What's gonna work? Teamwork! (yes, the Wonder Pets theme song)

Yesterday I attended the Fully Engaged Customer Service workshop, and it gave me a lot to think about in terms of what do I do and how others perceive it. Plus the opportunity to see Joann Severson pretend to be irritated at a customer made it all worth it even if the rest of it bombed. Which it didn't. Anybody who attended the workshop knows the Beanie Baby exercise. For those who didn't, half the class stands in a circle, and it is determined who will throw a Beanie Baby at whom. It works best when everyone is focused on just 2 people: the person tossing it to you and the person you are tossing it to. However, I found it fascinating when it was my time to be observer to see how well it worked overall when everyone was focusing appropriately. That is where the teamwork comes in. If there is a staff person who is not doing their job, the team does not function as smoothly. But if everyone is doing their jobs, some pretty cool things happen. Speaking of teams....

Last night, John and I went to see the Stockton Thunder play the Ontario Reign in the first round of the Kelly Cup playoffs. Apparently, there was a baseball game at the same time, and maybe that is why the attendance was about half of what it was during the regular season games we attended. The whacko Cameron wasn't even there to stir up the crowd, but somehow the energy was more intense. These are the people who really care about hockey. The "YOU SUCK!!!!" crew was stronger and louder than usual. I even joined them on a few rounds. The Thunder worked better as a team than I had seen all year (except for the last 2 minutes of the third period when they allowed 2 short-handed goals to force it into overtime). They pulled it together to win in OT. Huddy fed the puck to Bates, who slapped a quick shot past Zatkoff, and it was sweet. What would have made the game better was if the officials would let the guys fight. Especially Hunt. That kid is 5'8", but he was not afraid to push back on the guys over 6' who were harrassing him. Go Thunder, and may you win the game tomorrow!