Anyone who knows me knows I love boats. Love to be in them, on them, near them…hell I would live on one if my family could stand it. It’s a complete departure from the day to day when you’re out on the water. You think differently. Maybe because you’re not on dry land your mind shifts and you focus on other matters.
So each year we take the team out for our annual boat ride on a private charter. It’s so important for our team to take a break once in a while and put aside planning and buying media. Frankly, we need to unplug from our screens and recharge our batteries. Sure, that’s what vacation is for, but I also like to stir things up a bit at the office. What better time and place to blow off some steam than Summer time in Chicago on Lake Michigan!
Our “Spirit Committee” helps coordinate our annual boat trip and we always hire Captain Chris Connor who owns KO Charters. This time we did a Wednesday night prime time cruise to watch Navy Pier’s fireworks display. It was a hot, humid night, which meant calm waters and plenty of refreshments and our Captain got us a first class front row seat. It was perfect and the break we all needed.
Our newer employees seemed to enjoy this perk, cruising Chicago’s shoreline, gazing at the city’s architectural wonders all aglow in the night sky. For other employees who have been with us several years, they look forward to our annual ritual where we can relax, learn a little more about each other and foster those relationships with the people we spend most of our waking hours with. And thankfully, no one got sea sick.
I always push our staff to come up with creative solutions to service our clients well. And they constantly rise to the occasion. But just as an athlete’s muscles need time for rest and repair, we also need rest to give our minds a break and to generate new ideas.
I’m happy our Chicago-based crew was able to take time out to kick back and enjoy each other’s company socially with our beautiful city as the backdrop. Hopefully they’re all a little bit more refreshed and inspired. Now, it’s back to media buying. 😉