Team Mottos

[Jaine Perotti]

Our team motto used to be "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"... but we got rid of it because it was kind of corny and it didn't really reflect our team -- no one really liked it and there was no meaning behind it.

Last year however, Andy Brockway, our engineer, showed us a cartoon of a frog, about to be swallowed by a bird (a pelican I think?). Even though it looked like the frog was doomed, the frog had it's hands around the bird's throat... trying to strangle it and make it let go. Underneath the picture, the caption said "Never Give Up!" ... and now the phrase "Be the Frog" has been our motto ever since.

For a team motto, I would recommend something that speaks for the team, and is meaningful for some reason. One of the reasons we like "Be the Frog" so much is that we come from a very rural area, have limited resources and have a small team. We have a disadvantage without large corperate sponsorships and technical advisors (we have only 1 engineer to help us). I guess the feeling of us overcoming these roadblocks, and STILL managing to be a very sucessful team, gives meaning to a depiction of the underdog overcoming the challenges set before them. Our team was unanimous about choosing the phrase "Be The Frog", because in a sense, we ARE the frog. We will never give up because we know that we have what it takes to overcome the challenges we face.

In short, choose something that reflects your team's situation, speaks for the team's goals, and is inspirational to your team members.