CEO & C-Suite Team Building Soars to New Heights: A Commentary

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There are some who like company team building activities and retreats. There are others, like me, that dread them. I find them a waste of time and money. While I'm all for a having a work environment where people get along, my attitude about work is simple: do a good job that I'm proud of, do my best to get along with others, and be left alone. I'm not there to be a 24/7 sibling of the workplace family.

Team building for peons tend consist of activities that range the gamut to make companies feel good. Examples of team building events I've had to endure include shitty pizza in a conference room with department cohorts where you're forced to listen to a motivational speaker drone on for hours followed by a kumbaya sing-a-long; or going offsite for the day and being forced to participate in "Corporate Olympics" where I cursed the day I joined the organization. 


CEOs and C-suite execs don't do that kind of stuff. The latest team building trend among overpaid, over indulged corporate execs is to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to experience being a "Top Gun", like in the movie. There are companies who specialize in these types of retreats which are run by ex-Navy SEALS, pilots, and other military folks. The experience includes actual fighter jet simulators, uniforms, getting your own call-signal, and playing fighter pilot with your fellow team members. It can cost $100,000 + to participate. Companies that have sent their leaders to these retreats include Coca Cola, Microsoft, Google, Nike, Bank of America, and Pepsi. The trend is taking off (pun intended) as companies see it as a way for their leaders to build military grit and strategic thinking.

So, while these CEOs and their execs continue to rake in extravagant salaries and perks along with over-the-top team building retreats where they can live out their fantasies of Maverick and Ice Man, the rest of us can go back to paying for their luxuries through higher prices for products and lower salaries for workers.  Am I jaded? You bet.

Source: NY Times; NY Post 



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