Mark Davenport and the Culture of Team Building

Transcript - Mark Davenport and the Culture of Team Building

The following is a presentation of TeamBonding, providing more than 100 Live, Virtual or hybrid corporate team building activities for companies around the world. Visit teambonding.com to schedule your event now.

 

Rich, your host 

Hello again. Team once again. It’s me, Rich Rininsland, and welcome to team building around the world, the podcast where I speak to people from the team bonding, team building industry from all across the globe. Now, if you are an old fan of the show, or even if you’re brand new, then you’ve probably already heard about the catalyst team building network with associates over 90 countries speaking more than 20 different languages. Today, I’m going to talk to Mr. Mark Davenport all the way in Brighton, UK, where he is actually the Head of Business Development for Catalyst global. But first of course, I do want to give some love out there to my supporters. This show is supported by the catalyst team building network. Find out more about the world’s largest network of team building providers at catalyst global.com, and I also want to thank our friends at b1g1, which can make your business a real force for good. Visit, B1g1.com to get started. So now, once again, friends, we are going to be talking all the way to Brighton, to Mr. Mark Davenport, the head of business development. With over 25 years in the business, he remains passionate and committed to the benefits of team building, to staff engagement and organizational success. Please team join me in welcoming Mr. Mark. Davenport, don’t worry about them, Mark, that’s just a small collection of people I keep stashed under my desk just to applaud you. Very nice. How are you today, sir?

 

Mark Davenport 

I’m very good. Yeah. The sun’s shining down in England at the moment. So yeah, despite the lockdown, it’s helping to raise everybody’s spirits here. Fantastic.

 

Rich, your host 

So can we start off right? Let’s tell everybody out there a little bit about yourself.

 

Mark Davenport 

Yeah. So as you were saying before, I mean, to over 25 years experience in the team building industry, starting in the UK, back in origins as a very small but striving team building company, and most of my career to date, in fact, all of my career to date has been with Catalyst right through from a director company in the UK through to its now its current status as a global team building provider. Fantastic.

 

Rich, your host 

And how did you get started, just in the industry itself? Well,

 

Mark Davenport 

that’s really quite an interesting story, actually, because I think you always look back at those, those points, life changing moments in your life. And I remember I was, I was studying at the time for a degree in leisure, the recreation management, and was, it was at home, looking through the local papers you did at those times, the internet didn’t exist. And I was saw a job opportunity, which was for a company called the Now, get out of that competition. And particular, that particular advert had resonance with me, because it was the the name of a BBC TV program which I’d been following, which was actually one of the big influences in team building and the origins of team building in the UK. The BBC itself ran a quite a few different programs, one called the Great egg race, and the now get that competition, which which put teams in challenging situations, challenging their communication and team working skills to get themselves out of themed problems, and they’re now going to have that competition on the BBC had a cult following, and, you know, I was quite intrigued by it and and the processes and the design of the games that they used. So I read about this company, and went along for my interview, and that’s where I actually met guy, became very good friends with guy, and actually then joined catalyst as I as I left college, and my career developed from there, and we took the company from small team building company in the UK to the to the world’s largest team Building Network.

 

Rich, your host 

Now, just in case my listeners are happy to be joining in, just with you, can you explain who guy is? Yeah,

 

Mark Davenport 

so guy Baker is the founder and CEO of catalbis global, so we’ve been a creative partnership throughout all our lives, yeah, driving the business forward.

 

Rich, your host 

Fantastic. Now, how did you guys come up with the idea, whether it’s guy, yourself, a conglomeration of all of you? How was you came up with the idea of actually spreading this globally, of making team building?

