Set Your Company's Agenda Beside a Mountain or Lake Getting to know your people may be the best part. Washington CEO Inc. Sometimes you have to literally cut the tie off the neck of corporate culture to get it to retreat in the right direction. At a retreat not too long ago, we all agreed to set the mood by dressing casually. This particularly meant no ties. Despite my many warnings our then-chairman of the board, Chuck Peters, insisted on wearing a tie to one of the dinners.
Retreats definitely produce memorable experiences.
Though the reasons for corporate retreats vary from company to company, most businesses see them as valuable and productive escapes from the daily grind. They give people the opportunity to interact with colleagues in a casual atmosphere, to get reacquainted with distant peers and to build relationships. This more than offsets the cost of arranging a working getaway. Our firm has 260 lawyers working in 11 offices in several different states. With a firm as far-flung as ours, you really need to develop relationships which bridge geographical distances.