When TEDx organizers reached out to me, to say “we had a tremendous number of applications for this program, and yours is one of 10 we’ve selected to participate,” I was equal parts excited and petrified! I mean, my teammates and I had done our musical team building programs for years with large groups, small groups, and everything in between. We had experimented on dozens of configurations and designs for program flow, and several of them worked. One thing they all had in common though, was that our programs typically ran somewhere between 90 minutes and 3 hours, depending on our clients program needs. Time, space, room layouts etc. But NOW, I was being asked to somehow engage in a collaborative experience (which is what we do) in only 15 minutes. Better yet make it 12! Umm. Sure, we got this.
So what have we got? What did I, (This is Jeff by the way, Founder of The Song Team) learn? Well, I learned a few things, and KAIZEN, the Japanese concept of continual improvement, lives on.
Our key takeaways:
We can take what it is WE do, and twist it, shape it, push it, and bend it in ways we never knew possible.
What this means for YOU, is that while we won’t stray from the core of what our methodology and message is, we WILL turn ourselves into a pretzel to make what we do, work with what you need.
We can customize a 30 second jingle, rather than a full song to be written with your audience to communicate the messages we always do, in experiential fashion, (a must) in 30 minutes, or even 15 minutes if that what your program calls for.
Like the songs created in our more well-traveled musical team-building models, this jingle will seamlessly weave your event themes and takeaways into the narrative.
AND, as in our longer musical team building breakouts and general sessions, your audience will be active participants in the creative process.
THEN, your audience will participate in the final performance of the jingle they’ve assisted in writing. The one thing we can’t do while working on these programs…is juggle. Well, maybe tennis balls…but no knives, bowling pins, or fire sticks!
Want us to record it? There are a few ways to do this. Please ask us!
What a fun way to start off the week! Thank you for your thoughtfulness and for leading a session at the conference that was truly unique and which engaged our creativity.
Heather Perdue, M.A., CFRE The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
Jeff and his team gave us exercises that allowed for critical team development. One of Jeff’s most valuable assets is his ability to empower others using songwriting as a tool. Our group was so lucky to spend an afternoon with Jeff and Michael.
Jamie Amaral, Senior Director Marketing & Sales – OIA, Inc.
Jeff’s process was fast-paced, fun and educational. It was highly interactive and it most certainly brought out the creative spirit in everyone. It was unlike any other team-building exercise that I’ve encountered. I would encourage any group wanting a unique and meaningful team-building experience to work with Jeff. It is time well spent.
Anita J. Day, Co-founder and Executive Director – Outrun the Sun, Inc.
Who knew that play-doh and music would go together! Outpatient Imaging Affiliates had a wonderful, fun time and we all learned how to work as a group and be creative. Thank you Jeff for helping us learn more about each other’s strengths and how to maximize them.
Janet Cheek, VP Operations – Outpatient Imaging Affiliates, LLC.
What an INCREDIBLE Team building program this was! Jeff, you managed to bring together a room full of people that are from all over the country and create one collaborative piece. You have a true gift that inspires all of us to reach beyond and see what was in front of us all along.
Kimberly Miller, Director of Sales & Marketing – Hilton Hotel Group
Jeff’s keynote and his team’s ensuing team-building workshops really touched the fabric of our employee culture. Write-A-Song-Build-A-Team accomplished all of our goals. You really hit a home run!
Brad Green, President – Listerhill Credit Union
Jeff Jacob and Sherrie Austin gave a wonderful program for our new Admissions Specialists Team. Their message and method really resonated, and they touched our organizational clay. Hope we can work with them again soon!
Ginger Priddy, Project Coordinator – DaVita
Jeff, our 2013 class loved you! Your program was phenomenal. I hope we get to work together on another project soon!
Kelly Alvarez Vitale, President – Broward Leadership Council Founder
Your team building program was awesome! I’ve heard nothing but positive comments from our employees. Most are saying it was their favorite part of our event! All writers on your team were outstanding, and your passion for helping teams improve will stay with us for a long time.
Linda Crawford, Training Director – Listerhill Credit Union
Jeff gave a wonderful workshop for our conference. It was insightful, inspiring and a ton of fun! He really made a difference for our attendees. Hope we can have him back for other events in the future.
Elizabeth Allington, Director of Creative Services – Indiana University School of Law
Jeff facilitated a highly productive, energetic team development session for our IT silo at FAU. Recently we’ve been tasked with consolidating operations and campuses and our teams have to learn to work more efficiently together. This program really helped move us in the right direction!
Alberto Fernández, Ph.D. – Director, Partner Campuses Technology Services – Office of Information Technology