What makes for an effective corporate retreat?

• Position: Special section

"I believe corporate treats are uniquely effective in building relationships between our company's people. We believe in including the spouses of our management team on our retreats. They are integral to the success of their partners, but so often they don't get the recognition or other rewards the management team members do.

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"It's important going into a corporate retreat to have your objectives clearly outlined in advance. It's best to focus on a few objectives that are key to the company's success. You want to have a general plan for how to achieve the objectives you have coming in--though you want to keep the discussions open for creative thinking. I've found that having a plan to work from actually furthers creativity.

"We find retreats work better when we blend business and recreation. People are happier and more effective in meetings when they have something to look forward to. We pick beautiful places where there are also a lot of activities to choose between, such as Deer Valley. Some of our recreational activities focus on team building; others are simply enjoyable and relaxing."

"Our corporate retreats are largely about coming together as a management team. We recently added some new members to our team; I felt...