Question

Topic: Strategy

Half Time For Managers

Posted by Anonymous on 2/11/2013 at 2:31 AM ET 250 Points
If you were the Manager / CEO of a Company and you are now "half way" through your career (in other words your date of retirement in another 20 odd years down the line) - what would you like to be covered when you attend a retreat with your partner, reflecting on the time ahead? How would you plan such a retreat not be be another time of networking, rather a time of receiving into your own life again? What would you love to do if the sea, natural forests, the best golf courses, etc were available? Would you play golf at such a retreat - seeing that it is already a pass time for executives (and time to network)? What type of program would you like to follow with your partner?
What would like to see covered in such a retreat?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Moriarty on 2/11/2013 at 3:39 AM Accepted
    I would teach them cooking. Relatively simple ideas that are not that easy to put into practice. The idea being that you can easily make mistakes. Making mistakes is something that is undervalued in our society - it is positively discouraged. After all, a CV with a blot on it is less good, right? Yet precisely because of this mistake they could be the one person who learned a lesson.

    The lesson in this case is how to relax. Having a controlled space that allows you to have really achieved something is astonishingly satisfying. The point is that too few managers know how to use their hands, and my usual starting point is baking bread. It's the best fun you can have without getting drunk.

    Once the day's work is done, a nice stroll about reflecting on the mistakes (and possible achievements too) is truly therapeutic. That's when you have a genuine reason to hit that stupid white ball into the middle distance.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/11/2013 at 8:31 AM Accepted
    I would ask myself the question, "Knowing what I know now, if I were to start the same business today, what would I do differently?" The answers (from a number of perspectives) would fuel my dreams for the future, rather than simply keeping existing business momentum going for its own sake.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/11/2013 at 3:03 PM Moderator
    I don't get it. What's the objective of the retreat?

    If you just want to get away for a few days, then play golf, read, talk about the business and your personal goals, enjoy a few good meals, etc.

    If this is supposed to address a serious and important business matter that's too difficult to handle when you're at the office, then create an agenda that is very specific to what you hope to accomplish, and discipline yourselves to stick to that agenda.

    I don't think the "halfway" thing is really relevant. What's relevant is why you're going on this retreat to begin with.

    And I'm not sure OUR desires and preferences are really relevant here. What about YOUR desires and preferences?
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