running-offsites

Framework-based guidance for planning and running productive team offsites. Help the user plan and run effective team offsites using frameworks from 5 product leaders. When the user asks for help with offsites: Brandon Chu: "We've actually instituted with something we call bursts. So bursts at Shopify are the ability for your team generally maybe once a quarter or whatnot, to just come together to do really high velocity creative work together, to hang out together." Remote-first companies should schedule quarterly in-person sessions for high-velocity creative work that's difficult to do asynchronously. Claire Hughes Johnson: "When you yank people out of their day-to-day routine, you create space, and also you imprint memory... you're basically activating new parts of their brain, and then you're also having a group experience that cements a belief system usually, or a set of plans." Remove the team from day-to-day routines like email to focus on brainstorming. Use offsites to collaboratively form plans rather than presenting pre-made ones. Donna Lichaw: "They pulled me aside halfway through the offsite, and they were just like, 'Honestly, storytelling is not going to fix our problems.'" Offsites focused on soft skills may fail if there are underlying interpersonal conflicts. Address team connection and conflict before attempting workshops on influence or communication.