You're the Boss

An Apprentice Team Building Simulation

Our global economy has experienced an unprecedented rate of change, presenting organizations with new challenges and opportunities. Some sectors are in decline while others are emerging. To survive, thrive and grow in our turbulent economy, even well established corporations have had to re-think old approaches and invent new ways of doing business.

This can involve:

• re-assessing your vision
• improving products and services
• re-shaping your marketing strategy
• modifying supplier and distribution networks
• transforming team leader/team member interactions
• and even forging alliances with the competition

To be effective, today's team leaders must move beyond traditional paradigms in order to seize the opportunities in the marketplace. You're the Boss is an Apprentice style simulation will help you hone your team leadership and project management skills. You're the Boss is a powerful accelerated learning programme, loosely based on the popular TV show The Apprentice.

Please make sure that you are comparing apples to apples.

We offer MEANINGFUL challenges. This is NOT a series of contrived games and icebreakers in a meeting room but a team building session inspired by the popular TV show "The Apprentice".

If your budget is limited, we would be happy to suggest an alternative format involving team challenges or perhaps a game show. We promise not to try to pass it off as Appentice Team Building.

For example we offer an urban safari that explores Toronto (or your city) or simulate an exploration of a city or a country in a meeting room with virtual trivia, puzzles, and team challenges.

We will incorporate as many of the elements of the Apprentice as your budget will allow into your simulation. We can video tape and edit your experience to create a TV programme that you can use as a refresher. We can hire an actor to play Donald Trump. Of course there will be a boardroom.

Benefits

This Apprentice team building simulation will introduce you to new tools and leadership practices that will imporve your effectivenss during tight timeframes and periods of rapid change. This two to 5 day Apprentice team building simulation will give you an opportunity to:

• fine-tuning your marketing and sales strategy
• improve your decision making
• brainstorm and generate new strategies to resolve business issues and overcome challenges
• manage projects more effectively even within tight timeframes

We won't take your money and promise to deliver in 2 hours a session that we know realistically needs 2 days.

If your time frame is short, a format that would work nicely for a conference or on-going mangement developent programme would be:

• A 1 1/2 - 3 hour briefing session for the teams
• A project such as a toy factory or a lemonade stand that can realistically be implemented in half a day.
• A gap of at least a day (ideally a week).
• Project execution would be in the morning.
• We would have the boardroom, think tank and blueprint formulation in the afternoon.

We also have versions of this simulation that incorporate elements of our Inc. Inc.: Breaking Down Siles Team Building simulation. In these versions, in addition to the Apprentice style project, sales and marketing task and boardroom, participants are organized into 2 or more companies that produce a product for an actual client. Examples include:

• Bikes R Us, a bicycle manufacturing company that assembles and then compete to either sell, raffle or auction off bikes to raise money for charity
• The Dollhouse Experience, a team building simulation of a doll house factory
• The Toy Factory (a more cost effective version of the Dollhouse Experience)

Please note that the dollhouse simulation is not a low budget option. Each dollhouse will cost about $650 - $750 to finish and furnish. Also, the doll house option requires AT LEAST 1 1/2 days to do the full simulation. For a recreational option, the doll house assembly can be done in a full day. We can have a team of 15 people work on each dollhouse and assemble furniture for it.

• toy workbenches (about $50 per work bench)
• toy kitchens (about $150 each)
• scooters ($50, $80, $130, or $200 each)
• remote control cars (range from $40 - $225 each)
• dollhouses ($650 - $750 per fully furnished dollhouse)
• Christmas shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child to be distributed to children from underprivileged and war torn countries (very cost effective option)

Sample
Agendas

Day One

It was Supposed to Work:

• Shifting Sands: Turbulence and Other Changes in the Corporate Landscape
• Why Traditional Business Paradigms are no Longer Helpful

Desert Survival Mini-Simulation:

• A Survivor Style mini- simulation to familiarize your team with the project manager's toolkit

Sales Project Planning:

• Opportunity to Brainstorm and Plan Your First Project Using Project Management Toolkit

• Suggestions: Lemonade Stand, Flea Market Stall or Booth at Polo or Equestrian Event

Day Two

Sales Project

• A competitive team building simulation based on the TV Show, The Apprentice

Debriefing

• Identification of Key Success Factors, Lessons Learned, Opportunities for Improvement

Boardroom

Day Two: Option 1

Option One: Prizes for Winning Team

Think Tank

• Opportunity to Brainstorm and Get Input for Specific Real World Business Challenge

Blueprint Formulation

• to Refine and Implement Strategies Developed During this Apprentice style simulation

The End (or See Day Two - Option 2

This Apprentice style simulation is ideal for team building or as an adjunct to supervisory or management training. For maximum benefit and to give the teams time to execute more complex projects, we can schedule a one or two week gap between each day of the simulation.

Day Two: Option 2

Promotions to Project Manager

Assignment of Second Project

Day Two (Evening)

• Outing for Winning Team

Day Three

Special Event: Project Planning

Day Four

Project Execution (AM or full day)

Day Four (PM) or Day Five

Debriefing

Boardroom

Prizes or Luxury Reward for Winning Team

Application

Team Leadership for the New Millennium

To describe your requirements and find out how we can help you achieve your objectives, please submit the Booking Request Form that you can access through the Book Services tabs or links.

Return to:

Corporate Team Building

Rules of The Apprentice

Official Web Site for The Apprentice

NBC's reality show, The Apprentice, gives 16 contestants the chance to participate in what has been dubbed "the longest job interview in the world". It is a chance to win the dream job of a lifetime. "The Apprentice" gets to work for Donald Trump for a year and earn a salary of $250,000.

The Apprentice is produced by Mark Burnett who produced Survivor. On The Apprentice, the contestants are divided into two teams (Corporations) and assigned a series of tasks. Tasks range from running a lemonade stand or a stall at the market to creating a commercial for a major automobile company or organizing a polo event for charity. For each task, there is a new project leader. Throughout the competition, by performing well on each task, contestants attempt to prove to Mr. Trump that they should be hired as his apprentice.

At the end of each task, the corporation that earns the most money, gets a valuable prize such as dinner at the Donald Trump Penthouse, a helicopter ride over Manhattan or golf with "the Donald". The losing team goes to the boardroom and someone from that team is fired. In each and every episode, the dynamics of team leadership, teamwork and corporate politics get played out in living colour.

To help you plan your corporate team building session, please check out:

Our Corporate Team Building Primer

Spice of the Month: Accelerated Learning Ezine

Our payment terms are 50% at the time of booking and the balance 1 calendar month prior to the session.

Due to the complex logistics required to pull together this seesion we HIGHLY recommend that you book it at least 6 weeks in advance. Due to the compressed timeframe for logistics, there will be a 15% late booking surcharge for You're the Boss sessions booked wiht less than 6 weeks notice. Sessions booked less than 1 month in advance, must be paid in full at the time of booking. SORRY NO EXCEPTIONS.

To describe your requirements and find out how we can help you achieve your objectives, please submit the Booking Request Form that you can access through the Book Services tabs or links.

Return to:

Corporate Team Building

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