ACCOUNT DIRECTORS ALL AT SEA ?
Question: What do you get when you cross eight Account Directors, a thirty eight foot yacht in the Solent, three and a half days which seem like ten, and a series of challenging projects ?
Answer: A Team.
Carol Fellowes, Superpanel Director, commissioned Sea Change Leadership & Team Development to run a development programme for Account Directors of Superpanel.
Carol was given the task, by Mike Penford, of revisiting the training and development needs of Superpanel/Impulse Client Service, in conjunction with Training Manager, Mike Butler.
“We wanted a programme which would stretch Account Directors giving a sense of team spirit, recognising that the performance of the team could be greater than the sum of its parts,” said Carol. “We also wanted to give them an opportunity to identify and develop their own personal leadership strengths for their own benefit and for the benefit of the company.”
Sea Change Leadership & Team Development Ltd. was chosen to provide the programme because whilst their approach is innovative and different, using yachts for the training, it is still very much focused on business issues.
Mike Butler recognises the need to address real business issues. “Unless training makes a difference to the way in which people operate and perform, back at work, it is not a sound investment.”
Said one of the participants, Harvey Dove, “We don’t want to tell you exactly what we did, as this would spoil it for anyone else from Taylor Nelson AGB who undertakes the programme. You need to experience it for yourself. We worked very hard, but learnt a lot about ourselves and how to work together as a team. The projects challenged the way we all think and act in a way which normal classroom training could not.”
“I saw the programme as a good opportunity to try out different approaches to solving problems and working with others”, said Vanessa Harker, another of the participants. “The projects enabled me to do that and to learn a good deal about my own leadership style.”
Carol and Mike are equally pleased with how the objectives set for the whole team were met. “The early results are encouraging and we are very pleased with the feedback we have received. We now need to ensure that this positive experience is put to good use within Taylor Nelson AGB” said Mike Butler.

(Reprinted from ‘In Touch’, the internal newspaper of Taylor Nelson AGB plc.)

CONFERENCE SPIRIT IN BASS
Imagine your next conference developing and delivering a team spirit and unity and an increase in performance from everyone involved in the process.
That’s just what we did for the Bass Lease Company. Using our well proven project based techniques, we transformed the Bass Lease Company conference into a motivational, interactive and stimulating team building event for the entire conference population of 88 delegates.
The Managing Director, having just steered the company through a re-structuring and a change from functional to process working, wanted a different and innovative approach to transferring the key messages, in a way which would make a real difference back at work.
Half of the total staff of Bass Lease Company had already taken part in Sea Change programmes and the MD wanted those who had not yet attended and those who had recently joined the company to have and to feel a ‘Sea Change experience’.
Two very challenging projects were run during the day, complete with feedback and reviews. The key messages were the need for the whole company to work together as one team, to achieve the company’s mission, and the need for structure and process to make it happen.
There was clear evidence during the projects and subsequent reviews that the whole team understand the importance of teamwork. The biggest single step taken during the conference, as a result of the projects, was a clear understanding of the need for both process and structure. In addition, the need for the authority of an inspirational leader to make the processes and structure work, was also recognised.

TRAIL OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION
A devilish ruse and a string of clues turn the Saturday Telegraph’s group holiday into an island intrigue.
“We are organising a weekend for 11 people at Fort Clonque, a Landmark Trust property on Alderney” said our friend from the Saturday Telegraph, “Can you organise an activity for us? It will form the basis of a feature article in the Travel Section.”
What more incentive could be offered. -free publicity! The result - a memorable weekend and a two page feature article in the Saturday Telegraph. Here is a brief extract:

“We had not been long at Fort Clonque when an inspector called. With an expression of utmost gravity, he dangled a small sachet of white powder in front of us. He was sorry, he said, to disrupt our first evening (and so were we: the fire was lit, the drinks were freshly poured) and he found this all very distasteful but he had a few questions.
“Were you or were you not on the 15.30 flight out of Southampton?” We were. “A substance has been found under one of the seats. Seeing as your group took up most of the plane, we’ve come to you first. Now I don’t like being pulled away from my pint on a Friday night, so let’s get this resolved as quickly as possible. We take this sort of thing very seriously on Alderney”.
I suddenly felt terribly weary. It had been hard enough for Fiona and me to drum up 11 people for this long weekend in the Channel Islands, not to mention worrying about potential tensions in such a disparate group. But, finally, here we all were, cosily sharing sofas and pre-dinner nibbles and getting to know each other, and now this. Which idiot.....?
There was only one possible explanation. Saturday had been designated ‘mystery day’; a team challenge cooked up by Mike, who does this sort of thing professionally. He was keen to try out his tactics on a bunch of real people (as opposed to senior management). I was encouraged to believe it would be a great way to bond the group and get to know the island at the same time. No hints had been given except for an assurance that it would bear no resemblance to It’s a Knockout.
But this was Friday, and names and addresses were now being handed over to the inspector’s bearded side kick and fingers were pointing at Shaen, under whose seat the ‘substance’ had been found. And here he was puffing on a cigarette, looking pale and panicky.
Nice acting inspector and Mike, what genius to rope in the Alderney Dramatic Society. What Shaen was covertly handed by the bearded one, when beckoned outside for ‘further questioning’ was a bulging envelope marked ‘Top Secret’. “Escape from FortClonque” it read .......”
The group became two teams. Pencils were sharpened, chairs drawn up. The mystery day had begun.........

