Animals Have Problem Solving Skills Too

At the ropes course we frequently play problem solving games like "pass the hoop" to teach teams to work together. But humans don't have a monopoly on problem solving skills. This video below is of a crow named 0007 using his pint-sized brain to figure out how to get a piece of food out of a box is amazing.

So whenever you run into a problem, don't get frustrated and give up trying. Just remember, if a crow can figure out 8 separate problem solving stages, so can you.

Seize the Day

Before it gets too cold, come out to the UEI ropes course and play like a kid.

Crossing the Amazon

Group navigating the Amazon at
Upward Enterprises Team Building

Have you been out to our ropes course in Buckeystown, MD in 2014?

If your group has been out there working on your team building, you might have tried our new "Amazon" activity that Travis built over the Spring. The object of this activity is for the group to work together to retrieve an object on the other side of the creek (our mini Amazon).

At Upward Enterprises, we are always looking to update our course and add new elements, keeping our course fresh and interesting year after year.

Inflatable Cube to Climb in

Here at Upward Enterprises, we encourage our clients to climb. At the ropes course, we have elements such as the Static Tower and Climbing Wall as part of our team building course. On portable team events like at Smokey Glen Farm, we have a climbing wall for rent.

Check out this interesting massive cube inflatable jungle gym. A complex 3-D grid of string allows one to climb in an environment that visually looks like your floating in the air. You can read more about this project at String Prototype. It's a one of a kind but wouldn't it be fun to have one at the ropes course?

What are you Thankful for this Holiday Season?

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, it's that time of year to reflect with gratitude on all the wonderful things this year has brought. Let us know what you are most thankful for this holiday season.

Here are just a few of the things we are grateful for here at Upward Enterprises.

• The love of family
• Being able to work at a job that I love
• The smiling face of a child at our ropes course who just accomplished something they were scared to try
• Friendship
• Being privileged to watch Hudson grow into a little man
• Another day on Planet Earth

 

Be the "The Man in the Arena"

Frequently we have groups out at the ropes course where a few participants stand off to the side who need encouragement to join in.  Today I wanted to share an inspiration quote to all of those individuals to give them confidence that there is great learning in pushing yourself to dare greatly.

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

~ Theodore Roosevelt

Have you ever yawned because you saw someone else do it?

Your friend yawns, you can't stop yourself from yawing back. This physical trigger to mirror what someone in your group is doing also applies with attitudes.

All teams have vibes that are just as contagious as a yawn. Next time you find yourself in a group situation, pay attention to the to the attitudes of those around you. Does the confidence of one person rub off on the group?

Studies and my personal experience at the ropes course working as a facilitator in team building exercises bear this out as truth. When the team is gaining confidence its infectious. Our challenge is to keep that positive attitude growing like a snowball down a hill.

Jack Rides the Zip Line at Upward Enterprises Ropes Course

Jack, my nephew is visiting us for the summer. I took him out to my ropes course last week to ride the zip line. It was a beautiful day and as you can see by this video below, we had a blast. Now its your turn to get your group out and enjoy the ride.

Extreme Teamwork

This 25-person drum corps from Switzerland is an amazing example of extreme teamwork. Take a look at this performance. It's a great example of what a group of humans can accomplish as a dedicated team. While we don't use drums on our ropes course, we do work on group dynamics to get your team working in synchronicity. Knowing what and when to do it takes hard work and can't be learned overnight to get it right.

Never be Afraid to try Something New at the Ropes Course

What an inspirational story of a man who was born without legs and arms. Yet despite this, nothing stops him from living life to the fullest. Take a page from his book next time you are at our ropes course in Buckeystown Maryland and you feel the butterflies in your stomach. Don't be scared. Just stretch your wings and fly.