 

Mark Davenport 

I think we were led we. We came from the team building market in the UK, initially, we came from the outdoor, traditional outdoor training industry, such as that outdoor based command tasks, and we then started to realize that there was a market for a mobile supplier who could deliver innovative team building solutions within a conference or meeting environment. So. Clients were saying, Hey, we loved what you’re doing here, but can you translate this to the grounds of this daily home where we’re having a conference, or grounds of this hotel? And so we developed packages that would that were flexible and mobile. And we also started to learn that clients wanted something much more considered around there that could be tailored back to the core message of their meeting, rather than just doing Team building for team building sake, you know. And that’s where we started developing business games and more themed, directed activities, you know, specific learning and outcomes and also packaging our products in a very unique way. We’ve always been very meticulous about the design of our materials, how our products look, how they feel, and also say, you know, how they’re reviewed, and making sure that those key messages that come out, you know, are very salient to the clients that buy into them. So the UK was a very, very competitive market that forced innovation, we continue how to be innovative, to beat our competitors. And through that innovation, we started getting noticed. So we had various companies around the world who were looking at Catalyst, and it was okay, you’re doing something quite unique. And can we take that and can we, can we do those in our in our own country? So we realized there was a global market for what we’re doing. So we started packaging up the products. We started creating license agreements in other countries, and that’s where the origins of the global network came from. We became a team building supplier, curator of team building activities to a worldwide market. Nicely

 

Rich, your host 

put. Now let’s, let’s just say, for example, right off the top of my head, I happen to be part of a team building company, and I like what I see with Catalyst. What do I have to go through to, you know, become part of the network?

 

Mark Davenport 

Yeah, good question. Yeah. We’re very thorough in our research. And there is a, you know, a long process of certain certification, but making sure that we feel that that company has the right cultural fit with, most importantly, the right cultural fit with, because we’re developing the network. It’s a it’s a community of team building professionals with a shared mindset, one that, you know, we want people to share best practice. You know, that’s part of why people join us. Not only do they get great products, they also get great market insight. And that is, you know what, we’re building up a pool of team building intelligence around the world that partners can dip into. So one of the things we really look for is, you know, how they fit with that sort of culture of sharing and being part of that community. So that’s very important. We obviously look at their you know, their history, you know where they’re, you know they’re, they’re normally, you know, established at the time that they come on and have a good client base, and you know, great client referrals in their own in their own marketplace. And also, you know a practical, a practical aptitude, you know they know the processes and and being able to, you know, deliver a team building product and take it from start, from a client brief, right through to resourcing the equipment and the and the staff to deliver that event and and then you know, to have all the wherewithal to actually to sell and market that those programs.

 

Rich, your host 

Yeah, fantastic. Speaking of which, if you can actually hold on for me, Mark Just one quick second, I do want to take a minute to tell you about a company that I am very proud of team bonding. Team bonding was founded over 20 years ago with one simple question, how can employees have a great time while fostering strong, authentic bonds between people who work together? They’ve created a catalog of innovative events, using the power of play as a learning tool, and tapping into the correlation of work and play, from scavenger hunts to Jeopardy and so much, much more. The team bonding of activities, Live, Virtual and hybrid, maximizes the impact of team building with an accent on fun. Visit team bonding.com to schedule your event now team bonding when you want seriously fun results. Alright, Mark, so let’s get back to that cultural fit you were talking about. Because, as I’ve said, catalyst is is across the globe. I mean, you have not only us in the US, you have folks in South America, Dubai, Australia, the Far East. How hard is it to actually find that cultural fit when you are spanning a global organization like this.

 

Mark Davenport 

I mean, I think it’s, it’s also about finding the cultural fit. It’s about nurturing that cultural fit as well. We also, you know, we run, we put a lot of investment into meetings. So we have a global meeting every year, bringing together all the partners from around. The world. So that would be, you know, 70 to 80 team build, team building, leaders in one room at one time. So, you know, the, imagine the the innovation and creativity that that comes out of the out of those meetings. I mean, they, you know, they generally are, you know, a real sort of powerhouse of people. And also, you know, we run, we have zones as well. So we have a an America, an America zone, a euro zone and an Asia zone. And so that’s and we run independent to meetings with those zones as well, face to face, where they can all come together. And you know, that’s a huge part of the maintaining the culture of the network and those opportunities there for people to come face to face, to get to know each other, to build trust. That’s a huge part of catalyst building the trust that exists between partners, you can imagine, and the team building world is hugely competitive in their in their own regions. Partners are always against copycats. And you know, one of our mottos within the network network is that we are, we’re pioneers, not pirates. So those individual partners are fighting, you know, that problem in their own region, but then to come together with other team builders who you know that they can then share market information. They can share, you know, how they run their companies, the problems that they have, and have been openly with other people in the team building industries is a tremendous relief and also a tremendous source of support. And in the crisis that we’ve that we’re going through, I think, I don’t think anyone in the network will question, you know, how valuable that, you know, just being able to pick up the phone and have a, you know, WhatsApp with it, with your colleague, the, you know, in another country, and just, you know, understanding what they’re going through, and they know this, it’s, you know, it’s your problems you’re going through right now, and also going through those problems. What also how we’re going to, how we’re going to solve these problems, right? And, you know, that’s been, you know, again, a huge part of the network recently, great, because I

