Office Sportz!
The Official Office Games Handbook
“From CEOs to sales people…Everyone wants the team to be engaged in their work but few have figured out how to accomplish that task” the authors write.
Jeff Rogers president of a strategic communications company has teamed up with clinical psychologist Kate Porterfield and Maria Corell a performer writer and producer to write Office Sportz. The book offers a way to help office personnel engage with fellow workers. People invest passion and energy only if they trust that those efforts will not be in vain. Sports events at the office present an opportunity to develop greater team cohesiveness improved trust and healthier communication in an enjoyable setting. Rogers also notes that studies have shown these things to be “directly linked to a healthier bottom line.”
The book is a manual for hosting company sports events. It shows readers how to organize set up and hold the events as well as how to initiate discussion on the processes and personal styles of handling the sports challenge. As they organize the event the team members get to know and trust each other and learn how to better work together.
After detailed description of opening ceremony options and warm-up exercises the book lists forty-two office games from office chair races to stapler hunts. The “photographic memory” game requires contestants to recognize and locate simple items in the office by seeing a photograph. “Pencil Javelin” is just that throwing a pencil like a javelin down the hall. “Rubber Band Archery” is sure to be a favorite and no one will want to miss out on “Sticky Note Fencing” where participants strive to plaster their opponent with those little yellow stickies. Each game lists the needed equipment and room time limits number of players objectives necessary directions and some safety suggestions.
Interspersed with all this fun is even more fun. A timeline of office sports is included between chapters of the game descriptions. Around 70000 BC the authors write “Neanderthal man evolves. Ups the ante on first ‘DIY Obstacle Course’ by lighting each obstacle on fire. Points deducted for singed body hair.”
Three brief anecdotes of “Office Sportz” hall of famers are also included. One is the story of Chad Boerman a systems analyst who was born with a weak stomach. He was persuaded to participate in the “Whirling Discus” competition which involves spinning office chairs. With his heroic efforts he hurled his team to a winning score and also hurled his lunch into the HR trash can.
Office Sportz is a great resource for anyone responsible for cooperative efforts or team building. Managers teachers and youth workers in the office or out let the games begin!
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
