I think the best you can do to build strong relationships -- at my 41 I don't know what friendship is anymore -- is by putting yourself into social situations w

I think the best you can do to build strong relationships -- at my 41 I don't know what friendship is anymore -- is by putting yourself into social situations which present problems to be solved collectively. Sports is a good one. Not losing the game requires a lot of problem solving and cooperation. It is rewarding to people to solve problems because it was key for our survival along the ages -- a Darwinian thing. Some 10 years ago I joined a new management team in the company I was working for, and our director took us on a trip to a seaside town where we would work on a "teambuilding" activity, we would do some sailing. Sailing a midsize boat when you know zero about it can be very demanding. You are solving problems all the time to yourself, to the crew and to the ship. At the end of those two days sailing we were a completely different team. I felt that I had made 3 new friends and spotted a new enemy, a person I couldn't get along with. I keep their friendship till this day.