 

Rich, your host 

just said, it’s all part of that shared mindset. So not only are you trying to to build up the culture, but also pinpointing those people that shared mindset, what is the shared mindset? Yes,

 

Mark Davenport 

and also Yeah, shared mindset, and also, you know, shared market knowledge, it gives us incredible, incredible advantage. And you know, as well as that, fostering that culture, where we’re fostering a culture of innovation. Always been, you know, motto has been excellent. We’ve always been considered ourselves as market leaders. So when I, when I talked earlier about curate, curating, you know, team building products where we’re scouring the world for the best ideas. So we will be looking for a product that a partner may be having great sales success with in their own particular region, and then communicating with that partner to find out, why is it that this, you know, particular product is is trending in your region? What are the, what are the why are the corporates buying into that and then being able to, you know, present the network as a conduit to market for great team building products from those partners. It allows them to plug their products into the network, and they have an instant market for that product. And we, we offer a shared reward scheme on that so you know that, you know, accelerates the product development, and it gives all the network incredible speed to market and access to, you know, amazing, amazingly well crafted team building concepts.

 

Rich, your host 

But what else is there out there? I mean, what kind of competition is the catalyst mindset facing out of,

 

Mark Davenport 

yes, I mean, I mean, there is, as I said before, you know, the team building world is incredibly, is incredibly competitive, particularly in the UK, where we started, and you know, that drive the business. So yes, there’s lots of similar companies who sell similar activities to catalyst. But, you know, one of the things I, you know, people asked, used to ask me about competition, is that, you know, one of the things I think that we face, you know, in the team building world is quite often up to the current situation was, is, is actually his time and budget. You know that, you know the actual, the actual competition to being able to present a team building activities, whether they can actually fit it into their meeting, and how they can, you know, how can they can afford that team building activity? So what we’ve done in within over the years is develop a range of products that is well guided so the client can find a solution that fits their message and but also fits their time and it also fits their budget. So yeah, yeah, it’s a competitive world. There’s a lot out there, but you know, you know, as I mentioned before, we have to, we have to. Continually innovated. And I think the fact that it is a competitive market is good because it drives us, it drives us all forward. You know, every day now

 

Rich, your host 

you were talking about crisis value. Of course, the world is in the midst of the pandemic. Yeah, as we’re recording this, the US has been locked down. We’re going on four months now, and yeah, and states are only now just slowly beginning to open. What are things like for you there in the UK right now? Yeah, I

 

Mark Davenport 

mean, I think there is, you know, there’s a gradual slackening of the rules here in the UK. But we, you know, we don’t see the, you know, the UK meeting market, bouncing back for for some time, right? Which is then, then, of course, you know, that’s where, you know, we have, you know, now developed a quite rapidly developed a wide selection of virtual team building activities to run on, zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. So what

 

Rich, your host 

kind of things are you looking to offer, or already offering that already offering? Well, let’s get some people excited out there to to learn about what virtual company.

