Mini-Retreat
Recently at Close, we had been going in circles for several weeks on a tough Product/Engineering problem. After weeks of Zoom calls and async docs, it felt like we were going nowhere.
So we tried something different.
I flew 5 coworkers to join me in St. Augustine, FL, and we spent 2 days together in person on a “mini-retreat”.
We figured out in 2 days what we hadn’t in 6 weeks of Zooms and async docs.
We came into the meetup with everyone holding different ideas, opinions, and perspectives – all valid, and not easy to reconcile.
We left with what I believe was not only a great plan but, more importantly, clear alignment on a shared vision that will shape Close for years to come.
Why it worked so well
1. It forced exclusive focus on one problem. Especially in engineering management, design, and PM roles, it’s easy to do a lot of context switching. The meetup forced us to clear our calendars and focus exclusively on one problem for 3 days.
2. Communication bandwidth is higher in person. Every hour of meeting is more productive in person. I don’t like that this is true, but it just is.
3. Nonstop conversations. In one day, we talked about the problem (in a conference room, and outside at lunch) for 9 hours straight. You can’t book two 4-hour Zoom calls in one day – people would go crazy! Plus there were more spontaneous conversations at the Airbnb, at a bar, in Uber rides, over meals, etc.
Finally, like any in-person retreat, it’s always nice to just see people face to face and have a little fun together. We walked around historic St. Augustine, toured a distillery, checked out some great restaurants and bars, and played some shuffleboard and darts.