Andy Papathanassiou

Andy Papathanassiou Speaking Topics

• Over the Wall Keynote

  Pit crews operate in one of the most dynamic and demanding teamwork environments imaginable. In racing, like in business and in life, there are no guarantees. Make one mistake that's too big or at an inopportune time and your day at the race is over – your team goes home, while the race continues on without you. This creates incentive to be safe and conservative. Balance that against the fact that there are thirty-nine other teams you compete against at each event, and you never have even the chance to win unless you push people and equipment to their limits and beyond, at the proper moment. Communication and empathy - understanding what those around you are doing at every instant - are critical factors in this world that judges human performance in tenths of a second. So is innovation, since you must constantly innovate in order to stay ahead. Do something successful at the race track and you can be sure that everyone will soon copy you. If you don't have the next improvement ready, and the one after that, you quickly fall behind. Innovation is a process, not an "aha" moment.

  Andy Papathanassiou, a Stanford University master's graduate, takes us into this world starting with his personal story and how his career in NASCAR began, oddly enough, by breaking the law! How passion overcomes obstacles and makes things happen. He talks about the make-up of highly successful teams. Whether it's pit crews, sales teams or groups that come together to accomplish any goal, the characteristics of successful teams are universal. Andy discusses leadership and the role of the individual. He coined the term, "Over The Wall Thinking," to describe his philosophy. Over The Wall Thinking focuses on the athletic mindset. It doesn't matter if you know anything about or participated in competitive sports such as racing. It doesn't even matter if you like sports at all. The cognitive building blocks of competitive athletics give each of us the ability to lead a more engaged, successful and happier life.

  Over his career beginning in 1992 with Hendrick Motorsports–NASCAR’s modern day dynasty, Andy's team building techniques and Over The Wall philosophy have transformed the paradigm of how all NASCAR pit crews operate. An accomplished communicator and presenter, Andy is available for presentations and keynotes about hyper successful teams, innovative thinking, and transformational leadership.

• Over the Wall Teambuilding

  Join the exciting and competitive world of professional motorsports by transforming your executives, marketing and sales teams, employees, guests and their spouses into NASCAR pit crews. You’ll use the same equipment the pros use even down to real race cars that have turned laps at NASCAR tracks. Organize your team – choose your positions – create your choreography. Use impact wrenches to zip off lug nuts. Swap out tires then tighten ‘em back up! Every tenth of a second counts because you are competing for best time on the stopwatch against your fellow participants – just like professional crews do on race day.

  Over The Wall Teambuilding brings an unparalleled amount of fun and excitement to your corporate event delivered through a high energy racing theme. This event is presented by Andy Papathanassiou, a master’s graduate from Stanford in sociology that worked with NASCAR pit crews at Hendrick Motorsports for almost three decades with championship teams driven by Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott.

  In addition to all the fun, networking and memories, participants get a hardcore lesson in successful teambuilding, innovation and leadership as only motorsports (and Andy) can teach it. Think of the session as a full blown, inclusive, business simulator with instantaneous performance feedback. In racing, you compete against all other teams simultaneously, not one-on-one as you would in other sports. You have to be the best (and learn the quickest!) of everyone competing on raceday in order to win. Mediocre performances don’t cut it. You can’t hide or ignore your weaknesses in the pits. Each mistake or inefficiency negatively impacts the stopwatch. This instant, time-based feedback is part of the flow of information and metrics that teams must manage and process as they try to improve their times. The session culminates with a pit competition finale, where the team performing the fastest penalty-free pit stop is crowned the champion!

  The event is conducted either indoors or out, in as little as a half-day session with two hours of set up and tear down time required before and after the event. For larger events, the option to set up one day prior is ideal. All equipment, instruction, set up and tear down is provided. Over The Wall Teambuilding can accommodate groups as small as a dozen up to hundreds for national caliber meetings and multi-day affairs.

  Event planners - prior to the event you should be prepared to break up your group into teams and provide unique identification for each team such as a different color shirt, hat, bandana, or other form of identity. We provide assistance to make this process easy. Refreshments should be available for the participants. All ages and fitness levels can easily participate. Dress code should be comfortable - pants, shirts and shoes appropriate for movement and activity. Sneakers, jeans and golf-type shirts work great. Dress pants, suits, skirts or high heels are not recommended.