This President’s Day, we closed our office to regular business and set the day aside for one of our semiannual team retreats. The first half of the day is always dedicated to a particular topic or process at Impel that we can continue to improve and build on. It allows us to have focused time as a team brainstorming ideas, problem-solving, and listening to each other as well as any experts or colleagues that we invite. The second half of our retreats is always a new and fun group activity, with the goal of rewarding our hard work and fostering camaraderie. This year, it was off to the races at the K1 Speed go-kart track for the Impel team, but first: work.
After homemade baked goods and coffee, a few of our colleagues from the Horizon Advisor Network joined via Zoom to update us on improvements and changes we can anticipate. It was exciting to hear about the growth and success of the network, as well as how technology and operations are being improved and refined. AI is a big topic everywhere these days, and it is no different for our industry. Our clients can expect that behind the scenes, various AI tools are being tested and analyzed for effectiveness and importantly, security. We listened to our colleagues explain some AI applications currently being tested and we were excited to hear that we should be expecting a list of approved applications to trial in the future. These applications will boost our operational productivity and efficiency, freeing up more time to focus on one of the cornerstones of Impel Wealth Management: the relationships we build with our clients.
Next, we broke into groups and did some brainstorming on client processes. Some of you have undoubtedly had group break-out sessions during your own employment. It is always interesting to see different ways of analyzing and problem solving, even down to different methods of notetaking. Both groups came up with actionable items on what can be added and where. Most importantly, these items were able to be successfully combined into one finished product that we all agreed would benefit both the team and our clients. Our advisors are always encouraging you to build memories and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Next, we were about to take our own advice and head off to have some fun at the track.
After all that wonderful working together, we were ready to blow off some steam and cut each other off on the go-kart racetrack. A few of us had driven a go-kart before, but for most, this was a new experience. After strapping on our helmets and fastening our seatbelts we were ready to go. The track employee explained the procedure: first we had a qualifying race, then the real deal. My go-kart was first in line and when the track official signaled us to head towards the course entrance, I was startled to find my go-kart did not seem to respond to me turning the wheel. He looked at me and knew straight away what the problem was: “No power steering!” he explained. I heaved my steering wheel to the right and away we all went.
After the first set of laps, we were lined up according to what position we finished in. Sadly, this meant I was just about last. I pumped myself up and prepared to try to overtake my coworkers by (almost) any means necessary. It was an ugly start but soon I was hugging turns and zipping around as recklessly as possible. I did move up a spot but still was one of the last. That’s ok – it was so much fun! At the finish line, we climbed out of our go-karts and headed for our team photo and the presentation of the racing medals to Impel’s winners. A round of supportive and compassionate applause was given to the bottom 3 (thank you) and medals were awarded to our victors: in first place, Nathan Ollish, in second place, Jesse Hurst, and in third place, Holley Painter.
After the race, we relaxed and regrouped with lunch. Quite a few people seemed to have stories about Jesse cutting them off at a turn. We traded our war stories and recapped from the business meeting earlier in the day. After goodbyes, it was back to power steering and route 8, and back to business for the team at Impel Wealth Management.
Nisse Ferguson
Administrative Coordinator
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