CARGILL CHOOSE SEA CHANGE FOR EUROPE
Cargill Financial Markets Plc, part of America’s biggest private company, chose Sea Change to run a programme for one of the newest members of its European business operation - The European Value Investment Group.
The European Value Investment Group is a principal investor in distressed assets, enabling financial and government institutions and insurance companies to liquidate under performing or non-performing assets.
The Sea Change programme was made up of three boats, each with 8 delegates, so a total of 30 people, including Tutors and Skippers.
The challenge was to build one complete team, as well as three smaller teams. This we achieved, by switching team members for some of the projects and by using our most experienced facilitators.
This programme had a strong international flavour, with delegates from the USA, Denmark and Spain, as well as from the UK. What the inhabitants of Hamble made of them, we are not sure, but the mixture of cultures made for a fascinating programme and some interesting issues of communication.
The follow-up day six weeks after the event, which is a feature of all Sea Change programmes, saw the EVIG team producing its vision and mission for the new division. This was an extremely useful exercise which focused the attention of the team on what they needed to do to put the Sea Change learning into practice.
Cargill Financial Markets have, to date, used an organisation in the States for their team development activities. We are pleased that, as a result of the EVIG programme, they see the Sea Change approach as more suitable for their staff in Europe and have already committed to further programmes for their 48 strong Capital Markets team.

WHEELCHAIR YACHTSMAN EXPERIENCES A SEA CHANGE
It was our great pleasure and privilege to sponsor one of Britain’s two entries in the World Disabled Hobie Cat Championships in Australia.
It was an even greater pleasure to learn that our boat, sailed by Geoff Holt and his team mate Richard Hall, had achieved a third place, against all the odds.
Sailing eight races in six days in a variety of weather conditions from light airs to erratic gusty conditions, Holt and Hall took on the world’s best.
Although experienced, Geoff and Richard, both of whom work for Southampton Accountants Deloite & Touche, had not been considered a threat to the twelve other teams.
Not only was this their first World Championships, but it was also the first time Great Britain had been represented.
Geoff, 30, is a quadriplegic, paralysed in a swimming accident 20 years ago and is Chairman of RYA Sailability, the UK governing body for disabled sailing.
We wish Geoff well with his plans to encourage more disabled sailors to take up the sport.

NORSK DATA: ‘ON BOARD’ WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS
“We have used sailing events in the past for entertaining our customers, but this year wanted something different and more business focused. Your innovative approach enhanced the enjoyment and involvement of the participants, helping us to build genuine partnership relationships with our key customers.”
This was the reaction of Ken Finn, Marketing Executive of computer company Norsk Data to the ‘ND Challenge’, organised and run by Sea Change.
Ken, who has organised numerous corporate hospitality events, including sailing, was looking to invest in the future relationship with his customers, rather than simply rewarding them for past achievement.
The brief - to provide a highly motivational event which involved everybody, challenged everybody and encouraged the development of teamwork, whilst at the same time maintaining the enjoyment and excitement of sailing. The Sea Change answer - The ‘ND Challenge’.
Using our project based methodology, which allows everybody to participate, irrespective of sailing knowledge and physical ability, we designed a sailing programme which met the brief.
Three individual stages were held, each of two days duration, with two boats on each stage. Each boat was crewed by teams from two customers and one from Norsk Data. This combination enabled the whole event to include 12 customer teams and 36 customer representatives.
At the end of day one there was time to wind down with dinner and drinks and considerable light hearted banter between the teams.
Each team collected points throughout the two days of each stage, culminating in a series of ‘head to head’ match races. The scoring system meant that the overall winner did not become apparent right until the last day of the competition.
Following the completion of all three stages, a gala prize giving dinner was held for all the teams, back at the company’s headquarters in Newbury. It was not just the experienced sailors who won the prizes and no single team won all their races. This was not only a reflection of the way in which the teams worked together, but also where the projects came into their own. The nature of the challenge encouraged a contribution from everyone.
The Results:
The Endeavour Award:
British Gas Transco
Sun Life
Norsk Data
Runners Up:
London & Manchester
BT Corporate Relations
ND AKA
ND Challenge Winners:
Brockbank Underwriting
Tokyo Mitsubishi
Norsk Data

