CHALLENGES

#1: The Novo Nordisk Way describes the values and behaviors that guide everything the company does. Completing this challenge will not only require your team to work well together, but it embodies the mindset of one of the 10 Essentials that states we set ambitious goals and are empowered to achieve them. Get to any intersection with a traffic light. Have someone take a video of your team as everyone is standing shoulder to shoulder in a tight clump/circle with your backs all facing in and your arms interlocked. When the light turns green slowly lower the entire interlocked group to the ground until you are in a seated position with your butts on the ground. Then work together to slowly stand all the way back up while remaining interlocked the entire time. To successfully complete the challenge your entire interlocked team needs to be standing up again before the traffic light in the background changes to red. To watch a video of a group successfully completing this challenge click HERE.

Connection Question For Challenge #1

#2: Tomorrow marks the beginning of National Diabetes Awareness Month. To honor those, and their families, who are impacted by this disease, and the work everyone at Novo Nordisk is doing to defeat it, take a proud team picture showing off your hands once every member of your team has gotten their fingernails painted light blue with one red drop in the middle (the international colors for diabetes awareness) using real nail polish. If your team completes this challenge successfully and emails us the photo proof, our company (Team Building Anywhere) will be donating $100 to a San Antonio based charity that helps fight diabetes!

Connection Question For Challenge #2

#3: San Fernando Cathedral is the oldest church in Texas, and one of the oldest in the country. It is not only a spiritual center and refuge for many people around the area but it is also the geographic center of the city as well. Get your team to this uniquely special place, head inside, and quietly locate the emblem on the sanctuary floor that identifies the exact center of San Antonio. Once there, circle around the emblem and take a team selfie showing everyone at the exact center of the city. Then click HERE to see a list of 5 simple strategies to quickly center yourself. Have everyone choose their own strategy and quietly perform it on their own somewhere in the church. Then meet up with your teammates outside once finished. Please note this location closes at 5pm. If you arrive after it closes you can complete the challenge outside the front of the church.

Connection Question For Challenge #3

#4: San Antonio has been called “Military City USA” dating back to World War II, but in 2017 the nickname was made official. It’s an appropriate name, given the city is home to one of the largest concentrations of military bases in the US. Anywhere around the area find an active military person or a veteran. Then take a video of them watching your entire team doing 10 push-ups, sit-ups or jumping jacks at their feet to honor their strength and courage. After you’ve finished recording, spend a few minutes learning more about their time in the service before you depart, as a small gesture of appreciation.

Connection Question For Challenge #4

#5: One of the 10 Essentials is we have a healthy and engaging working environment. Research shows that consuming raw garlic can boost your immune system, and having a healthy workforce is one factor in creating a healthy working environment. Take a video of all your team members each chewing a separate raw clove of garlic for at least 15 full seconds. Team members should be actively chewing the clove and not just holding it in their mouths. Disclaimer, although healthy this will likely not be pleasant, which is exactly the point. Because a team that suffers together, grows together.

Connection Question For Challenge #5

#6: It was more than 35 years ago that Pee Wee Herman had a big adventure here in San Antonio. Head to the grounds surrounding The Alamo and find any two strangers wearing cowboy hats or cowboy boots. You could also find one wearing a hat and one wearing boots but both strangers would need to be wearing one of the required items. Once you’ve found them, take a video of your team all singing the first line of the classic 1941 song "Deep in the Heart of Texas", and then have the two strangers respond accordingly (with clapping and singing)! To see an example of this song being sung successfully click HERE. Sing it loud and proud and encourage your Texas loving strangers to do the same, or else Large Marge might find you!

Connection Question For Challenge #6

#7: Since today is Halloween this challenge will get your team into the spirit. Wrap any one member of your team from head to toe in toilet paper (or multiple team members if they want to get in on the fun) leaving as few gaps as possible except around their nose/mouth so they can breathe easily. Then take a fun team picture with your new "mummy” team member!

