An Oasis in the Desert
When you think of Palm Springs, you reflect on warm, welcoming weather and lush oases nestled in unforgiving terrain. It’s relaxing enough to encourage freedom of thought, yet the harshness of the surrounding desert reminds you not to get too comfortable.
Every year, the Karbo Com team heads south to Palm Springs for four days to crystalize our vision of the agency’s future and set a path to accomplish our goals for the coming year. Our task is to master the tough landscape of the market and build an oasis for our clients, our teams and the company.
Our yearly meeting is an all-hands-on-deck affair. We set our objectives and map out assignments four months prior. Everyone in the company plays a role and attends—from interns to the management team. The result is an enthusiastic tapestry of innovative thinking, enthusiasm, creativity, introspection and critical discourse. Not to mention delicious cocktails, award-winning restaurants (The Workshop Kitchen + Bar is our new favorite), Jacuzzis and s’mores. This year’s major excursion involved several hours climbing boulders at the mesmerizing Joshua Tree National Park.
We arrive on a Monday, get settled in the house, cook dinner together, listen to music, talk and play games – the perfect warmup for the creative deep-dive that begins the next day. This year, we spent our daily meetings on large leather couches in our house’s media room. We discussed what we’ve accomplished during the current year—what’s worked and what hasn’t. We mapped out our plan to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to services, platforms and the competition. We talked about how important our culture was to us and how we can protect it as we grow. We profiled the kind of superstars we want to attract as teammates and we set our sights on groundbreaking prospective clients. We interspersed planning with a few creative workshops. This year we focused on positioning, project management and the perfect launch.
We do this work, and the year works out for the better in the end. Our growth and success haven’t been an accident. Next year we’ll either venture back to the desert, have fun in L.A. or realize our ultimate goal of Hawai’i. We’re excited to see where the journey takes us and what it will take to get there. Join us as we plot our course on the open road!