OAA held their leadership team retreat this week. We kicked off with an evening of great food and golfing fun, followed by a full day of meetings facilitated by Dan Ramsey. We finished with a closing dinner and some time to dine and relax with one another. Why would we need to get away from the office to focus on our business? The answer is that it's imperative to step away from the head-down day-to-day responsibilities of running a business in order to think and see things differently. Each person in the room brings their own experiences, energy and unique perspective to the table. The environment fosters creativity, brainstorming, and open discussion without the usual interruptions or distractions. OAA's leaders considered what the future might look like for OAA and our independent agents, and what we might be able to do to ensure success. We set goals for 2018 and each departments goals were up for discussion. Were they the right goals? How and when would we accomplish them? Who would be accountable? What could we do to help each other achieve those goals? We filled up so many flip chart pages we ran out of wall space. Now we move on one of the most important elements of any business retreat...execution.