Connection Question For Challenge #7

#8: The Love Lock Bridge overlooking the River Walk has become a popular tradition for couples after saying “I Do”. It was originally started in 2010 by a couple from France who wanted to replicate a similar bridge from their country. A few years ago officials had to add some additional support to the bridge because the weight of the locks was beginning to crack the structure. Get your team to this love-filled location and take a team picture with any lock that has the name of a character from The Office on it. There are a lot of options for character names, although we don’t expect you’ll find one with “Michael + Toby” on it.

Connection Question For Challenge #8

#9: One of the 10 Essentials is we value diversity and treat everyone with respect. One of the best ways to live out this value is to listen to someone and understand the stories that make them who they are. Take a video of your team and any stranger that has a tattoo while they explain what that tattoo means to them or why they got it. The tattoo must be visible at some point during the video.

Connection Question For Challenge #9

#10: This past weekend was National First Responders Day, which recognizes the heroic men and women who make it their business to take immediate action when disaster strikes. To honor the brave firefighters that protect this city, take a video of your team completing "Stop, Drop, and Roll" while any regulation/operable fire extinguisher is visible in the background, or you are at the San Antonio Fire Museum. Be sure to yell each step of the fire safety technique as you all do it together and make sure the fire extinguisher or Fire Museum is clearly visible at some point in your video.

Connection Question For Challenge #10

#11: One of the 10 Essentials is we focus on performance and personal development. This challenge will test how well you can focus and perform, even though you may be surrounded by distractions. Click HERE to get to the brain puzzles and then select “Memory”. Then, anywhere along the way have at least two team members achieve a score of 50 or more points. Once you have your two super focused teammates, take a celebratory picture of them while they’re displaying their phone screens and the point totals are clearly visible. If needed, you can take an additional close-up picture of the two devices to clearly show the point totals (for bragging purposes of course).

Connection Question For Challenge #11

#12: Located near a hotel bar where he formed The Rough Riders, find the life size bronze statue of the man (and his horse) who remains the youngest person ever to become US president, at age 42. Often called the “Conservation President”, he established 150 national forests, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land. Once you’ve found him, take a fun team picture with the statue reacting wildly as if you’ve just met your longtime icon. Then after this event, live each day in a way that will make people want to build a statue of you in the future.

Connection Question For Challenge #12

#13: Get your team to the location along the River Walk where one of the most iconic beauty pageants of all time was filmed (seen HERE). Once there, find a stranger in the area and take a video asking them either “Describe your perfect date” or “What is the most important thing our society needs” while the filming location is visible in the background and your entire team claps and cheers after they answer (just like Gracie Lou Freebush would have done).

Connection Question For Challenge #13

#14: One of the 10 Essentials is we are accountable for our financial, environmental, and social performance. Being environmentally responsible is not only a way for the company to make difficult long-term decisions, it is a driving factor in the Novo Nordisk Way. To honor the company’s commitment to our planet, get your team to the popular island along the River Walk that is actually the root ball of a cypress tree that was planted over 100 years ago (seen HERE). The island was originally kept so as not to cause permanent damage to the historic tree, but has now been declared one of the world’s Top 10 most romantic destination wedding locations. Get your team to this “lovely” tree and take a picture of your team members all completing any variation of the "Tree Pose" while the tree and the island are visible in the background. To view someone properly performing a variation of the Tree Pose click HERE.

Connection Question For Challenge #14

#15: Find a postcard that features this area in some way, or a fun greeting card, and purchase it. Then click HERE to go to the Love For Our Elders project, which is focused on fighting loneliness with love, one letter at a time. As a team, choose someone from their list whose story or background resonates with you. Then on your card include a fun or uplifting message and sign it. Take a picture with it to show you've completed your Act Of Kindness and then at some point along the way or after your event ends stamp it and drop it in the mail.

Connection Question For Challenge #15