Employee team building is usually not high on the weekly ‘To Do’ list. It’s easily replaced with customer questions, daily tasks, problems, and organizational deadlines. From my experience, setting time aside to focus on employee engagement can be time well spent as I discovered by simply reading a book.
The Membership Division Book Club was created a few years ago and I’ll admit from a supervisory perspective, was one of the most insightful and meaningful ways to engage my team. It allowed everyone the freedom to share ideas and voice opinions during each meeting regardless of the title printed on their business card. The gatherings – max of 60 minutes – became a time to share personal experiences as well as how a topic or idea could enrich the experience of our members and customers.
Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell
“In the simplest sense, a hug is anything that exceeds a customer’s expectations.”
The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn
“While not all change is good, staying the same can’t be all good either. The only difference between a rut and a grave, as the old saying goes, is the depth. Take time to truly think about what you do and why you do it. So often we live our lives on autopilot, unable to distinguish between activity and accomplishment.”
The Go Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
“A genuinely sound business principle will apply anywhere in life – in your friendships, in your marriage, anywhere. That’s the true bottom line. Not whether it simply improves your financial balance sheet, but whether it improves your life’s balance sheet.”
Lunchmeat & Life Lessons by Mary B. Lucas
“I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this one,” Dad said. “Truth be told, I don’t remember where I heard it, but they say there are three kinds of people: those who want something to happen, those who make something happen and those who wonder what the hell happened! You need to decide which type of person you want to be.”
You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader by Mark Sanborn
“Many suffer from the misconception that leadership is about large, sweeping acts of history. But what we don’t always realize is that each of our daily actions and efforts have significant impact, as well. When you do your job – any job – with initiative and determination to make a positive difference, you become a leader. You won’t make a difference; you will be the difference.”
As each book concluded, we looked forward to what was next. Everyone was eager to continue learning from one another and how the subject would apply to our professional and personal lives. This team building activity does not guarantee exponential growth to an organization’s bottom line but it is a constructive way towards strong employee engagement.
The End.
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