You’re set for a disappointment if you seriously thought Steve Jobs conducted any team-building activity.
So what he did?
Made an offer that a handful of crazy ones couldn’t resist.
The non-believers didn’t believe and he didn’t care.
Have you listened to Sir Jonathan Ive’s interview? He is the former Chief Design Officer of Apple Inc. As you carefully listen to him during this 50-minute long talk, you realize the team-building activity. There is none. He is not using such platitudes during the entire interview.
So what’s on offer at Apple?
An offer to make a difference, to have fun and manifest your vision. The individuals had to self-organize and leave their differences aside. They had to stick around long enough for years to manifest their vision. Team-building remained just a by-product in the grand scheme of things.
If we look closely, team-building activities, trust-building activities, and empathy exercises are a part of a strategic product to be sold by a certain group of people. A group of people without any accountability.
Because these things are hard to measure.
If I can’t measure, I can’t hold you accountable.