People want to be better. It's my philosophy that everything you do should be in service of helping them achieve that. In work, you have a responsibility to the people you manage and the people you mentor to guide them on a path of improvement. What's both essential and inherent to this process is that you're making yourself better at the same time. 

Need to teach someone how to, say, lead a meeting? Better make sure you're darn good at it yourself. The fortification that's required to pass on knowledge inevitably leads to self-improvement. Meanwhile, you're setting good examples, you're modeling good behavior, and you're showcasing the skills you're aiming to pass on.

Be confident in your skills and your experience, but at the same time, be cautious. There is a danger to assuming you have everything to teach and nothing to learn, and it can often create situations that are best described by words ending in "-splaining." Lead with kindness, openness and curiosity.

Remember that being better can come from just having a better day. Never ruin someone's day in service of a lesser goal. Create environments that foster betterness, respect, and opportunity. And if I may be so bold, fun! Team building activities are a great way to have fun, learn, and be better.

Speaking of fun (ahem), here is a puzzle.

Pseudonyms
I took a bunch of celebrities, replaced their first name with their first initial, and their last name with a synonym. Because I’m nice, they’re in alphabetical order by their real last names. WHO ARE THEY?
K. Alarm
N. Enclosure
S. Verdant
J. Ridge
H. Exploration
B. Animated
J. Protracted
C. Stone
E. Rock

Scroll down for the answers!






























Kristen Bell
Nicolas Cage
Seth Green
Jonah Hill
Helen Hunt
Blake Lively
Justin Long
Chris Rock
Emma Stone

I've been thinking a lot about team building lately, both as a philosophy and a practice. What does it mean to "build a team?" Any manager understands that it's not as simple as throwing a bunch of folks with good resumes together. But most of the time, like it or not, that's the team you end up with. 

How do you build a perfect team? You find a set of folks who complement each other -- in their skillset, in their personalities, in their work style. Oh, what's that? You don't get to build a team from scratch? You have to hire the CEO's nephew? That candidate for the open position got another offer? Oh, and there's that one fella on the team who's been around for years and isn't going anywhere? 

So there's option two -- you shape your team into perfection. As anyone who's done a puzzle knows, (and we've done a lot of them) brute force isn't going to make those pieces fit. But there are ways to change the shape of the pieces, at least in this metaphor.

Actual change happens at a team level, not at an individual level. In order to create and preserve the balance of an effective team, this must happen all at once. It's under the pressure of a challenge that teams are truly molded. Call it the Play-Doh philosophy, emphasis on PLAY.

Now work isn't fun. That's why they call it work. That's why play, within the right framing, is so effective. It's weird! It's different! It's a relief! The kind of play we offer at DFW Scavenger Hunt is challenging! And call it sneaky, but it's also a learning experience. Solving these challenges leads to team bonding, and team bonding leads to team building. It's only natural.

Here's a challenge that illustrates how working together can prove far more fulfilling. So grab a couple of colleagues before you try it.

Each entry in the list is represents a member famous team, but the letters -- and the teammates -- have been scrambled. Unscramble the words in each column, then reunite the teams.

Scroll wayyyyy down for the answers!






































​

Answers
BACON, LETTUCE AND TOMATO
LARRY, MOE AND CURLY
PETER, PAUL AND MARY
ALVIN, SIMON AND THEODORE
HUEY, LOUIE AND DEWEY

​Perhaps you've seen the trailers for the new movie "Escape Room." Perhaps you've seen the movie! Either way, you're possibly wondering one of a few things:

Is there anything like that in Dallas? 
How can I make sure I never do it?
Is there anything KINDA like that in Dallas but outside, and less, y'know, deadly?

I can sort of answer these questions. There are tons of escape rooms in town, and a lot of them are very fun. None, as far as I know of, are as terrifying as the one in the movie. And all of them are indoors. 

The trailers for the movie terrify me, 'cause I'm pretty claustrophobic. Seriously, I start to panic if the zipper on my jacket gets stuck. And I know that escape rooms aren't actually locked, and no one is truly trapped, but I also recognize that there's a lot of folks like me who prefer to be outdoors. 

Maybe it's not claustrophobia, maybe it's just that the weather is already turning nice and you just like the sunshine. Whatever the reason, what I've always liked about DFW Scavenger Hunt is that it gets me out into the world. I see enough walls at the office.  Our hunts  celebrate adventure and wide open spaces. You still get to solve puzzles and find clues, but instead of unlocking doors, you're unlocking your miiiind, man. 

Give us a try next time you're interested in exploring the DFW area. 

​As a kid, and really as an adult, winter break meant lots of daytime TV. For a long time, that meant soap operas (Sonny and Carly 4eva) and game shows. Since we get plenty of drama in our real lives, daytime and otherwise, we at DFW Scavenger Hunt wanted to bring a little of that game show magic to North Texas. That's why we came up with Buzzered, an event that takes a little bit from a lot of different game shows to create a riotous event that's perfect for any occasion. Complete with scoring, audience participation, even a host plucked right off a Hollywood set (only handsomer, if that's possible?)

It'll test your wits, your reflexes, and your friendships, challenging you to perform crazy feats and answer wild questions. How high can you stack Starbursts? How's your Matthew McConaughey impression? Can you spell McConaughey? Can you sort the fake chip flavors from the real ones?

Those are just some of the questions you'll be faced with. In fairness, we want to answer a question for you. That is --  What's a unique option for a party in Dallas ? Buzzered!

Want to learn more or book an event? Check out  Buzzered  here and give us a buzz to set up your own game night!

As a tribute to our newest event, here's a game show quiz. It's a simple cryptogram list. Each letter has been swapped with another. When you've decoded the list, it'll be a list of well-known game shows.

PHXNE WHPL
NHZA YEHZGY
SHPRKQ SLMA
XEL CZRNL RY ZRWEX
NHYE NHI
BLUCHZAQ!
ALHK UZ TU ALHK
FELLK US SUZXMTL
AUMIKL AHZL
KLX’Y PHGL H ALHK

Scroll down for the answers...










Keep scrolling....









Nearly there....






MATCH GAME
CARD SHARKS
FAMILY FEUD
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
CASH CAB
JEOPARDY!
DEAL OR NO DEAL
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
DOUBLE DARE
LET'S MAKE A DEAL