As I always say, Improving’s retreats have to be truly LIVED for someone to get the full awesome picture. It’s just something that begs to be witnessed with your own eyes. This year, 400 Improvers from the US, Canada, and Mexico shared four days in the same hotel. From Thursday to Sunday, I could see small, medium, and large sized groups of Improvers all throughout Planet Hollywood at any given time. The atmosphere was electric.
Once I got to Las Vegas on Thursday, I knew the drill: the welcome reception at the Blue Man Bar has become ground zero for our retreats in the best of ways. Everyone knows that THIS will be the exact moment when we all get to see each other again for the first time in a year! I got to hug and laugh with my friends from other countries while we were getting excited about the Thursday night activities. Improvers had the choice of events for the night. There was The Sphere Experience, a Blue Man Group show, a trip to The High Roller, a Hofbrauhaus Bar excursion, or going to a fine dining restaurant.
This year, I was lucky enough to attend The Sphere and it was just magnificent. Getting to walk around inside that top-of-the-art structure and seeing everything it has to offer was something I will never forget. My favorite part of this experience was without a doubt watching the 55-minute movie from film director Darren Aronofsky that was played there called Postcard from Earth.
The 4D movie was created specifically to be screened at the venue's 160,000 square-foot video screen and created an immersive environment that tells the story of life on Earth. I got chills during several key scenes and as I looked around, I could see many other jaw-dropped Improvers feeling the exact same way.
Speaking of official Improving activities, “ImprovingU @ Retreat” was a big thing this year! Through our “Learning and Games” offers from Thursday to Saturday, throughout the entire retreat, Improvers had plenty of options to get together to learn, connect, or even take a Delivery Excellence course.
Another cool thing about the retreat was that on Friday and Saturday, people had free time to self-organize and enjoy some pleasurable activities together such as golfing, hiking, racing, touring, Fremont Street, and many more.
After I enjoyed some quality time with many friends on Friday, I made my way to our company event at the Stadium Swim on the upper deck at Circa Hotel (with a beer pong tournament integrated). This venue was new for us this year, and let me tell you, it was a treat! The view of the city from the top of the building was outstanding. We had a whole area just for us around the corner from Fremont Street, and it had a pool for our enjoyment. This place had it all!
Just like every other year, we had super entertaining contests where all Improving enterprises participated for some monetary prizes. Everywhere I looked, people were playing, cheering on their friends, and swimming in the pool. Some Improvers planned a not-so-secret-anymore party like they do each year at the hotel and others went to a karaoke bar on Fremont Street as their next stop for the night. People from all over North America came together as one and had the best time celebrating and partying together.
In a blink of an eye, it was already Saturday. This meant that I was starting the retreat’s last official day, and in my case, was buckling up for a full schedule ahead. First stop, Improving’s CEO Curtis Hite held an “Ask Me Anything” meeting, which is always one of the most popular sessions in Vegas. Everyone gets to ask Curtis questions of all kinds involving the company.
After that, I went to the Come Together/Conscious Capitalism Champions breakfast at the Hotel New York, New York. I am involved in both of these initiatives, so it was fun to network and share stories with others active in the groups. I squeezed in a lunch date at Hotel Paris with my fellow Global Onboarding Strategy champions, which was really lovely because this program launched this year, and we got to celebrate our successes.
Finally, it was time for the big event... The Amazing Race on the Strip! My teammates and I hit it off right away and had the best time competing together. It’s always really invigorating to see hundreds of Improvers wearing the same shirt running up and down the strip, flying past me on their own quests. After a couple of hours of hard work and sweat, it was finally time to head to the Hard Rock Café where we enjoyed a buffet dinner together and the race winners were announced.
At Hard Rock, our official group photo was taken, and it was the very last chance for EVERYONE to be together one last time! I looked around and saw many friendly faces, new acquaintances, and honestly other people that I consider to be family now. As is the case every single year, these last moments together are always a bittersweet affair for me. I am never a good one for goodbyes.
And so, on Sunday, it all came to an end. As we all went our separate ways, the feeling of belonging and closeness was our parting gift. As I anxiously wait for next year’s retreat, I am reminded just how thankful I am to be a part of a great company like ours.
#LifeatImproving is definitely like no other! If you want to learn more about our company culture, click here or reach out to us.