HILTON PROMOTE SEA CHANGE
Following a successful programme we ran for the national sales team of Hilton (UK), Hilton (UK) adopted Sea Change as a supplier of team development activities for its customers, conference and incentive agents.
Our full range of programmes featured as a supplement in an edition of Communiqué, Hilton’s newsletter for conference and incentive agents.
Conference and land based activities can be organised at any Hilton location, in the UK or overseas, and boat based programmes can be based at the Hilton National, Southampton.
This relationship, as well as providing us with an additional distribution channel, will also enable us to offer a 4 star standard of accommodation, at discounted rates, to all of our clients.

A GRAND DAY OUT !
Deborah Hulme, my colleague and I are members of the management team of the DHC Group, a relatively new and rapidly growing, consultancy business.
Team working has been vital to what we have already done but, if anything, is becoming even more critical with each passing day. What is more, the particular demands that business growth is putting on the team, both individually and collectively, are changing and to an extent seem unpredictable.
Because of all this, it was with great interest that Deborah and myself arrived at a Sea Change ‘Preview’ event. Little did we know that, by the end of the day, the two of us would already been asking questions and feeling towards answers about some fundamental aspects of the ways we work. -and that was just the Preview!
We were hoping that the Sea Change approach would offer an opportunity for the team to do something together that would generate insight and self-learning. We were not disappointed.
What we do and the way that we do it, has a direct impact on others- colleagues and customers alike- and in turn, influences their actions. The day with Sea Change clearly brought that message home and, through skilful facilitation, quickly focused it on detailed business behaviours that mattered.
Combined with Sea Change’s insistence that DHC should identify specific (and measurable) outputs that we would want to achieve on a fuller team event, this convinced us that we should proceed.
By the way, not only was the ‘Preview’ thoroughly professional and effective....not only did a group of non-sailors navigate and sail their way around the Hamble estuary with minimum interference from the experts....it was also great fun.
Mark Plevin. The DHC Group

SEA CHANGE CONTRIBUTE TO IPD GUIDE
The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, the professional body for HR practitioners, have produced a guide for members on outdoor team-building activities. The guide, covers why and how to select courses and lays down practical and ethical guidelines.
Sea Change submitted material for the guide, in particular, making the distinction between using the outdoors for training purposes and ‘outward bound’. ‘Outward bound’ programmes tend to practice the skills of the activities themselves, whilst ‘outdoor’ programmes, particularly when coupled with business focused projects, practice the same skills used at work.
We therefore recommended that purchasers of outdoor team development activities need to establish what particular behaviours are likely to be challenged and tested by the methodology adopted by specific training providers.
We also recommended, on the subject of outcomes, that any training organisation that is reluctant to accept specific targeted objectives and to be held accountable for their achievement, should be avoided. Needless to say, Sea Change does not fall into this category!

INFORMING THE INFORMERS
Our contribution to conference events continues We took over the National Conference for Business Link and Chamber of Commerce Information Managers, organised by Business Link Hampshire, for a half day, interactive, team building session.
Imagine, if you can, 66 Information Managers moving, in harmony, to achieve a task! To the casual observer it looked like a cross between a sophisticated line dance and the last night of the Proms. All that was missing was Land of Hope and Glory!
Their task, to assemble the conference mission statement on the set, at the front of the conference hall, from its constituent parts.
Stage 1 required them to build, in their small table teams, sections of the mission statement. Stage 2 required the co-operation of all the teams to assemble the final statement.
Despite some very creative and rather unexpected rule bending, (which we found quite encouraging in relation to their research and broker services!) they achieved the mission.
The review, which followed, delivered some powerful lessons, which reinforced the key conference messages. They recognised the need not only to work effectively together within their own organisations, but also the need to work effectively with other external partnership organisations to deliver their service.

ELLERT USE SEA CHANGE FOR OUTSOURCED TEAMS
Ellert Retail Operation Services Ltd., whose main activity is outsourcing in sales and customer services, commonly known as Field Marketing, used Sea Change to build two teams for one of its new customers, Eastern Natural Gas. The programme ‘kick started’ the teams and resulted in them significantly beating their initial sales targets.

RADIO STAR?
Mike Batcheler was recently invited to be interviewed on South Coast Radio, to comment on a new form of management and team development,- sheep dog handling, with delegates acting as both sheep and dogs. As well as giving Sea Change a plug, Mike commented that he didn’t see a problem with it, providing staff were taken for a long walk every lunch time!