The Globe and Mail

2. PEDAL TO THE METAL

Skip Barber Racing School partners with more than 30 North American racetracks to organize amateur race days as client prospecting events. In June, Circuit Mont Tremblant, north of Montreal, is a popular venue for events held during F1 weekend. Racing events “foster good client relations” in an exclusive setting, at reasonable cost, offers Sensix’s Michael Caplan. “It’s speed, it’s revving it up, action, fun,” Mr. Caplan says.

Book it: Skip Barber Racing School’s 8-hour race day, minimum $28,150 (U.S.) based on 15 participants (customizable for large groups of 100 or more). www.skipbarber.com

3. BEAM ME UP

Step into Star Trek’s holodeck: Toronto company exper!ence it organizes such immersive simulations as “The Journey Home,” in which executives are given roles as starship captains, science officers or navigators and the task of saving Earth from a fatal virus. Clients including Microsoft and GE find the simulations help managers stay aligned to a mission, says founder Don Jones. Exper!ence it arranges events – sometimes vamped up with dry ice and costumed Klingons running around – around the world.

Book it: The Journey Home, pricing and information at www.Experienceit.com.

4. TOP GUN TRAINING

Afterburner Inc. was created after James D. Murphy found he could apply tactical and mental fitness training received as a U.S. Air Force F-15 pilot to increase his paint company employer’s sales from $5-million to $52-million a year. Mr. Murphy, author of Business Is Combat and Flawless Execution, holds workshops across North America on how to achieve peak performance and work under pressure, including a three-night “Flawless Execution University” or FlexU package of training held in Atlanta.

Book it: FlexU package, $2,199 a person including food and group-discounted reservations at W Atlanta Downtown, www.afterburnerseminars.com.

5. ROCK WITH A STAR

Terry Moshenberg calls his Toronto-based League of Rock events “the furthest thing from karaoke”: Company teams must rewrite lyrics to yesteryear’s rock hits, coached in the jam session by legends including lead singer Dan Clancy from Lighthouse; Jim McCarty, founder of the Yardbirds; and Earl Slick, guitarist for John Lennon and David Bowie. At the end of the session, teams and the pros come together for a final concert. League of Rock “encourages employees to think quickly and creatively on their feet,” says Toronto-based events producer Ronnie Caplan, who has recommended Mr. Moshenberg to clients.

Book it: teambuilding.leagueofrock.com.

6. HANDLING HEAVY EQUIPMENT

Hard Hat Adventures lets employees loose on a 20-acre job site in Sarasota, Fla., driving bulldozers, excavators, skid steer loaders and other big construction vehicles to trample through an obstacle course. The ultimate childhood fantasy (for some), it’s available to thrill-seeking individuals or as a memorable reward for groups of top employees, says organizer Jane Reifert, president of Incredible Adventures. For added fun (and cost), arrangements can be made to crush cars with the bulldozers.

Book it: $850 (U.S.) a person, with group discounts available through Incredible Adventures; www.incredible-adventures.com.

7. BUILD-A-BIKE (FOR CHARITY)

Putting together bicycles to donate to Boys and Girls Clubs is the signature creation of The Leader’s Institute, a Dallas/Fort Worth company with a Toronto office. Through team-building exercises, groups of employees earn the parts of the bike they’re building, piece by piece. It’s a feel-good way to end a convention, says chief executive Doug Staneart, since recipients pick up their new bike in person at the event. “Kids take off in a dead sprint as soon as they see their bike,” Mr. Staneart says. “Then there’s not a dry eye in the place.”

Book it: The Leader’s Institute, with offices in Toronto and several American cities, operates in 13 countries worldwide; Leadersinstitute.com for pricing.

8. COWBOY ETHICS

When the 2008 recession hit, companies didn’t want to be seen spending on lavish employee or client junkets. But the market is bouncing back, resort owners say, for trips with a training component, often tailored to helping executives learn to survive adversity. Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort near Santa Barbara, Calif., has a Cowboy Ethics Bootcamp led by Jim Owen, the author of Cowboy Ethics. Mr. Owen puts a cowboy spin on classic self-improvement themes with his lectures: “Live each day with courage,” “When you make a promise, keep it,” and “Always finish what you start.”

Book it: Cowboy Ethics Bootcamp, $1,500 (U.S.) a person, including meals,activities, taxes and service charges, based on double occupancy. Minimum 10 rooms. www.alisal.com/packages.html

9. JUNKETS WITH PURPOSE

Resorts, including many Ritz-Carlton properties, are promoting group voluntourism: turning a company’s annual junket into an opportunity to make a difference. Jamaica’s Half Moon Resort crafts short stints at a school meals program or home for abandoned children; Wyndham Orange County, in Costa Mesa, Calif., holds cookie-decorating events on behalf of a children’s hospital.

Book it: Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lake’s “VolunTeaming” program plans daylong events for corporate groups at Give Kids The World, a resort for sick children. corporate.

ritzcarlton.com/en/About/Community.htm

10. DIRT BIKE ADVENTURE

Steve Weykamp owns the largest trail-riding company in North America, hosting 3,000 people last season from May 1 to Oct. 31. Corporate groups can take a half- or full-day guided ride along 11,000 acres of trails comprising the Ganaraska Forest Trail system, about an hour east of Toronto. Participants also get to ride new dirt bikes and ATVs. Organized team-building exercises, such as a forest scavenger hunt, are available; more often, though, “people end up just wanting to ride,” Mr. Weykamp says. “It’s team-bonding, rather than team-building” – and still a tax write-off.

Book it: Half-day and full-day rides are all-inclusive, with a hot buffet lunch. Book with Trail Tours, in Oshawa, Ont.; www.TrailTour.com or www.incredible-adventures.com