When it’s time to get serious about your strategy, leadership development, or strategic development, you need a company retreat that’s built around your people, your goals, and your company culture.  At Sugar Lake Lodge, we specialize in crafting custom retreat experiences that actually work. Why? Because they’re designed around what your team needs most. Whether […]

Planning a corporate retreat sounds great in theory. That is until someone asks, “So… how long are we going for?” If your answer is an awkward silence or a vague shrug, you’re not alone. We can help you do better than that.  At Sugar Lake Lodge, we’ve hosted a lot of corporate retreats. From leadership […]

There are two types of people when you say the words “strategic planning retreat.”  Person #1: “This sounds like an exciting opportunity to think big, align our goals, and create a solid action plan for the future!”  Person #2: “Oh great, another offsite where we sit in a cold conference room for two days while […]

Company retreats are a rare opportunity to step away from the daily grind, tackle big-picture goals, and strengthen team bonds. Many will relish the opportunity to get out from under the fluorescent lighting, but few want to spend their entire company retreat locked in a conference room being lectured while the great outdoors (and possibly […]

Planning a company retreat is filled with options, choices, and a few headaches here and there. You’re juggling dates, agendas, dietary restrictions, and trying to make it all meaningful for your team. But it doesn’t have to be, and that why the company retreat venue you choose matters.  The venue is the place where you […]

Company retreats that solely focus on discussions and strategic planning are missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Your team doesn’t just need goals, they need to connect, challenge themselves, support each other, and have some fun. That’s the purpose of guided group activities.  At Sugar Lake Lodge, we’ve seen firsthand how the right mix […]

Has your company finally decided to pack up, get out of the office, and head to a company retreat? Whether it’s for strategic planning or leadership development, you’re doing the right thing. Retreats get people thinking, bonding, and collaborating like never before.  Is there a secret to a successful retreat? While there are many factors […]

Are you tired of the same old company retreats where everyone just sits in a circle, staring at a flip chart, nodding their heads like bobbleheads while someone drones on about synergy (cue the yawns)? If you’re ready to shake things up, add a dash of excitement, and actually get your team involved, consider gamification.  […]

When it comes to company retreats, there’s always a bit of a debate about which is better (or even necessary): team building or team bonding. We of course love both, and we don’t think you should have to choose between the two. It’s more about implementing them correctly into your company retreat.  What’s the difference […]

Planning a company retreat is exciting for any company, but it’s also a bit like herding cats. Without a clear plan, things can go off the rails quite quickly. Before you dive headfirst into organizing a leadership retreat or a strategic planning getaway, sit for a few minutes. Talk to yourself, have a meeting with […]

Let’s face it—gathering in the same bland, stuffy boardroom year after year for your company retreat can suck the life out of even the most enthusiastic leadership team. You’ve seen it all before: fluorescent lights, a stack of coffee cups on the edge of the table, and a PowerPoint presentation that seems never-ending. But what […]

Technology may make your business run well, but it can be a heavy distraction during a company retreat. While we do recommend using technology to your advantage in your strategic planning and leadership development sessions, it’s also important to unplug, disconnect, and step back from your devices as much as possible during your retreat. Why? […]

When planning a company retreat, the agenda often focuses on team-building exercises, strategy sessions, leadership workshops, etc. What’s the one thing many companies forget (or at least take for granted)? It’s a critical element that can significantly influence the success of your retreat, and it’s often overlooked. We’re talking about the food! Yes, the culinary […]

The timing of a company retreat can be integral to its success. Sometimes, your company just needs a reset, your people need a push in the right direction, or a major change means that a new strategy must be made. Whatever the reason, a company retreat may be necessary to host in the not-too-distant future. […]

The pursuit of effective leadership development strategies often presents businesses with a crucial decision: should they organize a custom leadership retreat tailored to their specific needs or send their employees to an open enrollment program that bring together participants from various organizations? There are advantages of each approach, and some of them cross over between […]

