Team Building Events: Some Assembly Required

We here at the Nigro Firm are do-it-yourselfers, team players and like to save a few bucks here and there. So, we recently combined a complicated assembly project into a team building experience , why not?

Our project was to put a desk together. Sound easy? Maybe, if you have good instructions and few parts....building a simple elementary school extension is easy too, when you have good build instructions.....but we all know the reality of that situation.

The Instructions
Like most "some assembly required" projects this one was actually "tons of assembly required." According to the 37 pages of instructions the project should take one person about an hour and 20 minutes.

However, here are the real stats:
Build Time: 3.5 hours
# of People: 3

Other Highlights and statistics:
# of times someone said "This is stupid": 48
# of times someone said "What the ____?": 23
Tools and screws not included: 5
Beers and Iced Teas Required: 6
Total Swear Words Uttered: 297
Total Number of Full On Belly Laughs: 12

Favorite Saying Developed During the Process
"If all else fails, smack it."

Least Helpful Team Member: Izzy
Though we assigned this beagle the task of translating the instructions from Spanish to English, he failed miserably due to his constant napping.










Finished Product:
After three and half hours of assembly, we decided we liked it better before we took it out of the box, lol.













What we learned during this team event:

• That complex and confusing tasks are easier and more amusing when not completed alone.
• We learned compromise and that sometimes parts can be put on upside down and still work.
• Good communication is paramount to success, especially when your content writer refers to the brackets as the "L" things.
• That building from bad instructions is stressful. And that building from bad construction drawings must be exponentially stressful. That is what makes our work so rewarding, the assistance we can offer to help people obtain the most accurate construction drawings possible is an amazing reward to our hard work.
• That we are perfectionists. Despite confusing instructions, bad drawings, and general frustration, we refused short cuts, never skipped a step and kept the final product in our mind at all times. That is just how we operate.
  

Partner Relations: We are all in this together

Often we work with other companies who do the same type of work we do (i.e., our “partners”). In our business, the work can come in waves. Some waves are small and fast... several small projects all at once. Other times, waves are huge, or one very large project. Working as a subcontractor is no stranger to us.

Some of the companies are pretty small, even a one man business. From time to time, stuff happens and a little help is needed. We were privileged to help out one of our partners recently when a medical issue occurred. A seemingly small issue like this, is a huge issue for a one man operation. We have worked with this particular office on many projects and had established a wonderful win-win working relationship. We have trust, respect, and admiration for one another.

Things were pretty hectic, it was over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday, and we had 4 or 5 jobs in house and one was a biggie. One of the projects we were sharing with our partner and we had five parts of the project and he had three. Unfortunately, he had to have an emergency surgery and was laid up when he was supposed to be working on his three parts of the project. Needless to say, he couldn't work. It looked highly likely that the project would be in jeopardy of being finished late if some relief was not found.

One of our worst nightmares is having a project going past a due date… and we knew our partner felt the same. Our team huddled around, we checked out our present work schedule and it looked bleak, we were committed to the max. After much soul-searching, problem-solving, and much checking and rearranging of our personal commitments during the holidays, we found time to help. So, we called him up and offered our assistance... and he happily accepted.

The added work really taxed our team, but it was sooo worth it. The sense of accomplishment and “feel goods” we got for helping a fellow partner were just wonderful. After all, isn't that what partners are for?

What did we learn from this experience?

That you have to be proactive. Some people will not ask for help or do not like to ask for help, so it may be up to you to offer your help when you see they have a need. And likely your offer of help will be extremely welcome.

You need to be aware of what is going on with your partners. If you stay in good communication and listen to your partners, you are more able to access their needs.

You need to consult with your team. If you are thinking about taking on more work, when your team is already taxed, you should consult with your team to see if they have time to help and are willing to help, because ultimately the burden will be theirs. In addition, your team will be more likely to support a decision they helped make.

Author: Shirley Nigro and Pamela S. Stevens