 

Mark Davenport 

Hot off the hot off the press in, you know, our partners, orange works in in Ireland, have just developed a variation of a game called the Global Innovation game, which people have to basically come up with ingenious solutions by so it sort of uses creative thinking techniques, and it’s a kind of cross between Dragon’s Den, and they come up with some really wacky ideas by putting by putting different technologies with different products. It’s very good. And now we’ve got that that now runs on a digital platform as well. Also, you know, we’ve got partners selling that, actively selling that now to clients across the across the world. Very

 

Rich, your host 

cool. Now, if you don’t mind, let’s take a second, and I do want to shift gears a bit here, and let’s talk about charitable giving. Part of being part of a team, of course, especially globally, is to be part of communities. So what is it that catalyst brings to the charitable organization side? Yeah, I

 

Mark Davenport 

mean, we’ve, about five years ago, we were introduced to buy one, give one as a as an organization, and we put it out to partners that, you know, part of our remit as, you know, as we grew as a business, that we felt that, you know, we had a responsibility to give back, and we wanted to set up an incentive that allowed our partners to to plug into that on a global scale, and also through being do, through doing that on a on a gable a global scale, being able to give more, and also to allow you know clients to plug into that as well, and get a feeling that you know that not only the way, they were buying into some great team building, they were also having a positive effect from that as well. So buy one, give one, allows us to every time a partner goes as a participant that goes through, we donate a percentage per participant that goes through participants worldwide. We make a donation and that has a commutative effect.

 

Rich, your host 

Very cool. Sorry, that’s quite all right, not a problem, actually, if you don’t mind. Again, let me just take one quick step aside, because I want to tell my team all out there, all about b1, g1, which can make your business a real force for good. So when you’re part of b1, g1 you bring new purpose, meaning and relevance to your business by making giving a core of what you do. Unlike conventional giving models, b1, g1 helps small and medium sized businesses achieve more social impact by embedding giving activities in their everyday business operations to create unique giving stories. Every business transaction can impact lives from just as little as one cent. So please visit B, 1g one.com to get started. B1, g1, business for good, and we’re back with Mark Davenport of catalyst global, a member of the b1, g1 community as well. Now, Mark, I have to tell you, as I was getting ready to have you on the show, I was told, very specifically, I need to ask you, what’s the drone program?

 

Mark Davenport 

Oh, drone control. Okay, yeah, that’s all I was told in the week. Actually, I we obviously, in the in the lockdown, it’s very difficult for for us to create opportunities to market products. So I actually got a group of friends together, invited them, of course, physically distance. All that was to to a large photography studio here in Brighton, the UK. And we, yeah, we would, we put the we put the activity to test. You know how they works? You know how it was going to be run from a socially distanced perspective, because we see it as an activity that, you know is very, very relevant to to what a lot of clients are wanting right now. You know we’re seeing a return to meeting scenarios in. And regions around the world, right? But obviously they’re looking for team building activity that is fun but also can be controlled and be and be adaptable to different countries. Have different criteria, and drone control is is very much around that. So it’s about essentially, each team gets a drone, and they get it all take turns in flying the drone around, but the team actually become the obstacles that they have to dry to fly the drone through or around. So that, you know, to give you a simple example of that, that you know the team may form a line, and there is maybe sort of two distance. They may be two meters apart in that line, with their legs open, and they’ve got to fly the drone underneath and through a tunnel of legs, and then back after the side. Then there’s, there’s levels of complexity that build up, because they have to. They have to, the team themselves. Have to, it’s like a choreographed Red Bull Air Race. Oh, okay, so they, they have to then choreograph the next sequence and and the next hurdle that the drone has to go through. So they have to memorize their own positions and how, how quickly they move from one position to another. So there’s quite a lot of strategic planning involved in the exercise, but also quite a lot of review and reflection in terms of, okay, how can we make that better? How can make that slicker, right? So it’s the team that gets the drone through those moves in the quickest possible time without incurring any penalties, because obviously the drone hits someone’s leg. And we use drones that are very safe and don’t do any very small and right, I

 

Rich, your host 

was going to ask, yeah, they’re

 

