New Leaders Ride to Success with Hands-on Learning
Excelsior Learning’s Adventurous Experiential Learning Methods Accelerate Team Building.
Cleveland, OH, November 11, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Excelsior Learning (www.excelsior-learning.com) announces the 4th annual Achieving Breakthrough Results team-building and creative-thinking event. This day long experiential-learning program, led by President, Dan Coleman, takes new business leaders through hands-on team building and personal development activities. The learning event culminates in a 15-mile cycling excursion and rock climb in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area.
Achieving Breakthrough Results is designed to strengthen team unity and effectiveness while developing creative thinking and communication skills. The event is an unconventional experience, enabling individuals, groups, and teams, sometimes seen as adversarial and unaccustomed to “partnering,” to explore and discover important reasons for working together to develop innovative solutions and turn them into business opportunities.
“The primary goal of the program is for the participants to bond as a team. This is their first day on the job,” says Coleman, who facilitates the experiential-learning event. “The combination of cycling and rock climbing is a powerful catalyst for team cohesion. The 18-mile cycling event is long enough to be challenging, while rock climbing is exhilarating and fun. The participants have a strong bond with each other by day’s end.”
The day begins with participants learning about the conditions needed for a creative environment. Coleman uses his own creative-thinking exercise called “The Magic Carpet Ride,” an experiential-learning activity using an electronically programmable mat. Challenged with navigating a safe path across the carpet, participants have to think quickly to solve the problem. As a team, they develop communication, problem-solving, team-planning, and leadership skills.
Experiential learning goes beyond traditional classroom training. It breaks the teacher-student dialogue model to create a new learning environment and experience. Hands-on exercises enable participants to gain immediate learning, and to process and apply their creative solutions and insights. A skilled facilitator is essential to effective experiential learning; Coleman’s ability to guide the process stimulates participant learning.
“I use creative and adventurous learning methods to make content come alive,” says Coleman. “People learn most when applying—in the doing. The art is getting people excited about the doing, creating a non-threatening yet challenging environment where each person can go as far, and as fast, as possible.”
To prepare for the cycling event, Coleman explains the key aspects of cycling—pacing, cadence, and drafting, that the participants will use on their ride. He then connects each cycling technique to successful team performance in the workplace. For example, drafting is when a cyclist maneuvers his or her front wheel to within a few inches of the leading cyclist’s rear wheel. While the lead rider is battling wind resistance, he or she “pulls” the following rider along in his or her wake, allowing the next cyclist to ride using approximately 35% less energy than the leader.
Coleman facilitates a discussion on using “drafting” in the workplace. He explains the value of taking turns leading and drafting—that as colleagues taking care of each other and sharing the leadership and drafting tasks, everyone is more productive and utilizes their energy more effectively.
Ready to ride, Coleman leads the group on the 15-mile cycling excursion in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. During the ride, cyclists use the new skills they have learned earlier in the day to help them successfully complete their ride.
At the finish line, Coleman holds a debriefing session of the excursion and helps the cyclists connect what they experienced on their ride to their jobs. Team members reflect on their key learnings and capture them in their personal leadership journals. The experiential-learning approach helps participants develop strong team cohesion in hours, rather than in the weeks or months it takes in the day-to-day work environment.
Pat Virost, Barnes Distributions’ Director of Human Resources, shared, “This was our fourth year for this experience and it has consistently been the highlight of the week. It was the right experience to build a team and ensure personal development. It energized the team and kept them motivated all week during their formal 'leadership' education.”
For more information about Excelsior LearningTM’s adventurous, experiential learning programs, Dan Coleman, or to purchase a copy of his book, Bursts of Fresh-Squeezed IdeasTM visit www.excelsior-learning.com. Excelsior LearningTM its logo, and Bursts of Fresh-Squeezed IdeasTM book and workshops are trademarks of Excelsior LearningTM in the United States.
About Dan Coleman
Dan Coleman, President of Excelsior LearningTM has trained thousands of people in creative-thinking, problem-solving, negotiation, and team-building skills. Dan is consistently praised as an energizing speaker and trainer who brings fresh content, practical tools and techniques, and leading-edge learning methods to deliver education that inspires. He is a leading authority on how to systematically use creative-thinking, problem-solving, and negotiation skills, tools, and techniques to ignite innovative business solutions.
About Excelsior LearningTM
Excelsior LearningTM founded by Dan Coleman, is an innovative training company specializing in creative-thinking, problem-solving, negotiation, and team-building skills. Known for its highly energizing, interactive, and fast-paced training programs, Excelsior LearningTM challenges individuals and teams with real-world problems, opportunities, and practical applications to help them systematically generate novel and feasible solutions.