 

March, in like a Lion

As I work to prepare our ropes course in Buckeystown Maryland for the upcoming outdoor team building season which begins in full force the end of March, mother nature is here to remind us that winter is not yet gone. Tonight and tomorrow it is predicted that we will get anywhere from 8-14 inches of snow. Will this be another Snowmageddon like that occurred in 2010? If you do find yourself snowed in tomorrow, break out the Guinness and enjoy a little winter music. Enjoy the break while you can. I hear that by next Monday, the temperatures will be back up into the 50's and I will be back out at the course getting the canopy tour and high elements ready for your next event.

Antonio Vivaldi - Four Seasons Winter born on March 4th 1678

Challenging Yourself to go Outside your Comfort Zone

Have you seen this video by Kid President challenging grown-ups to take the path that leads to awesome and to not to give up? His message of pushing us not just to sit on the sidelines of life but to change up and do something different that can change our life and the lives of others. Remember, we are all on the same team of life.

This message resonates with what we try to achieve at the ropes course with every team building group. We encourage everyone to experience personal and group growth that can change lives.  "Boring is easy, stop being boring."

The Anxiety of Fearfulness on the Ropes Course

One of the greatest challenges that I have found when working with team building clients is helping the organizer convince the adult participants not to be fearful of the ropes course experience.  Now I mention "adult participants" because with kids, I rarely have that problem of getting them to come out to the ropes course and try an activity, unless of course, their parents intervene by refusing to sign a standard waiver form because of their fear.

What is important to remember, is that Upward Enterprises follows the philosophy of "Challenge by Choice". The "Challenge by choice" philosophy of adventure programming allows the participant to have some autonomy related to the activities he or she participates in creating a safe environment. All participants have the right to say "no" to an event on the ropes course without the stigma of a loss of self worth. What we do at UEI when someone is fearful of an event is to have them participate in a way that is comfortable. For example, if the client has a fear of heights, we have them as cheer leaders on the ground.

Many times someone who indicated to me they were anxious over an event and considering not participating, changed their mind as they watch other in their group accomplish the task. When you push past the butterflies and pounding heart, great things can happen. That is what we see all the time at our team building ropes course. The possibility of what you and the group might accomplish will be transformational.

Where do kids get inspiration from these days?

I watched Felix Baumgartner parachute to the earth from inner space the other day and wondered if the youth of today would be inspired by this huge feat of adventure. 24 miles above the earth's surface wearing a space suit. Truly inspirational!

It got me to thinking about where the youth of today really do get their inspiration from. As a team builder I work a lot with youth of all ages and with my adventure ropes course. Many of these youth have sporting heroes for inspiration but events in recent times have left them wanting.  Drug enhanced performances in the cycling world and baseball and poor moral judgement from top athletes in golf and basketball to name just a few.

How does this effect the the youth that idolizes these heroes?

I know I felt flattened and disappointed when the results of an athletic achievement I thought I witnessed, now all have to be erased from the history books because of cheating. And the players I inspired to live up to, are now socially outcast because of their indiscretions.

I realized that coaches and teachers are not without fault and even religious organizations have had bad reports in recent years. I guess it all comes back to the parents who must step up to the mark and be all they can be for the kids that they are responsible for to the best of their abilities. I will become a father again in the new year and my inspiration will be to do just that. It is my responsibility to inspire not only my own children, but all children, by doing my utmost best to ensure that I do not let them down. If I can help other kids through my work and adventure then maybe I can sleep well at night.

Be Inspired by the Summer Olympics

Are you inspired by the Summer Olympics to get out and see how you can push yourself to go beyond the expected?

The Olympic spirit is more than just the winning, it’s the taking part. It's easy to overlook that element of the experience and focus just on the winners but if you talk to the Olympians, the “taking part” is also an important achievement. Look at all the men and women that streamed into the stadium last Friday night in London. Most will not win a metal but none of them will forget the feeling of being a part of the Olympic team. They will carry that experience with them the rest of their lives of reaching beyond the expected.

