Bowling is a lot of fun, and playing on a team with your friends can make it even more fun. All fun aside though, you can actually learn a lot about business from playing in a bowling league. Read on for some of the key lessons you can learn on the lanes.

Teamwork Is Everything

In team bowling, it is not just each player's individual score that determines the final result, but also the combined scores of all teammates. If one player isn't performing well, the other team members must make up for the deficiency in order to win. It is much the same in business. When working on a team project, each member is responsible not just for their own work, but for the completion of the project as a whole. You'll need to be prepared to pick up the slack as needed to keep your project on course.

Scheduling Is Important

From practices to tournaments, it is important that every member of a bowling team be on the same page in terms of scheduling, and business is no different. Between company-wide meetings, team meetings and individual projects, your employees have a lot on their plates, so it is important to provide detailed schedules to help everyone manage their work efficiently to ensure everything is completed on time as expected.

Team Changes Are Sometimes Necessary

It's never easy to say goodbye to a bowling teammate, but sometimes this is necessary to ensure the ongoing success for your team. For example, a teammate could get injured, or a scheduling conflict could arise. In the business world, an employee could resign or get fired, or the scope of your project may change, resulting in the need for different team members. When making changes to your work team, be sure to keep the rest of the team informed as to what is going on to avoid false rumors getting started and your team feeling blindsided.

Momentum Is Real

In sports, including bowling, many players talk about momentum. When your team is performing well, the energy that provides makes it easier for the rest of your team to succeed. Similarly, poor performance can be demoralizing and hurt others' ability to perform well. In business environments, it can be easy to get caught up in minor setbacks, causing them to snowball into much larger issues. When this happens, take a few moments to step back and look at the big picture. Even a brief pause can be enough to break negative momentum so that you can turn it around.

Of course, the world of business isn't always like a bowling league, but there are always lessons everywhere. Managing a bowling team, or any other sports team for that matter, shares many similarities with managing a work team, but there are many differences as well. Take inspiration from all areas of your life, but be sure to keep in mind that what works for other teams you are a part of may not necessarily work for your work team. Experiment with different techniques and tactics to find what works best for you.

Cameron Herold, also known as the CEO Whisperer, has lots to say about running meetings. Although many in the business world complain about meetings, Herold claims that it is not the meetings themselves that are so horrible, but rather the inexperience of those running them. He recommends following these tips for memorable, effective meetings.
Create an Agenda
This is the most important step. One of the biggest time-wasters in meetings is going off on tangents. Having a clear agenda will help you stay on task so that you don't waste anyone's time with irrelevant topics. Be sure to include a bit of time at the beginning to review the results of the previous meeting's discussions to measure progress and address any issues.
Give Everyone a Chance to Speak
Oftentimes, your team will have valuable insight, which can get lost in large discussions. Allow some time for every attendee to have the floor, uninterrupted. During this time, they can ask questions, comment on problems or ask for assistance. The point here is to ensure everyone's needs are being met and that all of your team members are confident in their roles and duties.
Only Invite Those Who Are Necessary
One of the biggest complaints people have about meetings is that they are often required to attend meetings that aren't directly relevant to them. Not only does inviting additional attendees create more scheduling conflicts, but it also takes those employees away from their core job duties. When choosing the team members to invite to a meeting, make sure that everyone you invite actually needs to be at the meeting so that you don't waste anyone's time.
Provide Refreshments
If your meeting will last longer than an hour, it is always a good idea to provide snacks and beverages for your attendees. This is particularly important if your meeting is scheduled around lunch time. If your meeting happens to run a bit long, as many meetings do, your team may not have enough time to take a full lunch break, and you don't want to leave them starving for the rest of the day.
Don't Forget to Follow Up
As the meeting organizer, your job doesn't stop as soon as the meeting ends; afterwards, you should always send out a recap of the important points that were discussed. Not only does this serve as a reminder to your attendees of what their next tasks are, but it also provides a written record of the discussion in case there are any discrepancies in the future. Send a brief email covering the key points within a day or two of the meeting while it is still fresh in everyone's minds.
Overall, the most common complaint people have about meetings is that they often waste time and don't really accomplish anything. Following the tips outlined here will help you stay on track with your meetings so that they are more productive and valuable for everyone involved. Take the time to carefully evaluate the purpose and goals of your meeting to ensure that you are equipped to accomplish what you set out to do.

With the school year beginning check out this article and see how Good Education and Good Communities go hand-in-hand! Rita Simon
The logic is sound: if our community is better educated, it's better for everyone, correct? Although it makes sense, the national tide of funding is actually flowing away from education in favor of other things. Programs are being cut, and students are receiving less academic and personal support than they have for years. Here's a simple fact:
Good Education and Good Communities Go Hand-in-Hand
This doesn't mean one strong school as a flagship, as it is in many larger communities. It means significant investment in education across states, cities, towns, rural areas, and communities until children in our community and our country receive the education they deserve.
Why? The answer is simple. Education is the economic driver of success and production in our communities. It starts in Kindergarten, and on up to 12th grade. When students receive support at the beginning, they're more likely to pursue higher education, whether as part of a trade program or a university. They're more likely to understand civic responsibility and community engagement.
On the other side of the coin, areas where schools have been underfunded for a long time see disengaged citizens. Unsupported students grow up with a mindset that they are not highly regarded by the decision-makers in their area, because frankly, they aren't.
What Can We Do About It?
It's not complicated. As business owners and citizens, we often ignore the lasting effects of a strong education system in terms of our own lives. But consider this: a larger crop of successful students in our community will mean a larger pool of potential employees. The business community will benefit when strong students stay around. The ones that leave will benefit other communities near and far.
So what's the solution? Support your local education system. Vote in favor of funding bills for education. If you run a business, use education as your outlet for philanthropy whenever possible. Ensure that the students in your community have access to school supplies, books, and other tools to maximize their education, because when the education system is strong, the community grows as a whole and becomes a better place to live.

The walls are starting to come up! #ChamberBlog #DurangoChamber #DurangoColorado

What Your Tipping Habits
Say About You
Rita Simon, Tuesday, August 7th
Tipping in restaurants has long been the norm here in the United States, but despite the fact that it's a common (and expected) practice, how much you tip, when, and where, remains a personal and often highly controversial choice.

A recent survey by CreditCards.com shed some light into the differences between tipping habits not only across the country, by between different age groups, genders, and even political affiliations.
According to the survey, America's most generous tippers include men, baby boomers, and people who hail from the Northeast - these respondents all reported leaving an average 20 percent tip when dining out, as did Republicans and those who use a credit or debit card to tip.

By contrast, Southerners and Democrats alike reported tipping an average of 15 percent of the total bill, and women tended to tip about 16 percent.
Collectively, about 80 percent of the survey's 1,002 respondents reported always tipping in restaurants, with the median tip rate being 18 percent, and people earning over $75,000 annually top the charts in terms of the average size of their tips.

Tipping isn't limited to restaurants - nearly one-third of those surveyed tip both the baristas in coffee shops and housekeepers in hotels, while two-thirds also tip their stylist or barber. Whether or not you tip when getting your hair done often depends on your age - the older you are, the less likely you are to tip outside of restaurants.

In fact, tipping isn't the norm across the world - in many countries tips aren't expected, while leaving a tip in some regions is considered to be an insult. In Japan, leaving a tip can lead to confusion, while China is also a no-tipping country. Switzerland's labor laws mean that restaurant staff are already well-compensated through their salary, and therefore, servers do not rely on tips to make up part of their wages.