As we near the end of what has been a rollercoaster year, Catalyst Ranch is truly thankful for everyone who has supported us as we’ve come back from an especially devastating year in 2020. A year that saw our entire industry come to a screeching halt. Yet, despite that, we as a staff and all of our clients and guests collectively took steps to keep each other safe and get back to the innovative work all of our businesses need.
In recognition of this, we asked a few of our recent visitors what it was that brought them to Catalyst Ranch during a time when many others weren’t ready. If they had any concerns, what were they? As well as how things went. Not to pat ourselves on the back but to remind ourselves what we bring to the table and how we’re ready to keep bringing that to even more of you in 2022.
Here are a few of the responses we got:
Margaret Trempe with Lundbeck, coming to Catalyst Ranch for their Business Unit Department Meeting: High-impact Communication and Leading with Confidence and Authority.
Why did you feel it was important to come offsite?
[We] needed the team to reconnect again after everyone working virtually for over 1.5 years! Team building was the main reason.
Was there anything about Catalyst Ranch that contributed to you taking your meeting offsite?
Yes – the open and creative environment/room that Catalyst Ranch offered, as well as the location being in the city, away from the office, was helpful in ensuring engagement from the attendees.
How did the experience turn out? Were things successful? Was your meeting objective met?
Everything worked out very well and we had a great meeting. Our meeting objectives were successfully met.
And Beth Miller from Creative Education Foundation, who had strategic planning meeting.
Why did you feel it was important to come offsite?
Our organization is a bit unique in that we are a virtual nonprofit, and our staff and board members are from across the United States. Though we do have a lovely, creative space available to us in Scituate, MA, the location is far from Logan Airport and there are few hotels in the area for visiting staff and board members. Also, staff has to manage logistics like supplies, food service, set up, and breakdown and clean up. This means that the staff is usually distracted from the strategic work we hope to do at these meetings by tactical activities. By bringing our recent strategic planning meeting offsite to Catalyst Ranch, all we had to worry about was strategic planning.
Was there anything about Catalyst Ranch that contributed to you taking your meeting offsite?
Many offsite meeting sites or centers say that they know how to equip and create the environment for meetings and facilitations that deploy deliberate creativity techniques and strategies, but they do not. As an organization dedicated to Creative Problem-Solving training in the work we do with others and for our internal processes, we are quite low tech, but our “low tech” is extremely specific. We require a comfortable space with natural light, sturdy easels with sticky easel paper, fine point sharpies and post-its (not the fully sticky kind), tables, chairs, and other sitting areas for small group work, and room to move and incubate. Catalyst Ranch is the best equipped facility for our kind of facilitation and meeting, and if they meet our particular low-tech standards, they are going to meet everyone’s standards. I will note that they also have great high-tech support, which we did make use of at our meeting.
What were your concerns?
Cost is always a concern for us as a small nonprofit. But, after we used the space for our strategic session, I knew that the expense was worth “walking our talk” by investing in the right space for our collaborative work. That this investment will allow us to show our Board and Staff that we honor their skills and talents, and that they deserve a great space in which to do our important work.
How did you (or we) address those concerns?
The fact that we had refreshments available throughout the day in the little kitchen area, and that snacks and meals quietly and efficiently appeared. The fact that we had quick and friendly tech support. The fact that we didn’t have to think about anything but our work because the amazing staff at Catalyst Ranch handled everything else, beautifully. For me, that meant that I didn’t have to stress about when food was arriving, or people not getting online, or the myriad other minutiae that takes me out of the moment. In short, it was clear how worth it booking at Catalyst Ranch is for me to be the best leader I can be — in the moment, doing the work with my leadership team, with the details handled completely by the pros.
How did the experience turn out? Were things successful? Was your meeting objective met?
We got so much great work done. It was so great to be present with my leadership team and not be worried about the tactical elements of the meeting. Our work was successful and satisfying, and our objectives were met. I cannot wait to bring more people to Catalyst Ranch to work there together with us.
And finally, Andrea Frye from People’s Action Institute:
Why did you feel it was important to come offsite?
When we decided to have a retreat of our management team, it was clear that we wanted to try to meet in person if possible. We decided to have an in-person meeting but to offer a hybrid option for anyone not comfortable with traveling and/or in person meetings just yet. We have not been in our office for more than 19 months and our office is being prepped for renovations. So, we knew that it was important to find a space that would spark our creativity and feel different from our “normal” working conditions, which is currently our home(s).
Was there anything about Catalyst Ranch that contributed to you taking your meeting offsite?
Catalyst Ranch and its supportive staff, safe protocols and stimulating environment had a lot to do with taking our meeting offsite and in person. Some of our team members had attended different meetings at Catalyst Ranch at different times and all agreed that the space is inviting, creative, engaging and safe. Not only could we safely meet, but we didn’t have to settle for some boring and bleak conference room somewhere.
What were your concerns?
We were concerned with other meetings/foot traffic, how safe we’d feel and how the technology would support our hybrid meeting.
How did you (or we) address those concerns?
Turns out that we felt very safe and all of the protocol put in place by the staff really helped to ease those concerns. And, as always, the staff was super helpful and supportive. We did end up having some technical difficulties with sound, but I think that had to do with the fact that someone on our team decided to use a different laptop than the one provided. So, technical support was a challenge, but that was due to our choice, not the support provided.
How did the experience turn out? Were things successful? Was your meeting objective met?
Our meeting was successful. Our experience was good. So much so that two of our other teams decided to conduct retreats/planning meetings in the space in November.
I want to thank everyone who shared their experiences with us and I hope you all join us again in 2022. We hope you’re all having a wonderful Holiday season and wish you a Happy New Year!
Learn more about hosting your offsite meetings at Catalyst Ranch!
