We All Need to Retreat

Last week, we brought our team together in Oxnard, California, and then pushed further out, onto the open ocean, for a trip to the Channel Islands. The water was choppy. The boat rocked. And nobody was looking at a screen. That felt intentional.

We’ve been in business for 26 years. We’ve done team gatherings before. But since the beginning of COVID times in 2020, where we shifted to online calls, home offices, and living through rectangles of glass, this one felt different, more necessary. Remote work has given us freedom and flexibility, and I’m genuinely grateful for that. But it quietly erodes things too. Rhythm. Empathy. The kind of learning that only happens when you’re in the same room, or the same boat, as someone.

Navigating choppy water together has a way of cutting through the noise. You can’t multitask. You can’t hide behind a muted mic. You just have to be present and trust the people around you.

That’s what a good retreat does. It doesn’t just recharge people, it reconnects them. And a connected team is where the best ideas come from. Not the best tools, not the best tech, or the best culture.

We are leaning hard into innovative technology. But this trip reminded me that no platform replaces the feeling of looking someone in the eye after a long stretch apart.

If you’re on the fence about investing in bringing your people together, get off the fence and retreat from the screens for a few days. You’ll come back with more to give.

Eric Johnson
Founder & President