As PR consultants, we spend the majority of our time ingrained in the processes and strategies of many different brands and organisations (and some fantastic ones at that).
But if we are to continue to generate great results for clients, there has to be time for us to reflect as PR consultants. That’s why the focus for this year’s n2n offsite was…us!
The charming surroundings of the Southern Highlands and a magnificent French/Moroccan house provided the perfect backdrop for us to bunk down for a couple of nights and, as a team, reflect on our key organisational values:
• Have a go
• Go the extra mile
• Mutual respect
• Take responsibility
• Driven to succeed
• And last but not least…have fun
The core focus of the offsite was a full day of training that centred around how to design and live a magnificent life. Facilitated by ‘The Human Enterprise’, the purpose of the session was to learn the tools needed to build capacity and renewal into our daily routine. The session forced us to think about the activities that give us the most enjoyment, positivity and biggest sense of purpose, and how we can further enhance them to achieve what we want (including outcomes for our clients).
One of the highest value moments from this session came from hearing and learning about the personal goals and ambitions of each other, and realising that we are a highly motivated team of individuals. Surely a good outcome for our clients to have a passionate and determined group of people thinking and driving outcomes for them.
But it wasn’t all about training. An important n2n offsite tradition is the highly competitive consultant cook-off, which this year saw five teams pitted against each other in a Masterchef inspired tapas cooking challenge. After much debate, bribery to the judges and Jamie Oliver quality recipe innovations, the leek, spinach and goat cheese tarts stole top prize – much to the protest of other teams.
Fancy dress is also an essential ingredient for the n2n offsite. This year we were asked to wear costumes of ‘what we wanted to be when we were five years old’. The idea being that when we were younger we had no inhibitions or constraints about our future. At the offsite, we had every type of costume imaginable. From builders and racing car drivers to astronomers and a ninja turtle (don’t ask) we had it all.
Those fancy dress costumes have now been returned but what we learnt from the training is still very much with us. Across the business, we’re making small tweaks to daily routines that are designed to help us make the most of our time in and outside of the office. Whether it’s getting up half an hour earlier to do some exercise or booking that trip that’s been put off for years it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that doing those things outside of work adds value to our lives and enables us to focus more on our clients and the work we do when we’re at work. That alone makes the offsite potentially one of the most valuable things we do as a business.