Mark Davenport 

really cool. They have an automatic cutoff point. So if it touches anything, whether it be, you know, someone’s arm or a pillar or anything, the drone just drops in the ground and no damage done. So yes, we’re always, we’re always very solutions on our on the health and safety here at catalyst. So yeah, it’s really exciting. And then we’ve also had our team out in Romania, and they’ve also been testing drone control nice. And I’m gonna have a look at some of their they’ve sent me through some videos that they’ve been taking, so going to review those later this afternoon. Fantastic. Kevin, so let’s make that feedback. We’re very meticulous in you know how we design games, so we’ll, you know, I’ve got lots of feedback from from my colleagues that ran it. We’ll also get some. We also orchestrated some marketing shots there as well, which our partners can use to sell the activity around the world. And then the Romanian, Romanian team will be looking at their feedback from how that is run, from, from a partners perspective, what recommendations we would make on equipment, you know, what? And that’s, you know, some of the expectations of the network is that, you know, they, they’re looking to catalyst for a everything from from point of sale through to delivery equipment, instructions and manufacturer of equipment, and how that all fits together on a day, also that the instructions and the leaders guides that we we present to partners to allow them to Run those activities. So we’ll use a lot of that Romanian feedback to fine tune the latest guide that we’ve already written and before it’s launched. So there’s a lot of a lot of detail and a lot of research. It’s not just a case of throwing an idea out onto onto unsuspecting clients. I think you know, it’s the assurance we can, we can give to all clients who come to catalyst is that, you know, we’ve got some, we’ve got some great, well researched and and very refined activities,

 

Rich, your host 

very nice that. And that is certainly one benefit of being part of catalyst, is the fact that, you know, somebody’s going to develop something on the other side of the world, and within just a few weeks, if not month, you can have it right there in your hands, ready to run here in the States or anywhere else.

 

Mark Davenport 

Sure? Yeah, I totally agree with you there and and that was very evident through the, you know, after the lockdown that you know, pretty soon every everybody had pulled together and, you know, and we would come together with different partners, focusing on certain products, casuals themselves. We were, we were focused on bringing out a range of products as well. So very soon we had, you know, we’ve got, sort of sent away really strong virtual team building activities within the space of two weeks, and using the network and to test and refine those products and get them to market quickly.

 

Rich, your host 

Not only that, but my boss, David Goldstein, the owner of team bonding, he actually told me that being part of the network actually helped him to realize how quickly the pandemic was going to affect business here. Yeah,

 

Mark Davenport 

yes, that’s right, you know, I think you know David, I know is was was very prepared by being close to the network and, you know, and actively listening to what other markets were doing, and David being able to, you know, to see that coming, and, you know, start putting the, you know, the preparations that he needed to think about in that respect. So, yes, it’s the market intelligence and the unique insight that the networks brings. You know instant market knowledge and being able to predict, not only you know problems you know, like crisis in the current crisis, but also being be able to predict emerging trends in the team building industry, which you know you need to be aware of and potentially invest into and and be the first in the market in your own region.

 

Rich, your host 

Can I ask, what other kind of benefits have you seen from the network?

 

Mark Davenport 

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think that. I think we’re always constantly surprised by the ideas that come from the partners. We’re always amazed by, you know, what people bring to the table, both in terms of, you know, the how far we’re pushing the envelope of team building development and back in global conference in South Africa, our 30 year celebration, we launched the first VR team building game the infinite loop, which then, you know, was took the market by storm. And you know, we, you know, we’re now, you know, pushing the envelope. And in terms of the tech based development we’re doing as well, and the scale of the catalyst operation allows us to invest heavily in tech based, team building products, which, from a network perspective and a partner’s perspective would be, you know, a big investment in their own right. Well, let’s

 

Rich, your host 

ask, what are some of the most popular events you actually do produce? Now, popular events.

 

