection, training and multiple full-blown operations, it’s designed to accommodate everyone from tri-athletes to couch potatoes. We always customize the experience to your goals and your teammates.

True, taking down a drug lord or rescuing a hostage may seem like unorthodox approaches to teaching teamwork and leadership, but the lessons learned here are hard to forget.

And the list continues...

  • Spy vs. Spy – Playing the role of opposing intelligence agents, team members work directly against each other to see who can outsmart and outmaneuver their opponent.
  • Outdoor Edge - Teams get a chance to bike, hike, climb, rappel or paddle, or any combination of the above, as they enjoy the great outdoors. A great opportunity to enjoy what nature has to offer and start building a team at the same time.
  • Combat Arms – Members learn to safely handle and fire various police and military weapons, from pistols to sniper rifles, at silhouette targets. A unique afternoon for a special team.
  • Farmer John – Participants will work on a farm doing whatever needs to be done that day. Possibilities include everything from bucking hay to shoveling…umm, cleaning out the stables.
  • Team in the Ring – Members learn how to defeat a physically aggressive opponent by using exacting teamwork in various situations. Modeled after the methods used by law enforcement in dealing with dangerous unarmed criminals.
  • Samurai – Participants learn the basics of the sword, how to defend against this ancient weapon, and will spar individually and in teams. Members will graduate to use of a live blade to demonstrate their skill.
  • CIA – Members work against an adversary to gather intel, decode messages, and run surveillance on enemy operatives in order to thwart a terrorist attack.
  • Bomb Tech – Teams become bomb technicians for an intense opportunity to see if they can locate, identify, and defuse multiple IED’s in order to save innocent lives.
  • Spec Ops – Participants are formed into teams and given pre-designated assignments such as taking down a drug dealer or arresting an armed felon. Simulation weapons such as paintball or soft-air are used.
  • City Slickers – Team members learn the basics of cowboyin’ like roping, wrangling, and horseback riding. Teams will actually move cattle from place to place on the ranch.

Each of these events are proven to accelerate trust and teambulding. All are exciting, fun, and effective. The questions isn’t should you do one. The question is which one is the best fit?

Reach out and we will help you decide.

The Bulletproof Leaders Academy provided our managers with valuable insights into team dynamics and real leadership. Armed with actionable tactics from each session, we are improving teamwork and overall performance. Coupled with Tim's engaging style, the Bulletproof concepts have inspired all of us to become better individuals as well as better leaders.

Rodney Shepard
President/CEO
Arvest Bank

Tim Keck gets my highest recommendation as a coach and mentor. His unique ability to recognize, understand, and explain the way every team member thinks and operates blows my mind. It turns out that there's so much about life and leadership that I didn’t know. Whether it’s personal coaching for just me or including my whole team — he provides a priceless amount of value. I name Tim as one of the top contributors to the success that I enjoy as a business professional today.

Eric Hinson
CEO/Founder
Explainify.com

I look forward to each session with Tim, finding them to be equal parts entertaining, informative and inspiring. Whether working with us as individuals or as a group, all of the partners came away with new respect for one another and gleaned valuable insights on how to create a work environment that works for everyone.

Barbara Taylor
Co-Founder
Allan Taylor

Why Go Bulletproof?

Practical, effective, expert help for leaders and teams.

Vetted in the stressful environment of a SWAT call-out.

Ample use of humor and storytelling to engage your people.

Ready, willing and able to solve your biggest people problems.

Always focused on creating high-performance, low-drama cultures.