#201 cave days

I don't really like the word "retreat".  It conjures up either literal images of armies retreating and being pushed back in defeat, or the more modern day images of sitting in long meetings with flip charts posted throughout the walls.  I do, however, believe in the power of going off-site and changing the environment in order to do some strategic thinking or more intentional planning.

So we call our version of deep thinking "Cave Days" -- as in going away to hide in a cave to escape the daily distractions.  I spent yesterday afternoon out of the office at such a Cave Day experience --clarifying the transitions and processes of a new staff.  The informal environment allows people to be more focused and candid and, as a result, we were able to have discussions that could have never occurred sitting around a table in a meeting setting.  By dedicating a significant chunk of time to this topic, it signified the importance of it.  I hope it also heightened everyone's commitment to achieving results and then implementing them.

I encourage you to think about the key things you need to discuss and commit to a Cave Day-type environment in which to process them.  Sometimes we need to alter our routine in an effort to alter our thinking -- and changing when/where we broach the topic can have an immediate impact on that.

-- beth triplett
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