Q. Please describe the Biondolillo Teambuilding Program.
A. The Biondolillo Teambuilding Program is a three-hour interactive session called “Gifts, Thoughts, Actions!” Each of the three hours begins with four to five minutes of thought-provoking entertainment. The facilitator sets up and delivers a story from the worlds of popular culture and/or sports, in which critical issues and questions are embedded. Then, one at a time, participants share their own reactions, experiences and thoughts. The result is that participants gain a clearer understanding of their motivations, as well as those of their co-workers. Groups typically number between 15 and 20 individuals.
Q. What can our company expect to gain from the Biondolillo Teambuilding Program?
A. Much greater knowledge about your team members, i.e., who they are, where they come from, who or what inspires them, and the nature of their most pressing professional (and, often, personal) challenges. Understanding, after all, is at the base of all empathy and effective action.
Q. Which employees or groups of employees should we involve?
A. Homogeneous groups tend to work best, e.g., the senior management team, the sales team, the division heads, the department heads, the entire department, the President’s Circle, the Board of Directors, the new employees or trainees, etc.
Q. What is the follow-up to the Biondolillo Teambuilding Program?
A. After the seminar, participants complete a weekly, 10-minute exercise for a period of three months, at the conclusion of which the team reconvenes to assess the program’s impact.
Q. What is the state of corporate teambuilding in America?
A. Most traditional team builders are fun in a variety of ways, and accomplish various and sundry objectives. But, if the purpose of teambuilding is to gain deeper understanding of your team members, inspiration to support your actions, and greater commitment to the team, then most traditional team builders are not on point.
Q. What is Biondolillo’s vision for teambuilding?
A. Biondolillo’s vision is to lead the way in bringing the entire field of teambuilding back on point: deep communication, thoughtful inspiration, and commitment. Regardless of how technically competent your staff is, it’s the quality of their interpersonal communications, interactions, and trust that spells the difference between “team” and “high-performance team.” Factors such as working remotely and social media militate against the development of high-performance teams. Our programs level the playing field and put direct communication back at the center of business. While the Biondolillo Program can supplant other team builders, it also can complement them. Think of Biondolillo as your teambuilding cornerstone: your experience with us builds the foundation needed for other types of team builders to be more effective.
Q. Who are Biondolillo’s clients?
A. Over the years we’ve provided strategic planning, fundraising training, and teambuilding services to nonprofits, many of whom are household names, e.g., the American Cancer Society, the Alzheimer’s Association, the March of Dimes, the Michigan Humane Society, Partners HealthCare System, and the Wounded Warrior Project. We’ve also had the opportunity to create and manage numerous seven-figure event sponsorships for consumer marketing companies and network television affiliates throughout the United States. With all that under our belt, our teambuilding division is now making strides in corporate America.
About Biondolillo Associates, LLC
Biondolillo gets the credit (or the blame!) for having popularized walkathons in the United States. Over the past 30+ years, we’ve been the main catalyst in driving these fundraising events from a $20 million trickle to a $2+ billion industry involving over 50 million Americans. We accomplished this by creating the nonprofit sector’s most comprehensive special-event fundraising training program, and delivering the program to scores of organizations and over 13,000 professionals. Our trainers are considered to be the nation’s best in the field of special-event fundraising. We’re also known for having coined the phrase “signature event,” and for being one of the most creative thinkers in the history of special-event fundraising.
Interesting personal facts about Steven Biondolillo
Steven was an internationally competitive amateur wrestler and medalist in four national and international competitions. He was also a competitor in the 1980 Canadian Olympic Team Trials, as well as a Division 1 college wrestling coach at Boston College. In 2013, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Steven is a widely published op-ed writer. His pieces have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Constitution, Miami Herald, New York Daily News, Boston Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Union Leader. He is also the author of a book of essays and poetry titled Macaroni and Cheese Manifesto, which is used as part of the Biondolillo Teambuilding Program.
Lastly (and, perhaps, most interestingly), Steven grew up from the age of 9 to 16 with several hundred boys in the nation’s oldest large-scale orphanage.