RUN WITH THE Big dogS™ newsletter
Volume 3, issue 47

Are you using food as a management tool?...John

Management idea

Food can be a powerful tool for strengthening your corporate culture and building teamwork.

At the start of a recent strategic planning meeting the team's body language spoke loudly.  When they arrived for the meeting, they quickly sat down and buried themselves in the handouts. The group acted more like strangers than a unified team.

By the end of the two day meeting they were laughing, tossing penalty flags and genuinely enjoying both the process and each other.  Certainly the planning process made a difference but the CEO used a creative way to build team unity.  He planned a complex dinner meal with over two dozen ingredients.  The team, staying in a cabin on the ocean, broke into smaller teams to cook the dinner.  The act of both eating and cooking together built on the first day's progress and cemented a team spirit.

Over the years we've seen food used wisely as a bonding event.  It's amazing what impact you can make with a small company Thanksgiving "dinner" the day before the official holiday, a monthly birthday/good news lunch hosted by rotating departments, or a weekly pre-morning bagel meeting in front of the CEO's office.