These teams are successful with people working together. To be successful at the Olympic level these teams need trust, support and communication between team mates and coaches. While our activities out at the ropes course don't include synchronized swimming or equestrian horse jumping, there are plenty of elements that exemplify team building in the Olympic spirit.

Work as a team on the ropes course on our Mohawk Walk (a cable traverse). Imagine your group as gymnasts trying to traverse a balance beam. It takes coordination and team work to get the group across without falling off but what a sense of accomplishment your group will experience when you figure out a way to accomplish the goal. There are many more experiences out at the ropes course just like this.

Set your goals. Achieve more than you expect. Be inspired by your small successes.
-Clive Felgate, Upward Enterprises

Successful Teams Communicate

I just finished reading an interesting article on successful teams posted on the Harvard Business Review website. It seems logical that high-performing teams have a greater degree of communication amongst team members. But what type of communication produces the best results? Face-to-face time with group members, even for a brief time, is critical for employee performance and moral. With the increase of telecommuting and  remote offices where teams can be spread out this can be difficult to achieve but the benefits of bringing your work group together can be enormous. If you are a manager of  a team, we encourage you to bring your group out to our ropes course in Buckeystown, Maryland. We specialize in breaking down barriers to communication and with the addition of our SDI processing we can help your team realize its potential and reduce conflicts.

An Exciting New Year Ahead!

Here we are in the second month of 2011 already. Before we know it, it will be the summer and instead of freezing like today it will be 100'....oh we can't wait.

Well until it's time to get out the shorts and sunscreen, there's still lots of fun to be had at the ropes course and we'll even throw in some hot chocolate to warm you up.  There's nothing better thatn getting the  adrenalin running to get you warmed up on a cold day.

Last year we added an amazing Canopy Tour to our array of activities and if you didn't get chance to do it last year, then 2011 is the year to  come and try it out.  After zipping through the trees on our 600ft zipline, take another zipline to connect with the start of the canopy tour.  Once hooked on you traverse through the course high in trees. Sound like fun?

The weather is going to start warming up soon (we hope) and we're eager to get out on the course again before cabin fever sets in, so give us a call to book your groups visit to the Ropes Challenge course for some fun this year.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Operation Misty Morning

Code Name: Operaton Misty Morning

Time / Date / Location: 0600 hours, July 18th at UEI Ropes Course in Buckeystown, MD

Mission: To navigate the three zip lines and complete the canopy tour with the Leap of Faith as the final obstacle!

Administration: Call HQ at 301-834-6140 to sign up for our boot camp experience.

Cost: $45.00 per person.

Deadline: July 17th at 1900 hours.


Details: Bring the necessary gear to survive the morning. This is not for the faint of heart. You may be left behind. Bring a wingman and receive a discount.

Are you up for the challenge?

Over and Out.........................................

training training training

I have just gotten back from a 5 day high ropes course training in New England. I have been holding back from these trainings and tests because of the "Do I need this or not?" syndrome.

In the end I decided to sign up. I am glad I did the training simply to convince myself that I am on the right track and to consolidate the things I am teaching my staff and protocols that I insist they apply.

High ropes course rescues are a key skill that we hope we never have to perform. However they are essential to practice and by doing so you increase your familiarity that could make the difference during the real thing if it were to occur.

We think we know best sometimes and are somewhat complacent when it comes to reacting to adversity. How would you react in an emergency high ropes rescue? Do you set up for the worst case scenario? Are your staff competant in their skill set? Or even, do your clients ask the pertinent questions about the level of credentials that you hold as a ropes course manager and operator?

UEI linked with Smartbox and Excitations

Upward Enterprises is pleased to announce that they have linked with two great companies who offer exciting and innovative ideas for gift giving.

Gone are the days of people getting yet another pair of socks on their birthday, now you can send friends and family amazing adventures on their special day. Both companies offer a wide selection of activities from sky-diving to driving a sports car.

Check out what they have to offer at www.smartbox.com and www.excitations.com