Every year, our team trades laptops for a change of scenery. This July, that meant two days in the Hudson Valley, our traditional location for these gatherings — spent painting outdoors, strolling in a paddock with horses, and sharing dinner under string lights at Adam's place in Malden-on-Hudson.

Why upstate? As Adam often says, “We gather as a team in the Hudson Valley to imagine the future we hope to help create.” The setting, like that future, is beautiful and interconnected. It's slower, quieter, and just far enough from our headquarters in Manhattan that people actually unplug. 
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This year, our offsite started with coffee and a plein air painting session led by local artist Sarah Totten. No one claimed to be a painter, which was the point: instead, we experimented with brushes, techniques, and colors to capture the scene and feeling. 

In the afternoon, we headed to a team-building exercise with horses, where the facilitator reminded us that a horse responds to what's real about your energy, not to your title or good intentions. A few honest lessons came out of that paddock as we worked collaboratively to communicate across species.
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The day closed with a family-style dinner, good wine, and later, cocktails and games back at the hotel. 

We came home the following day a little more rested and a lot more connected — which, as we keep learning, takes real investment as we grow. We’re already looking forward to the next gathering.

Photos by Haley Cormier.