Sometimes the best way to take steps forward in your business is to take one big step back to refocus and reenergize your team. We’re not talking about moving backwards; we’re talking about taking a step back to look at the big picture in your business. More specifically, we want you to take a good […]

Company retreats go by quickly. Trust us, we’ve hosted and facilitated enough of them. It may be a “long” weekend, but the time really flies by when you’re busy planning, executing, and enjoying everything you want to accomplish during the retreat. Time is limited, and it’s also valuable. We’ve seen businesses waste time with disorganization, […]

What does leadership development look like in the modern world? Now that work environments have become more remote and hybrid, leaders are challenged with maintaining a team environment that cultivates its leaders, even when they’re not in the office.  Work Culture is Changing It’s no secret that we have fully entered a new age in […]

Gather around! It’s time for team building. First, we want everyone to take one shoe off and place it in a pile. Then, every person is going to grab a shoe that is not theirs and traverse the room trying to find the person it belongs to.  Sound familiar? The shoe scramble (yes, it’s a […]

It’s current year, and virtual teams are on the rise in the business world. That’s a great thing! Or is it a bad thing? We don’t really know, and we’re definitely not wading into that debate in the business world. We’ll let the people on LinkedIn have that argument for the next few decades. What […]

No company retreat is complete without some type of team building activity, or two or three; we can’t get enough of them here at Sugar Lake Lodge. Why? Because team cohesion is one of the most important things a business can have. Your people are your company, and how well they work together determines how […]

Retreat facilitators play a critical role in the planning, execution, and overall success of any company retreat. Whether you’re working on leadership development, strategic planning, board integration, or anything else during your business retreat, it pays to have facilitator on board.   Why? Are facilitators just glorified guides? Are they there to tell you what you […]

Whether you’re planning a company retreat for a small business of 20 people or a full-scale corporate retreat for over 100, you need to find a location that is right for your team, business, and goals. Do you go to a local event center? Do you head off to a retreat location that’s out of […]

Planning a company retreat really doesn’t have to be a daunting process, at least when it’s done right. You can severely overcomplicate the issue if you step into the retreat planning process without knowing where you’re heading, which is why it’s best to get off on the right foot before you even begin to look […]

How do you measure the success of a leadership development program? It’s a qualitative measurement, but it’s also very possible to achieve. While it’s not always as clean cut as watching a number go up and down, there are ways to determine if your last leadership development retreat was successful. Every leadership development retreat should […]

Why do some leadership development programs fail? While everything can seem to go well on your leadership retreat—from the travel to the activities you’ve planned—it can sometimes feel like your employees didn’t get what they should have from the curriculum you pieced together. It’s frustrating. You’ve undoubtedly worked hard to plan a trip, get everyone […]

What is experiential learning, and why is it an integral part of the leadership development process? For decades, leadership development courses and retreats have relied upon seminars, lectures, lessons, and other sorts of formal educational tools to shape the new leaders of tomorrow’s businesses. While these things have worked in the past, they are far […]

Whether it’s that time of the year again—the time to plan the annual company retreat—or this is your first time creating an outing of this magnitude, planning is the key to success. No corporate retreat can be successful by just “winging it,” and while a bit of flexibility and surprise can be a good thing, […]

If you’re in the business of leadership development, you don’t need us to tell you the many benefits of leadership retreats. All you have to do is talk to the people who have attended a reputable retreat and you will see the difference they can make. These focused sessions are well thought out and executed, […]

There’s a lot of chatter in every industry about the essential components of a strategic plan. Simple searches on the Internet will lead you to lectures, seminars, books, and all forms of content that outline what goes into a strategic plan, but a lot of the advice is all the same.  The simplest strategic planning […]

You know strategic planning is an essential part of your business. You know that getting the whole team together to brainstorm and finalize the plan must happen. You know that finding the right place to do it is vital. Now you face a pivotal decision: where do you hold your strategic planning session? You could […]