This week the founding executive branch of Brainstorm Road held a Very Serious Corporate Retreat. It was extremely formal. We had to wear suits and we used phrases like “coming down the pipeline” and “circle back.”
True to form, I (Margo) showed up with wet hair. Kristin wore a SNUGGIE. And Rick, well, see for yourself ⤵️
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa1ffceb-2c36-470d-b753-a7ea3355a38a_1694x994.png)
We failed at being corporate, but we succeeded at being productive. In 90 minutes we got more done than I’ve ever gotten done in a [Real] Serious Corporate Retreat.
[sidebar: Can someone PLEASE tell corproate folks that if you go around the room stating your name and a fun fact, it always takes an hour. I don’t care if it’s 10 people or 400. It always takes an hour.]
Our team functions better when we approach things from a place of care and curiosity. And….silliness. It helps lower the stakes and then our real creative juices start to flow. This week our Substack was about how creativity can (and should) be about savoring and enjoying - quenching your creative curiosity. Piggybacking off of that* is the idea that you can lower the stakes to infuse some fun in unexpected places.
(*please high-five me for that appropriate use of corporate jargon)
We ended the retreat with a Q4 and Q1 plan, even though it devolved into whatever the opposite of a corporate retreat is (Kristin, you take the WORST screenshots good lord - see below).
Irregardless, this week’s Joy Ride is your weekly reminder to go lower the stakes on something and see what happens. Life is serious enough. That’s not going away anytime soon. If you feel like messing around on Adobe - do it. Strumming on a guitar - do it. Attending your Very Serious meeting with a monster mask you made yourself - DEFINITELY do it.
Make a little space to be creative.
We’ll see you next week.
Margo + Kristin
Congrats on the Q4 retreat with your executive team. This is pure brilliance and a worthy distraction for me from prompting AI to create a 1989 cover with my image and likeness. Good luck with your 2024 OKRs!