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Achieving Breakthrough Results is designed to strengthen team unity and effectiveness while developing creative thinking and communication skills. The event is an unconventional experience, enabling individuals, groups, and teams, sometimes seen as adversarial and unaccustomed to “partnering,” to explore and discover important reasons for working together to develop innovative solutions and turn them into business opportunities.
“The primary goal of the program is for the participants to bond as a team. This is their first day on the job,” says Coleman, who facilitates the experiential-learning event. “The combination of cycling and rock climbing is a powerful catalyst for team cohesion. The 18-mile cycling event is long enough to be challenging, while rock climbing is exhilarating and fun. The participants have a strong bond with each other by day’s end.”
The day begins with participants learning about the conditions needed for a creative environment. Coleman uses his own creative-thinking exercise called “The Magic Carpet Ride,” an experiential-learning activity using an electronically programmable mat. Challenged with navigating a safe path across the carpet, participants have to think quickly to solve the problem. As a team, they develop communication, problem-solving, team-planning, and leadership skills.
Experiential learning goes beyond traditional classroom training. It breaks the teacher-student dialogue model to create a new learning environment and experience. Hands-on exercises enable participants to gain immediate learning, and to process and apply their creative solutions and insights. A skilled facilitator is essential to effective experiential learning; Coleman’s ability to guide the process stimulates participant learning.
“I use creative and adventurous learning methods to make content come alive,” says Coleman. “People learn most when applying—in the doing. The art is getting people excited about the doing, creating a non-threatening yet challenging environment where each person can go as far, and as fast, as possible.”
To prepare for the cycling event, Coleman explains the key aspects of cycling—pacing, cadence, and drafting, that the participants will use on their ride. He then connects each cycling technique to successful team performance in the workplace. For example, drafting is when a cyclist maneuvers his or her front wheel to within a few inches of the leading cyclist’s rear wheel. While the lead rider is battling wind resistance, he or she “pulls” the following rider along in his or her wake, allowing the next cyclist to ride using approximately 35% less energy than the leader.
Coleman facilitates a discussion on using “drafting” in the workplace. He explains the value of taking turns leading and drafting—that as colleagues taking care of each other and sharing the leadership and drafting tasks, everyone is more productive and utilizes their energy more effectively.
Ready to ride, Coleman leads the group on the 15-mile cycling excursion in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. During the ride, cyclists use the new skills they have learned earlier in the day to help them successfully complete their ride.
At the finish line, Coleman holds a debriefing session of the excursion and helps the cyclists connect what they experienced on their ride to their jobs. Team members reflect on their key learnings and capture them in their personal leadership journals. The experiential-learning approach helps participants develop strong team cohesion in hours, rather than in the weeks or months it takes in the day-to-day work environment.
Pat Virost, Barnes Distributions’ Director of Human Resources, shared, “This was our fourth year for this experience and it has consistently been the highlight of the week. It was the right experience to build a team and ensure personal development. It energized the team and kept them motivated all week during their formal 'leadership' education.”
For more information about Excelsior LearningTM’s adventurous, experiential learning programs, Dan Coleman, or to purchase a copy of his book, Bursts of Fresh-Squeezed IdeasTM visit www.excelsior-learning.com. Excelsior LearningTM its logo, and Bursts of Fresh-Squeezed IdeasTM book and workshops are trademarks of Excelsior LearningTM in the United States.
About Dan Coleman
Dan Coleman, President of Excelsior LearningTM has trained thousands of people in creative-thinking, problem-solving, negotiation, and team-building skills. Dan is consistently praised as an energizing speaker and trainer who brings fresh content, practical tools and techniques, and leading-edge learning methods to deliver education that inspires. He is a leading authority on how to systematically use creative-thinking, problem-solving, and negotiation skills, tools, and techniques to ignite innovative business solutions.
About Excelsior LearningTM
Excelsior LearningTM founded by Dan Coleman, is an innovative training company specializing in creative-thinking, problem-solving, negotiation, and team-building skills. Known for its highly energizing, interactive, and fast-paced training programs, Excelsior LearningTM challenges individuals and teams with real-world problems, opportunities, and practical applications to help them systematically generate novel and feasible solutions.
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Excelsior Learning
Dan Coleman
330-653-3231
www.excelsior-learning.com
Dan Coleman
330-653-3231
www.excelsior-learning.com
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