Retreat Planning: Tropical Ocean Getaway
With summer finally here, the Swift Kick team’s retreat was aptly themed “Tropical Ocean Getaway.” With a theme like that our key goals were to give everyone that island relaxed and tropical vibe all day and keep stress and tension down. “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net with […]
Our Tried and True Schedule for a Quarterly Strategy Retreat
Handing out pennies in Union Square, seeing a show on Broadway, riding an aquatic themed carousel, playing board games, eating bugs, and visiting a cat cafe. At some point in time, Team Swift Kick has done all of these strange things during a quarterly strategy retreat. But strategy retreats are more than just surprise activities; […]
Hosting a “Topsy Turvy” Retreat
For our last quarterly retreat, we decided to have the event on April 1, 2019. April 1 is obviously April Fool’s Day! As Mark Twain once said, “Today is a day that upon which we are reminded of what we are the other three hundred and sixty-four.” But not everyone enjoys being tricked, so we […]
How To Plan a Spooky Themed Retreat
The night before retreat, I panicked and barely slept. The thoughts running through my head were, “did I prep enough?” “Will we get everything done?” “I hope everyone likes the surprises!” “Oh no, I definitely forgot that!” I wanted my first retreat to go so well, that my anxious brain took over. Well….all my panic […]
Stage Manager to Retreat Planner (Part 1)
When you hear the word retreat, what comes to mind? For me, retreat means: bonding, connecting, team building, goal setting, reflection, fun for all, and taking steps forward. Looking at that list of words and planning my first retreat sounded scary. Do I know my team enough to make sure the retreat is fun, helps […]
Why We Had a Time Machine at Our Last Team Retreat
As you know by now, when Melissa and I plan a retreat, things can get a little weird. We started 2018 no differently, and this time the weirdness included a Back To The Future theme and our very own time machine. Yes, I said time machine. Here’s why a time traveling theme was the perfect […]
Q4 Retreat: How to Build Your Own Swift Kick
September 18, 2017 set the date for yet another amazing Swift Kick team retreat day for the beginning of Q4! This quarter brought forth even more amazing and crazy memories from the Swift Kick family that I will happily share with you. For this quarterly retreat, the theme that Sabina and Melissa had devised was […]
Are You Smarter than a Swift Kicker?: How to Host an ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader’ Themed Retreat
July 10th, 2017 marked the day of the Swift Kick Q3 retreat! With that date also came me, Ryan Lingle, the “noob” to Swift Kick. Upon arriving at the SKHQ address, I was immediately confused. I got out of my Uber, looked around at all of the buildings and thought to myself, “Well it’s a […]
F(UN-STUCK)
Swift Kick recently had their Q2 retreat, and at this retreat we had a fun crossword puzzle to complete about the team members and following the theme of “Under the Sea”. Normally, I dislike crossword puzzles, but I was determined to get this puzzle completed. How off could I be? When the day came to […]
How to Plan an Under the Sea Retreat
To start each quarter, we gather the team, including interns, for a Swift Kick retreat. Sabina and I are the masterminds- it used to be Tom, but he “trusts” us to plan it now. (Yikes.) Take a look our step-by-step creative process to make this theme come to life: Step One – Plan for a […]