Retreat to the Hills

Take eleven co-workers, transport them clear across the state, and deposit them in a sprawling house for four days. Add a couple of hours of discussions, followed by lots of playtime in the beautiful Black Hills. 

That was the premise for Insight’s retreat last weekend. Our first retreat, held in the same location two years ago, produced many tangible changes in our office – from hiring additional support staff to installing a smoothie machine in the break room. This retreat, however, focused less on structured meetings and more on structured fun.

After discussions on Friday morning, we all piled in the cars and headed for the (Southern) hills. Everyone, even the claustrophobics in the group, enjoyed exploring Rushmore Cave and a quick stop at Lake Pactola. Back at the house, we grilled out and played.

We were back in meetings on Saturday morning. But instead of Doug and Candy leading the discussion, several team members talked about trends in our industry. And then it was time to play again. Four of us were invited to the top of Crazy Horse Monument – a rare treat. The rest of us, along with tour guides Bill and Tam Colson from Children’s Home Society, hiked around Horse Thief Lake.

We finished the evening in Deadwood with dinner, drinks, a little karaoke and a little dancing.  And Sunday morning we packed up the cars and, with the 50 mph tail wind, nearly flew back to Sioux Falls.

We had great fun, got to see our co-workers in a new light, and even found time for some serious discussions about the future of our agency. Was it a successful retreat? Absolutely.

View all of the photos from the trip on facebook