The Art of the Corporate Retreat

If there's anything we've learned after 5 years in business, it's that great things come from a few people gathered around a table. PCG is indeed a business, we have business planning concerns and goals, so why should we plan down just because we aren't Google-sized?

Sometimes, small businesses play small. They might not put the detail into their own work strategy sessions or even have them at all. But time and time again, we see small businesses stuck in survival mode and we know that could be us if we don't carve out serious time to get in a room and hash it all out. To get to our way of thinking about a company retreat, we follow a few steps:

You Need a Location That Isn't Your Office

You might have a great office, but it's too easy to get caught up in the every day work when you're there. Plus, a new location makes this feel a little more important, a little different.

Our location was in our own St. Louis, and that could feel less important since it's a regular day in the city. There wouldn't be new coffee stops, famous speakers, or swag bags, we just needed a room to call our own for 2 days. That room was a big step in feeling like it wasn't a regular work day. And that room? It was at The Angad Arts Hotel. Which leads us to....

You Need A Story

Stories are powerful communication tools, and people remember more information when it's presented in a narrative instead of bullet points. Last year, we went to Nashville and borrowed Dolly Parton as our business woman icon. This year, I texted my good friend Amanda Clark, a historian with the Missouri Historical Society and asked if we could brainstorm ideas. This is the exact conversation:

It took all of 30 seconds. I highly recommend having a historian on call. Incredibly efficient. (That article about the Rockettes can be found here. It inspired the title of the retreat.)

So, I find out that The Angad Arts Hotel is the former site of The Missouri Theater, which birthed the crazy idea that would eventually be known as The Radio City Rockettes. Boom. A theme is born.

Now you mine that topic it for as many small stories that overlap with your own. We learned that the Rockettes have a few things in common with PCG and our goals, namely:

• All women team

• Skill of the individual creating a stronger whole

• Tough standards but highly innovative and creative

• A big anniversary (them 100 years, us 5!)

• Dedication to workplace and community (the Rockettes have petitioned for better performer wages and helped save Radio City Music Hall)

You Need To Prepare If You Want Good Conversation

There's a misconception about workshops and organizational retreats, that if you gather them, they will think. Without solid prep and a clear understanding of your goals, you will get a lot of deer-in-the-headlights looks from your team.

Creativity actually thrives with a fair amount of guardrails in place, so everyone feels comfortable pushing or pulling the conversation. Each person has a role to play in the days leading up to the sessions, and we keep a tight agenda.

You Need To Follow Up

The hardest part, really. We succeeded in meeting many of our 2025 goals set in our last workshop because we documented everything that came out of the retreat and spoke about it regularly in our weekly meetings. Can we do it again in 2026?

It can be fun and inspiring to brainstorm with your team, and in some ways, that's not a pointless exercise in itself. The more powerful move is to keep those ideas and crazy comments and regularly check in with them. Give team members an accountability check.

Planning your retreat experience is an important move, to show your team the path and get them to assemble on it as quickly as they can. If you're thinking about pulling your team together for much-needed planning time, drop us a line! We'd love to help out!