2 weeks after an amazing Hercules Trophy in Dubai I’m sitting at the airport after a follow-up day with our team in Munich. It’s true what they say about Germans…

Before you start your weekend, you should first end your hectic week with a funny video.

Time to talk a bit about “camaraderie”. This word popped up in our 10sec pitch a few years ago. It’s probably one of the most important words that characterizes the Hercules Trophy and many people don’t understand why it’s so important within business teams.

Camaraderie is crucial to build great teams. If you don’t connect on an emotional level, you won’t achieve smashing results together. Believe me, people won’t go the extra mile for your company, no matter how much bonuses you promised them. A few weeks ago I met a funny manager at a reception who said: “We don’t celebrate great results of teams. We pay our people more than enough.” He was serious. Hope he reads my blog and sees how shocking this statement is.

Gostick and Elton talk about 11 areas to focus on to build camaraderie in your business teams. It’s amazing to see that Hercules Trophy actually helps in EVERY single area!?!

• shared experiences: a lot of experiences on one day
• shared symbols: participants are proud to defend company colors
• shared challenges: a lot of hurdles and milestone on one day
• shared rewards: everybody’s a winner, we all celebrate like never before
• personal balance: Hercules Trophy takes you outside the business environment
• shared voice: no-brainer
• shared skills: you learn a lot about each other on one day, after one hour the curtains are gone
• shared competitors: o yes, you’ll meet a lot of them on one day
• shared fun: not too much
• shared environment: yep
• shared relationships: check

Gostick and Elton give great tips to work on every single area. I have one tip: join the Hercules Trophy with your team and you’ll work on every single one of them on one day!!!

Dear funny manager, if people really are your biggest assets, as you tell them in your yearly evaluation chat, INVEST in them to get a higher RETURN. It’s a pretty simple equation to so many of you just don’t understand. Try it, you’ll be amazed!