Keep Your Business On Track
The best way to ensure your business stays on track, continuing to align to and achieve your goals and dreams, is to set aside time to evaluate your efforts. When you invest in a business retreat you’ll watch your team advance.
Most successful businesses have structures in place to ensure they’re pulling forward. Some are incredibly disciplined, implementing systems like the EOS Model. Other organizations have a board of directors asking enough of the right questions that managers and team leaders know they need to have some answers.
Quarterly and Annual Retrospectives
Whether you already have great traction with weekly and monthly meetings, examining how your daily actions align to your vision and goals, or you need to dig deep to rediscover your passion and potential – your business will benefit tremendously from taking some time away from the office to examine the roots, pests, and possibilities of your business. An annual off-site business retreat is the most effective means to accomplish this. David Campbell, founder of Boxman Studios is committed to taking time away to holistically examine how he relates to his family, friends, and employees every 90 days.
Where To Have A Business Retreat
We’re keen to the Hill Country in Central Texas because it’s close enough to the Austin Airport to have easy transportation for all out of town team members while offering venues and accommodations with breathtaking and relaxing views for seclusion from your day to day, and opportunities for fresh perspectives.
Wherever you go, take at least 24-48 hours and get out of the office. You may not have the cash (yet) to really get away, but the further you can get from your office, your phone, and your typical schedule, the more likely you’ll find true depth and success from this retreat. Just make sure you’re in a space where focus is an option. Your neighborhood coffee shop may be too loud, or too busy to get the most of this extremely valuable time you’re taking for yourself and your business. Similarly, your boardroom will pull too many distractions back into your daily demands.
If you’ve set aside a budget, and you realize the need to truly commit, it’s highly recommended that your off-site business retreat is in a different town or state from your business and family. The distance will add to the commitment to disconnect. Also, your spouse may think you’re just looking for a vacation without them, but we also highly recommend booking your business retreat at a location that is in, around, or surrounded by nature. More and more scientific studies are drawing a connection between health, clarity, and nature. In the book Your Brain on Nature, authors Alan C. Logan, and Eva M. Selhub explain that natural environments have remarkable benefits for human health. In fact, natural environments promote positive emotions, and viewing and walking in nature have been associated with heightened physical and mental energy.
Invite The Team
Your leadership team should be present. It may be beneficial for you to arrive a few days early or stay a day or two after, but it’s important to have the shared experience of a focused retreat. Notice those two words together: Focused and Retreat. This should be a time to get super serious and be 100% honest about all aspects of the business and how it relates to employees, leadership, and the community. It should also be an opportunity to relate to each other on a human level. Yes – I’m talking about team building. Corporations don’t spend Billions of dollars on team building and training because they need the write off. If you know and care about your team, you’ll all pull together instead of apart as you push yourselves and your employees and other team members to new heights.
Get Some Guidance
Whether you’ve done this before, or your diving in for the first time, it’s beneficial to have a third party moderator to guide the conversation, providing outside perspective on how to be honest about challenges, bring fresh ideas to the table, and develop clear and actionable steps overcome obstacles and achieve great success.
You are working on your business 365 days a year (honestly). Some fresh eyes and ears may be just what you need to fertilize those roots, dominate the pests, and soar to your greatest heights.
VINE Offers Brand Experience Workshops in the Hill Country of Central Texas or at a location of your choice. You can also select a business coach or consultant found through resources like your area Chamber of Commerce, SBA, or find a Certified EOS Implementer to bring structure to all of your meetings.
Whatever you choose to do, set aside time to breath deeply, acknowledge your achievements, then analyze all the elements that hold your business and your team back, or will help it soar above your market competitors.
Get Deep – Be Honest About What Matters
This is not a space for ego! It’s important that everyone present have permission to be completely honest and open about all levels of business, brand, partners, and team members. Discussions are geared toward all possible areas of improvement. To do that, you’ll need to open the floor for constructive criticism, and close the door for defensive posturing, excuses, and anger.
Areas you may want to cover include:
- Branding: positioning, messaging, world/community perceptions
- Sales: strategy, targets
- Marketing: current v new strategy effectiveness
- Finance: position, potential cut backs, areas for investment
- Team: leaders, losers, possible changes
- Leadership: effectiveness, team perception
Don’t gloss over the hard stuff. Dig in deep. Be willing to make big changes, see things from new perspectives, and take your organization to new heights.
Spread the word
Make sure you set aside time to develop an execution plan after you return from your retreat. Schedule a company wide meeting (video conference, if necessary) to get everyone on the same page and excited about what’s in store for the next year.
Clearly highlight your excitement for every member of your organization to help bring your passions to life, achieve the goals of the business, soar above the competition, and advance to the next level.
In oder to scale, you have to do things that don’t scale.