[NewHampshireDuo]

Every year at almost every company I worked at the tippy top and a few cronies went off to a golfing retreat under the guise of performing corporate governance. The few times I saw the minutes of these “retreats” I was under impressed. They are an excuse to run up large bills paid by others in luxury most of us can’t afford and most of them will not indulge in with their own money. I wouldn’t worry. I asked a fellow employee once what changes he’d expect from such a retreat. He said, “Were their any changes last year?” (No.) “Well, then, same-o, same-o.”

The only such thing I ever went to was when I worked for a mid-sized equipment manufacturer with a conservative management. It was the annual sales meeting. Always held at a golf resort but only one half day was reserved for a round of golf or anything else you wanted to do. The rest was work. Real work.

Accommodations were 2 to a room unless you wanted to pay the difference. It extended through the weekend so not too many work days were missed. By the end you were drained and happy to get back to the regular routine.

[Gen.Blather]

“The rest was work. Real work.”

You said they were conservative, that may be a difference. Also, you, like me, probably were a worker bee. I was sent to a one week conference at a nice facility but it was all work. I also was sent to a two week class, but it was also work. What the politicos and the top management do is more like a paid vacation with all the trimmings. My former bosses talked of non-stop golfing with a few rah-rah sessions run by expensive consultants. (For example, they’d come up with a mission statement. It was generally a 50+ word sentence that threw in motherhood, apply pie and the kitchen sink.)