Mark Davenport 

I mean, you know, long, long running popular events would be the big picture, which is a collaborative team building exercise that has had tremendous longevity in the team building market. We conceptualized that event 20 years ago. It’s had many copycats, but we produced the original concept and refined it. We believe that, you know, ours is still the best. It’s a great activity for reducing silo mentality, which is a big issue for organizations these days, but also for doing a team building exercise that you know reflects the importance of of great communication and and also the importance of of challenging assumptions and making sure that detailed planning is put into the greater entity. And there’s a nice celebration moment at the end of big picture, everyone comes together and realizes that they’ve created this amazing image themselves by going through those processes and those processes becoming even more reflecting their messages and enhancing what the culture of the organization should be. So that’s been a very big seller within the catalyst network for a long time, there’s always a strong demand for collaborative team building products, and we’ve always directed a lot of attention at products and product development around collaboration. Five years ago, we introduced beat the box, which came from was developed by our partners, Spiel Stalter, in Germany. We saw a product there that was very reflective of the skate trend that was in the market, and we wanted a product that was of that theme, but also beat the box. Not just about one team competing with another team, is about teams opening a sequence of boxes. So a team would have a box on their table, and inside that box is four other boxes. But what the teams gradually work out is that there is a linked clues in between the tables, and then they gradually work out that they’re working as one big team and all those independent teams, and that’s the sort of the click moment, realization they all work together to solve one solution. And there’s a really fantastic wow moment at the end, where they where they solve that problem.

 

Rich, your host 

Very nice, hopefully, hopefully, you didn’t just give away spoilers. So anybody who listens to the show then goes and plays beat the box and goes, we have to work together. But that’s okay, however they get there, getting there is the more important part. Mark, thank you so much for coming on the show. I could literally talk to you for hours just about the programs that are offered, get your memories of programs. But unfortunately, we are just about out of time, which means it’s time that I have to torture you just to explain me on a Friday afternoon, exactly, just to explain to people whenever we are doing a team building event, especially face to face, we always have that moment where people. First walk through the door and they see that this is another Oh, it’s a wacky, zany game that we’re going to be forcing them to play that really makes no sense to them. So what I like to do is take a moment and torture the guest who comes up with those games so that they kind of have a little revenge. And I call that my speed round. Now, the way this works, I’m going to take 60 seconds and I’m going to ask Mark just a series of innocuous questions. His objective is to try to get as many questions answered as possible within 60 seconds. And Mark, I don’t know how competitive you are, but the number to beat is 13. So okay, if you think you’re ready, I’ll play us some music, and the way, we’ll go number I said, here we go. What’s your name?

 

Mark Davenport 

Mark

 

Rich, your host 

do you have any children?

 

Mark Davenport 

One

 

Rich, your host 

Do you have any pets?

 

Mark Davenport 

Yes.

 

Rich, your host 

what kind

 

Mark Davenport 

a cat

 

Rich, your host 

If you could ask that cat one question, what would it be?

 

Mark Davenport 

Why were you always like? When you go outside, she’s sick.

 

Rich, your host 

What’s the sound you love the most?

 

Mark Davenport 

The sounds of birds in the morning, excellent,

 

Rich, your host 

favorite time of day.

 

Mark Davenport 

Evening.

 

Rich, your host 

Would you rather be an Olympic medal winner, an Academy Award winner, or Nobel Peace Prize winner.

 

Mark Davenport 

Nobel Peace Prize winner, there you go.

 

Rich, your host 

What’s your favorite season of the year?

 

Mark Davenport 

Autumn.

 

Rich, your host 

Excellent. How would you explain yourself in one word,

 

Mark Davenport 

Affable,

 

Rich, your host 

right, sleeping with the sheets tucked in or out

 

Mark Davenport 

out.

 

Rich, your host 

11 mark, that was really well done. That was you almost got there. If you hadn’t stopped to laugh, I think you would have had it.

 

Mark Davenport 

It’s a cat on the gummy

 

Rich, your host 

ladies and gentlemen, please give a big round of applause for my guest, Mr. Mark. Davenport, Mark, thanks again, so much for coming on the show. It was really wonderful having you, and I’d love to be able to talk to you later, as soon as we have some new things to talk about. And thank you all my listeners out there for listening to team building around the world. If you like this show, please remember to share with a friend or a colleague, and we’d be so grateful if you would subscribe to us in Apple podcasts or wherever you find your favorite podcasts and leave us that wonderful favorable review. If you don’t have a favorable review wanna leave, then just shut up about it. Everything’s gonna be fine. Now all Past episodes can be found at teen bonding.com but until next time, my friends, this has been Richmond’s land. You have been listening to team building around the world, and always remember, if you are within the sound of my voice, you are now on my team, and I am always, always on yours. Thanks again, everyone, and I’ll see you next time

 

Intro 

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