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Challenge: Overcoming Oneself, Training the Team — A Chronicle of Qianchuan Wooden Door's Summer Outdoor Development Training

　　In the height of summer in August, the scorching sun blazes, and the heat is intense.

　　At 8 a.m. on August 1st, under the unified organization and arrangement of the expansion training school, the first batch of Qianchuan Wooden Door's expansion team boarded the bus heading to the Dujiangyan Hongkou Expansion Training Base, marking the beginning of Qianchuan Wooden Door's 2012 summer outdoor expansion training.

　　Group photo of trainees

　　It is reported that the company specially invited a professional outdoor expansion training school to conduct summer outdoor expansion training, aiming to boost morale, relieve stress, cultivate team spirit, and enhance organizational cohesion. Participants came from all employees of the company's logistics office and some outstanding frontline employees. The entire training lasted six days and three nights, divided into three batches, from August 1st to August 7th. Each batch of trainees underwent two days and one night of outdoor expansion training.

　　In this expansion training, they had to overcome challenges such as rapid river crossing and extreme crossing, inheriting and promoting the spirit of fearlessness and facing difficulties head-on, injecting stronger spiritual motivation for the Qianchuan Wooden Door team to pioneer and create greater brilliance.

　　To stimulate potential, unite strength, and forge the team in joyful competition, the "Ice-breaking and Setting Sail" session at the beginning of the training broke the conventional collective mode of expansion training. Each large group participating in the training was divided into three teams, and each team competed against each other in a series of intense competitions in a team-versus-team manner.

　　The first competition was the PK of team names, mottos, and songs after team formation: team names included those with distinct Qianchuan characteristics like "Waka Team," "Qianying Team," "Tangfeng Team," and "Qianchuan Wolves Team," as well as powerful nature-themed names like "Shining Team" and "Thunder Team." The mottos were all impressive, such as "Thunder strikes, invincible everywhere," and "Wolves roam the world, eat meat." Team songs, another great way to showcase team style, included native songs like "Shout out when seeing injustice, act when necessary," "If the heart is there, the dream is there, true love exists between heaven and earth, success or failure is just a new start," and adapted versions like "Just conquer you, cut off all retreat," "Together on the Qianchuan road, shouting wolves forward, hundreds of boats compete, Qianchuan advances, waves behind, shore ahead." In this series of competitions, all teams were evenly matched with no clear winner.

　　In this expansion training activity, the coaches made full use of the terrain advantages of Dujiangyan Hongkou and carefully designed a series of team projects.

　　"Cliff descent" allowed team members, under the guidance and protection of coaches, to experience the thrill of descending from a cliff, continuously breaking through psychological barriers, recognizing their potential, overcoming mental obstacles, from self-motivation and self-control to surpassing oneself, ultimately achieving success.

　　After "cliff descent," "stream tracing" was the only option to move forward after escaping the cliff. Ahead was rapid stream water, behind was a steep cliff; to escape to a safe area, one had to "trace the stream." This was the best test of overcoming personal fear and obstacles on the way forward. During this process, the rushing river made every step difficult, making it hard to stand in the water and experiencing the thrilling sensation of being swept away. However, it was not a "battle alone" but a process of experiencing mutual help and team strength. When one person was in trouble, support came from all directions. Seeing many colleagues unable to walk in the water, the distinction between "Qianying Team" and "Waka Team" disappeared; we all had a common name—"Qianchuan Team." What we saw were figures risking danger to help in deep water, holding the hands of comrades who had fought side by side for years. At that moment, they had only one belief: to safely "trace the stream" and strive toward their goals.

　　Don't forget the team flag.

　　Crossed the river!

　　Outdoor cooking further demonstrated team spirit. From carrying ingredients down the mountain to building stoves and gathering firewood, everything had to be started from scratch. However, with division of labor and cooperation, none of this was difficult for everyone. Soon, each team served fragrant dishes and began their dinner.

　　Heading to the outdoor cooking camp.

　　Lighting the fire.

　　Washing the vegetables.

　　Stir-frying dishes.

　　Getting ready to start work.

　　The bonfire party in the evening was even more anticipated. Whether it was the small games brought by the coaches or the performances by each team, they all revitalized the tired participants. At the bonfire party, the temptation of roasted chicken and rabbit motivated everyone to give their all in games and performances. The bonfire party scene was once lively and exciting. Before the event ended, the serious coaches "punished" the trainees who "didn't perform well" that day by making them walk a rugged mountain path blindfolded. The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point. After nervously completing the mountain path, the trainees returned to the party and, upon removing the blindfolds, realized it was a false alarm. This was a play; these "underperforming" trainees had birthdays in August. The "punishment" was to surprise them with a birthday celebration. After unveiling the blindfolds, a large delicious cake and birthday wishes from everyone awaited them. The bonfire party ended on this warm note. Accompanied by music, everyone looked forward to delicious barbecue and cake, but more so to a good night's sleep, as more challenging expansion projects awaited them tomorrow.

　　On the second day, the projects "Extreme Crossing," "Tangram," and "Obstacle Crossing," which emphasized team collaboration, gave the trainees a profound lesson: the power of the team is limitless.

　　During the extreme crossing, facing the towering mountain ahead, many felt timid inside, but no one retreated. Supporting each other, they reached the mountain top step by step and then descended step by step. Throughout this process, everyone was united as one, pulling each other forward with difficulty. When a teammate fell behind, the whole team stopped to wait; when a teammate slipped, many hands reached out; when a teammate was exhausted, a pair of hands tightly pulled them forward; when a teammate was injured, caring voices were heard. Along the way, everyone encouraged and supported each other, and all teammates successfully returned to the camp, completing the extreme crossing task perfectly.

　　Going down the mountain is still easier.

　　The puzzle-like "Tangram," which looks more like a brain teaser, tests the overall teamwork ability through seemingly simple tasks, allowing team members to fully understand the importance of applying their own intelligence and teamwork, enhancing the team's organization, coordination, communication, decision-making, and execution abilities.

　　The final task of the expansion project is "Obstacle Crossing." In this stage, there are no small teams, only one team—the "Qianchuan Team." All members must cross a rope suspended in the air without any part of their body touching the rope. This process encourages every team member to actively face challenges, naturally engage in physical contact and cooperation, thereby testing team intelligence, enhancing team trust, and establishing a new type of close-knit and united team.

　　Strength in numbers

　　After completing the obstacle crossing, the coach and each team summarized the problems exposed during the expansion training. Team members recognized their own issues demonstrated during the training and explained how to improve in future work.

　　Thus, the two-day expansion training concluded successfully. Team members expressed that they learned a lot through the training, with the most important lesson being the significance of team spirit.