A group of the region's leaders has enjoyed a Retreat in the Lake District enabling a focus on wellbeing and business performance thanks to their Vistage membership.
Organised by Vistage chair for the North East and Northumberland Andrew Marsh, the annual two-day retreat was hosted by Lemming House near Pooley Bridge. With views of Ullswater and stunning gardens, the cohort took time to relax as well as having two key note speaker days to encourage consideration about the way to run their businesses.
Andrew said: “Our annual retreat is open to my Vistage groups every year, and we choose a place that we can unwind and focus on your own wellbeing and being better at your business.
“This year our key speakers dovetailed into each other and brought a combination of fun and focus, which was really well received.”
Day one saw inspirational speaker and clown, Em Stroud, engaging the cohort of 18 in games, fun and play. Em, best-selling author of Lessons from a Clown, is uniquely positioned between the creative and the business worlds. An Entrepreneur, Performer, Clown, MC and a two times TEDx speaker she is on a mission to help all of us Laugh. Think and Play More.
The cohort laughed their way through the day, focusing on bonding, building relationships, interacting, trusting and applying the techniques to their own businesses. From an initial horror of there being no tables in the room on arrival, the peer groups reported back on having an amazing session before they retired to their rooms to relax and prepare for the evening together.
The takeaway for the day was “Be brave and curious. By being your more authentic self you will be happier in life and more successful in business.”
Following a three-course dinner, the group retired to the bar where the playing theme continued with games of Zoof and Think While You Drink.
Day two started bright and early with guest speaker David Hall of the Ideas Centre Group taking the lead with his session. Split into two parts, David had the cohort looking at the Strategic Role of Creativity and the ways that creative spirit can be brought into any scenario at work. This followed on nicely from Em’s session the day before.
The closing afternoon saw some more serious activity, focusing on finance, profit and innovation to see what the company could look like on a “Berocca Day’. He talked to the group about vision-led innovation funnels, showing that change doesn’t have to be high risk but can bring big returns. Each of the attendees received a copy of his book ‘Thinking Money Down the Drain’ and left motivated to make changes to operations to grow, improve and innovate performance.
Andrew said of day two: “My favourite part of the day was when we all realised that innovation is simply a way of challenging what we do and how. David focused us on freeing up our thinking to generate fresh ideas.
“By identifying the blocks to creativity, it’s possible to develop strategies to overcome them and therefore release the creative potential of every individual.”
Some of the feedback on the two-day retreat from the cohort, which included people from finance, recruitment, marketing, property, charity, renewables, transport and more, included:
“A fabulous two days with lots of ideas to apply to my way of working which will encourage the team to be more playful in our approach with confidence.”
“Because of the healthy mix of play and focus, I not only enjoyed it, but took away some incredibly valuable lessons and tools.”
“The highest quality speakers again…Vistage speakers are the best quality and always bring a new dimension to how you look at things. Excellent value for money, fun and educational, even after 30 years in business.”
“Despite my reservation and worrying I may not have given my best to day one’s session due to my own discomfort at bonding exercises, I actually did enjoy it and learnt a lot. By day two I was flying, and the benefits will show in the company performance soon.”
Andrew runs a number of Vistage groups in the North East. One for Business Owners, another for CEO’s and a new cohort launching this summer for C-suite Executives. He also runs a peer group for aspiring leaders, ideal for young talent, and a number for NEDS and Trustees with The Experience Bank.
You can reach out to Andrew on Andrew.marsh@ vistagechair.co.uk