Retreats, like Inns and Hotels, come in all shapes, sizes and configurations. Regardless of small or large, pleasure or business, it’s important to know the goals and objectives of your escape to ensure your chosen venue really hits the mark. All retreats seek a setting for enjoyment and realization of the key goals – for example if you’re opting for a romantic retreat, selecting a business-style hotel on a major highway with breakfast from 6 to 7.30 am may not be wise, given a usual goal of such getaways is to relax and enjoy leisurely time together!
Business retreats typically have many objectives from team-building to stimulating out-of-the box creativity which can rarely be achieved in the normal workplace environment. Finding a venue that allows this to happen and motivates attendees to really look forward to their time away cannot be over emphasized. Venues that offer interesting recreational opportunities as well as relaxing and functional meeting facilities are key and in the ideal world such venues should bear little resemblance to the attendees’ typical day to day lifestyle. For example if your company operates from a modern office block in the city “retreating” to a nearby similar modern, purpose built hotel is unlikely to be very motivating or thought provoking for getting those creative juices flowing.
Another factor to consider in a business retreat is the involvement of partners. Several years ago, I attended the last couple of days of a corporate retreat in the beautiful town of Coeur d’Alene in Idaho. My husband had already been there for 3 days and partners were invited for the last two days to share in the experience. Our common bond of being partners was the only link we had. Over the weekend we not only got to know each other through group hikes, a little retail therapy and some great local food but we too became a team with a better understanding of the company’s future goals and what that would mean to our significant others. Bottom line through this short getaway we all bought into the company’s growth plan and felt a part of its future. We in turn were motivated to support our partners in any way we could. A priceless benefit for a very small investment.
Leadership is based on getting work done through other people. Therefore, the type of leader you are, the leadership style you adhere to, determines the level of productivity you get and the return you get on your people investment.
Masochism, Megalomania or Mastery?
Some of us seem to have a gift for getting our lives into one hell of a knot. I am, of course, speaking of our professional life. These persons insist on having all matters pass through their hands before any action can be taken. I suppose the feeling that other persons cannot act unless you say so gives some of us a tremendous sense of power.
When questioned as to why they insist on getting involved in every action, such individuals will say they have a hard time finding competent people, after whom they won’t have to redo the job or manage a crisis. What they are really saying is that they don’t think anyone is as competent as they are. These people see themselves as perfectionists and are ready to point the finger at everyone else for incompetence.
Speaking of pointing accusatory fingers, a colleague of mine noted an interesting point in one of our in-house workshops: “When you point one finger at someone, three of your own fingers point back at you.” I think this applies to us all, including the author of this column. When you use your mind and senses to analyze and evaluate external situations, is the mind a mirror or a microscope? What is the validity of that intellectual exercise? I don’t intend to digress into philosophical issues of validity and evaluation at this time, but it is worth keeping this point in mind as we explore the meaning of the title of this article.
In my recent article on the Kimberley Process, a lady commented about the abuse of small children in India in the diamond (cutting) manufacturing industry.
(“Kimberley Process: The Fairy Tale Your Mother Never Told.”) This was interesting to me because abuse and opportunity often exist side by side. Not only is this true in the diamond industry, but throughout the entire world in nearly every business, culture and society.
Currently and historically, people have been exploited and abused to generate income and profit for unscrupulous diamond mine owners. Until recently, people were forced at gunpoint to work in the diamond mines, fields and rivers in conflict riddled countries. It is obvious to all that this kind of abuse is wrong and cannot be tolerated in a civilized world. There are some wonderful articles and essays written on the Blood Diamond subject. This is not one of them.
In this article, I would ask the reader to examine a less coercive form of exploitation. I would like to talk about the working of children in the labor force, and of the extremely low wages paid to children, in the mining and polishing of diamonds. Many in the West cannot understand how parents, governments, and societies in Africa, Asia and parts of South America can allow children to be taken out of school and forced to work. Often these children work as many hours and as hard as adults do.
Unfortunately, people in the West have short and convenient memories. It was not so long ago that our predecessors had their children working alongside because they felt they had no choice. This was common in the Western world, especially in agrarian societies. Additionally, society saw this phenomenon as a useful tool in teaching skills and life values to the young. Furthermore, education was not relegated to schools only. In the past, few people went to college. Most skills were learned in the workplace and apprenticeship was common.
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