Corporate Retreat

by: rtcruz Total views: 37 Word Count: 407
View PDF | Print View

Related Discussions Online:

I need suggestions for a corporate retreat in early January. This will be for a one person firm. Ideas?
Posted by jbordeaux via Twitter

Should I have taken the Mahalo team to Disneyland for a corporate retreat/holiday party yesterday? -
Posted by jasoncalacanis via Facebook

Should I Have Taken The Mahalo Team To Disneyland For A Corporate Retreat Holiday Party Yesterday - Mahalo Answers
Posted by stewbagz via memeGator

Being Discussed on FriendFeed

Resolved Question: Will we ever learn to trust these kind of people ever again?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081221/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_corporate_jets http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081221/ap_o... To handle the American economy? First the get bailout money from Uncle Sam for making mistakes and extending credit to those whom shouldn't have gotten it in the first place,but use a certain part of that money for themselves for bonuses and for things like the example right above me. Meanwhile,some guy embezzles 50 billion dollars worth of retirement money & other savings accounts to enrich himself. Whom do we trust when Wall Street just takes our money & run to some getaway retreat in the Caribbean with 20 mistresses on the side? read more...

Resolved Question: Will we ever learn to trust these kind of people ever again?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081221/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_corporate_jets To handle the American economy? First the get bailout money from Uncle Sam for making mistakes and extending credit to those whom shouldn't have gotten it in the first place,but use a certain part of that money for themselves for bonuses and for things like the example right above me. Meanwhile,some guy embezzles 50 billion dollars worth of retirement money & other savings accounts to enrich himself. Whom do we trust when Wall Street just takes our money & run to some getaway retreat in the Caribbean with 20 mistresses on the side? read more...

When we first got the memo about the corporate retreat, I was unthrilled to say the least. I knew that I was expected to go. In our company, corporate events were not to be ignored. Our boss considered himself an expert on human psychology, and corporate team building, retreats, and other events were his chance to demonstrate his mastery to the rest of us. Nonetheless, there was an upside to it. It was a week with no work, and no one minds that. I tried to think about it as a paid vacation, and put the thoughts of jargon and mumbo-jumbo out of my head.

I had never been on any real corporate retreats before. I had gone to a couple of events that tried to describe themselves as a corporate retreat, but usually they were simple business meetings designed to psych us up for some new project. Some of them were pretty informative, but few of them really constituted a break from the hustle and bustle of day in and day out work.

This corporate retreat was different. Right off the bat, we realize that. For one thing, the boss wasn't leading. Instead, we were led by an experienced outdoor guide. It started off very simply, without corporate icebreakers like most of the events have. That was another change from the norm, and I found it refreshing. Right from the get-go, things were looking better and better.

What I liked so much about the corporate retreat was that it was big on adventure and self-reliance, and small on talk. Basically, it really was a retreat for the whole company. Later when I saw the website, I figured out how they had successfully sold it to the boss. They talked a lot about how developing self-reliance in an outdoor environment will translate to better business leadership skills ñ something that I knew he would have gone for.

In reality, however, the real benefit was that it was giving us time to relax. At first, it was pretty hard being away from all the conveniences of modern life. Being in the middle of the woods, you couldn't turn on the lights, get away from the insects, put on the air conditioning, or even hear a radio. After we got used to it, however, the corporate retreat was a lot of fun. There was drumming, workshops on traditional crafts, and plenty of chances to share our experiences with each other.