Creative team building in Chicago is easier to find now that our Windy City office is open. We’re a worldwide leader in innovative interactive programming, so it seemed natural to establish a full time presence in Chicago. Now our clients who demand unique, engaging and memorable Chicago team building don’t have to fly us into town – we’re here!
Led by our team of Grammy Award winning, Emmy and Tony nominated hit songwriters, we’re dedicated to bringing you fun and productive musical programs that really work.
- You don’t have to be a singer or an extrovert. We’ll lead you through a fun, comfortable and inspiring program.
- You’ll create and record songs that will become a part of your organization’s culture, creating lasting take-aways.
- Everyone quickly gets involved as inhibitions melt away and ideas and themes are documented for posterity.
Options For Our Windy City Events
Whether you’re planning an event for six members of your leadership team, three hundred sales associates or a conference kick-off for several thousand, you can make music with us.
- From 30 minutes to day long events – From 5 to 2,500 participants.
- Programs options include small group team building, large group team building, conference icebreakers for general sessions and interactive keynote presentations.
- Brrr…Chicago can get really cold. Our events are held indoors so if the wind is whipping off the lake, or the snow outside is frightful, you don’t have to worry – you can count on indoor team building in Chicago 365 days a year!
A Few Of Our Chicago Clients
Chicago is a meeting place for organizations from all over the world. With a central location within the US and major airports that make it easy for international travelers to meet, it’s no wonder our Chicago clients are diverse.
A sampling of the Chicago clients we’ve worked with include:
- Bayer Healthcare
- NBC Universal
- BlueCross BlueShield
- ThyssenKrupp
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Meeting Professionals International
- Ius Laboris
- Academy For Urban School Leadership
- Slalom Consulting
We’re in business because our programs really work. We don’t put anyone on the spot, and you don’t have to be a rockstar to become immersed and engaged. If you have a story to tell, we can help you put it to music.
Thank you and your team for the amazing afternoon! The feedback from the session was very positive. Even the people that are normally skeptical of team building activities really enjoyed it – and lawyers can be good at being skeptics! Your team was so professional and it was a real pleasure. – Sam Everatt, Ius Laboris
How We Do It
There’s always a bit of excitement as our songwriting programs begin. We start with conversation and questions, getting people to talk about the work they do and about the focus of their team. As themes and stories emerge from the conversation, lyrics evolve. We bring in original melodies, so our clients have the opportunity to create truly original songs.
It never ceases to amaze us how successful teams are at finding their song titles or ‘hooks’. As groups share ideas about the work they do, they touch base with the underlying messages that inform their mission and goals. Music touches our emotions. Songs can be funny or touching; and usually both at the same time.
Through the songwriting process, you’ll connect with the inspiration in your day to day work and that’s a powerful thing. You’ll come away energized, enthused and re-inspired.
Staying Together; General Sessions Or Keynotes
- We kick-off all our programs with an entertaining introduction and performance by our hit songwriter-facilitators. The mood in the room will transition from “Uh Oh” to “Woah, this is actually going to be fun”.
- After our program introduction, our songwriter-leaders move throughout the crowd as we get everyone involved. We’ll ask questions to get ideas flowing as themes and lyric suggestions fill video screens in the room. Participants share ideas via microphones and social media streams like Yammer or Twitter, even passing notes forward.
- Everyone has opportunity to contribute ideas. We’ll provide time for small group conversations as you brainstorm together and then share your ideas back with the entire group.
- Not only are we creating a song, we’re creating a performance too. Play percussion, harmonicas, sing and more. Our song sessions culminate with the whole crowd on their feet as you all join in to perform and record your masterpiece.
- MP3 recordings of your song will be available shortly after your event.
Breaking Into Teams
- We begin with introduction by our hit songwriters. Then we break everyone into teams. Each team is led by one of our songwriter-facilitators and that’s key to keeping people engaged. There’s opportunity to break into smaller sub-groups during the team sessions.
- As each team completes their masterpieces they record their songs and work on performance ideas.
- We all gather back in the main room for team performances. Performances can take place immediately following the team songwriting sessions, or they can be held during a dinner event. Regardless of when you perform, it’s always fun as teams take the stage to show off and compete for awards.
- Even the introverts will have forgotten they didn’t want to participate. You’ll be part of a group, you’ll be proud of what you’ve done and you’ll be led by an talented songwriter performer who will give you confidence and help you feel comfortable on stage.
- After the event: MP3 and lyric downloads of all your songs.
Additional Options For Small Groups
Our small group programs are similar to our programs described above in that you can stay together to create one song or break into teams. And there are additional options for smaller groups. For example, you can hold your event in a Chicago recording studio. Or you can spend time creating a music video as part of your group songwriting and recording.
Chicago has a rich music tradition. We’ve led events at Buddy Guy’s Legends, The House of Blues, The Hard Rock Hotel and more. Wherever you’re planning your team building in Chicago, we’ll bring the music to you.