International Talk Like a Pirate Day is held in September every year, obviously as a bit of a lark. Yet in downtown Hong Kong, I am confronted with piracy every day. If only it were once a year!
As a creative pioneer, you know the drill. You get a great idea, invest time, money and resources into researching, developing and trialing your new creative product. You launch it to the market, but alas. Barely before you can hoist the main sail, pirates who have been intently spying on your next move have copied your idea and proclaimed it as their own.
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These buccaneers operating in the high seas of business events have little respect for creators and designers. Instead, they serve up a substandard version of the original without all the detail and understanding that makes it the brilliant product it is. They wrap it in fancy pants and swashbuckle it to an unknowing, bargain-seeking customer, at way below market price.
Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. Flattery, however, does little to generate revenue to reinvest into further research and development.
Is piracy robbing the work of new and better products?
There is much more to effective, measurable teambuilding experiences than a social with your team on a Friday night. Sure, any budding entrepreneur can try their hand at a company day out, a few team games, competitions and a fun experience for the participants but where is the real value?
Research attests to the power of teambuilding through experiential learning programmes. A skillful teambuilding leader closely observes the participants, identifying gaps in their knowledge base or skills; then adjusts the activity to meet the desired outcomes.
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It’s not the most complex of training and teambuilding programmes that require this experience and attention. Even well designed, seemingly “just for fun” experiences, have vastly different outcomes when carefully selected to match requirements and delivered by an expert team.
What is the real cost when you select the cheapest?
If your employees are valuable and key to your business success, can you really afford not to spend time defining what your desired outcomes are from a teambuilding programme?
What factors help determine your selection when faced with a pile of quotes for seemingly similar products?
How often do you turn to price to be the determining factor? With the health of your business and employees in mind, can you afford to get it wrong?
The true value of long-term relationships with an established service provider
A large portion of our clients realise the value of having a close relationship with us as their teambuilding provider. We have developed a partnership where we know their team and are ready to listen to their needs. They know that we may not be cheapest in the market but respect us as being the most cost effective in terms of lasting outcomes.
At Team Building Asia, we have been in the business for over 15 years in Hong Kong. We pride ourselves in assisting clients in defining desired outcomes, selecting the right product from our portfolio of over 100 original, tried and tested products and ensuring that, on the day, the experience is second to none. Client testimonials and repeat business speak for themselves.
Next time you venture onto the high seas of teambuilding, consider the health of your passengers and cargo. Choose wisely. Pirates are lurking.
David Simpson is co-founder and director at Team Building Asia
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