THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OFFSITE

This week I’ve loved working again with David Trewern (DT) at Fliteboard – to facilitate their 2-day leadership team offsite event. It has been a magic two days at the magic location of Daybreak Forest in Clunes, nestled in the idyllic hinterland of Byron Bay.

Fliteboard is a company punching well above its weight. Founded by DT only 7 short years ago in Byron Bay, Fliteboard are now the leader in personal electric foil craft globally with an impressive range of products that suit people of all skill levels keen to “take FLITE” over the water. They’ve grown to a team of 100 permanent staff working out of offices in Byron Bay, Melbourne, Amsterdam, San Francisco, and New York; collaborating with hydrodynamicists in California, composites experts in Thailand, and fluidics and gearbox design experts in Germany.

To take them to the next level – Fliteboard have recently joined the Brunswick Corporation, a global leader in marine recreation with more than 60 brands under management. DT now shares the CEO role with Nick Stickler, newly appointed by Brunswick Corporation to help lead and scale the operation.

Growing a company that complex, that quickly, where innovation and pushing the boundaries are a daily occurrence – doesn’t come by accident. The success of the business is down to the culture and the dynamic nature of leaders in the business to adapt, grow and change.

I’ve worked with DT over course of his Fliteboard journey and he has always proiritised culture. He speaks to the values of the company just about every time he communicates – he is a living breathing example of a values-based leader. But you never really know whether the culture is ‘alive’ until you meet the team. Listening to DT’s leadership group talk about culture with as much passion as he does is a testament to the group.

DT has always believed in the offsite, and this year was no exception. Along with his Chief of Staff, Jessie Summons and Co-CEO Nick Stickler, DT brought the leadership team of 15-20 people together to think, connect, learn, align, chill out and have fun. He has always understood that to achieve great things – the team need to not just believe in the dream, they need to be part of building it. Online meetings are OK for the day-to-day – but to dream up ambitious goals and fully commit – requires a different headspace fostered in a different environment.

The offsite is essential for clicking out of fight & flight and clicking into flow. It’s a chance to bring in inspiring speakers and use tools like yoga, meditation, mindfulness, ice-baths and great food to elevate our state and activate higher order creative intelligence. These elements were expertly organised by Jessie to create an exceptional experience for everyone.

Fliteboard’s offsite this week was no exception. It kicked off with a keynote for the whole crew from the great Radek Sali who shared his story, captured in his new book “how to build a billion dollar company”. It was an especially cool moment for me being invited to Q&A Radek through his talk, having worked all those years ago with him at Swisse as part of his turnaround team featured in the book.

The Fliteboard leadership team then made their way to Daybreak Clunes for 2-days to align on a 4-year vision and key strategic deliverables to ultimate achieve their BHAG – their big hairy audacious goal.

Byron Bay is an exceptional location for a leadership team offsite. Being based in Byron myself – I have the advantage of knowing some exceptional locals who can provide incredible experiences for corporate groups.

While not every business has the budget to escape to Byron Bay, I do encourage business leaders to think creatively about how you can create that ‘offsite’ experience by changing up the environment and incorporating different activities to change brain and body chemistry. Look for community centres with access to natural environments, invite a speaker who can showcase new ways of thinking, share a special meal, do something that gets the heart rate up, or simply practice some breathing, meditation or mindfulness exercises.