“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” – Albert Camus
Turning away from the day-to-day busy-ness of running your business is critical to remembering why you started it and what you need to do to propel it forward. I am huge believer in regular and focused retreats because they have been critical in the success of my business. My most recent retreat (July 21-22, 2017) with the Women In Consulting Leaders Network team was no exception.
Fifteen of us gathered for just 1.5 days over the course of a sunny Friday afternoon on the deck of a beautiful home in Monterey and then for a full day of outside speakers and sharing of expertise from some of the amazing women in the Women In Consulting Leaders Network. We learned about the value of meditation, how to work magic into the transformations we do with clients, how to manage our organizations through OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and how to make our email subject lines magical (and compelling).
While I enjoyed all the speakers and the content, what was most useful was the opportunity to learn more about my female compatriots, and to connect deeply with them. Our normal program is that we meet once a quarter for a power-packed agenda of rapid-fire problem solving and an outside expert. I always leave feeling empowered and emboldened. But rarely do we have time to really connect with one other.
This 1.5 day retreat, the first time we’ve done this, gave us the chance to do that, to share and brainstorm at a deeper level about the concerns we had in our respective businesses. Some concerns raised crossed many other businesses as well, some were unique. In each case, we came away with new insights and deeper connections.
In a world where actual human face-to-face connection is growing increasingly rare, and is ever more needed, it was a lovely gift of time to bond with the other women in this amazing group. Kudos to Deb Siegle and Kathie Sherman for putting the event together. Well done!
