A leadership retreat should be more than a meeting moved to a beautiful hotel. It should create the space, challenge and shared experience that allow talented people to think differently, reconnect and become a more capable leadership team.
Yes And Innovations designs customized executive retreats and special leadership events in extraordinary destinations around the world. Led by Brett Duggan and carefully selected Yes And Innovations coaches, each retreat combines leadership development, strategic conversation, communication training, team transformation, wellness and adventure.
Retreats may take place in Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi, Mexico, Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, Fiji or another destination selected around your organization’s goals.
Depending on the location and program, the experience may incorporate yoga, meditation, massage, surfing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, nature experiences and other activities led by qualified specialist partners.
This is not a vacation disguised as training — and it is not another corporate workshop trapped inside a conference room.
It is an immersive experience designed to change how your leaders think, communicate and work together.
Schedule an Executive Retreat Strategy Call →
Who Are These Retreats For?
Yes And Innovations designs executive retreats for:
- C-suite leadership teams
- Founders and entrepreneurial teams
- Senior leadership groups
- High-potential executive cohorts
- Newly formed leadership teams
- Organizations navigating rapid growth
- Companies integrating after a merger or acquisition
- Leadership teams experiencing communication problems
- Organizations preparing for significant change
- Companies seeking an unforgettable executive-development experience
- Retreat planners, HR executives and learning-and-development leaders
- Organizations recognizing, rewarding or reinvesting in key leaders
Retreats can be designed for an intact executive team, a selected cohort of emerging leaders or a broader organizational leadership group.
Why Leave the Office?
Most executive teams attempt to solve important problems inside the same environment where those problems developed.
The calendar is full. Phones are active. Emails continue arriving. People fall into familiar roles, avoid difficult conversations and return to the same patterns.
A well-designed destination retreat interrupts those patterns.
Removing leaders from the daily workplace creates room for:
- Clearer strategic thinking
- Honest conversation
- Stronger relationships
- Creative problem-solving
- Leadership development
- Rest and nervous-system recovery
- Shared challenges
- New perspectives
- Greater trust
- Renewed energy
- Decisions that would be difficult to reach during an ordinary meeting
The destination matters — but the destination alone does not produce transformation.
The program must connect each activity to the organization’s people, objectives and future.
More Than an Executive Offsite
A conventional offsite may include presentations, planning sessions, dinners and recreational activities. People may enjoy themselves but return without changing how they lead.
Yes And Innovations approaches the retreat as a complete learning experience.
Before the retreat, we investigate what is actually happening inside the organization. During the retreat, we alternate focused leadership work with physical activity, reflection, conversation, recovery and shared experience. Before participants leave, insights are translated into commitments and practical next steps.
A retreat can address:
- Leadership alignment
- Trust and communication
- Executive presence
- Strategic storytelling
- Difficult conversations
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Organizational culture
- Delegation and accountability
- Communication under pressure
- Creative problem-solving
- Change leadership
- Founder and executive visibility
- Team resilience
- Human connection in the age of AI
- Preparing the next generation of leaders
Every experience is built around a clear answer to one question:
What needs to be different when this leadership team returns to work?
The Yes And Innovations Retreat Process
1. Discovery and Organizational Listening
We begin by speaking with the decision-makers sponsoring the retreat.
For larger engagements, we may also interview or survey participants, observe the team, review existing challenges and speak with selected stakeholders.
We explore:
- Why the retreat is needed now
- What the organization is facing
- Where communication breaks down
- Which conversations are being avoided
- What participants need from one another
- What decisions must be made
- What skills need to be developed
- What a successful retreat would change
This discovery process allows us to design around the organization — not force the organization into a predetermined retreat package.
2. Retreat Architecture
Yes And Innovations develops the retreat’s learning and experiential design.
The final program may involve collaboration with the client’s event planner, travel partner, destination property and qualified local instructors.
We create an intentional rhythm between:
- Leadership development
- Strategic work
- Applied practice
- Wellness and regulation
- Adventure and shared challenge
- Reflection
- Informal connection
- Rest and personal space
Participants need enough structure to produce meaningful outcomes and enough space to process what they are learning.
3. Immersive Facilitation
Brett Duggan and Yes And Innovations coaches facilitate substantive, highly interactive leadership experiences.
Participants do not spend the retreat sitting through endless presentations. They learn through simulations, exercises, conversations, challenges, storytelling, movement and practical application.
The retreat remains responsive to what is happening in the room. If an important organizational issue emerges, our facilitators can adjust the program without losing sight of the retreat’s primary outcomes.
4. Integration and Follow-Through
Before leaving, participants identify commitments, responsibilities and next actions.
Depending on the engagement, follow-through may include:
- Individual executive coaching
- Leadership-team coaching
- Cohort sessions
- Refresher workshops
- Manager check-ins
- Assignments and leadership challenges
- Progress reviews
- Follow-up interviews or surveys
- A longer leadership-development partnership
A powerful retreat can create an immediate shift. Follow-through helps turn that shift into lasting behavior.
Leadership Development Meets Wellness and Adventure
The optional activities are not included merely to fill the itinerary. When thoughtfully facilitated, physical and restorative experiences can reveal how people respond to uncertainty, discomfort, trust, learning, status and change.
Yoga and Movement
Private yoga or movement sessions can support mobility, breath, attention and physical awareness.
Sessions can be adapted for different levels of experience and physical ability. No participant should be embarrassed, forced to perform or made to feel excluded.
Meditation and Nervous-System Regulation
Meditation, mindfulness and breathing practices can help leaders slow down, regain awareness and become more deliberate under pressure.
The objective is practical: leaders who can regulate themselves are better prepared to think, listen and respond.
Massage and Restorative Services
Where available, massage and spa services may be arranged through appropriately qualified local professionals or the destination property.
Recovery is not treated as laziness. Leaders carrying constant pressure need opportunities to downshift, restore energy and return to difficult work with greater clarity.
Surfing and Ocean Experiences
Surfing creates an immediate encounter with balance, timing, attention, uncertainty and adaptation.
Participants may work with qualified local surf instructors in conditions appropriate to their ability. Alternatives can be provided for participants who do not wish to surf.
Ocean experiences may also include paddleboarding, kayaking, snorkeling, sailing or other locally appropriate activities.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Grounded Leadership
Introductory Brazilian jiu-jitsu experiences can explore calmness, leverage, awareness, humility and decision-making under controlled pressure.
Any martial-arts component would be led by qualified instructors, adapted to the group and designed with safety and accessibility in mind. The purpose is not competition or aggression. It is learning how unnecessary force can be replaced by awareness, technique and flexibility.
Nature, Culture and Place
A retreat should respect and engage with its destination rather than use it as scenery.
Depending on the location, the program may incorporate nature walks, cultural experiences, local food, conservation activities, water experiences or conversations with local practitioners.
Activities are selected with respect for the land, culture, community and capabilities of the participants.
NeuroSpontaneity™ at the Retreat
The NeuroSpontaneity™ System provides a framework for developing the human capabilities leaders need when the future is uncertain.
StoryGenesis™
StoryGenesis helps leaders communicate strategy, purpose and change through memorable stories. Leaders examine the stories they tell about themselves, their team and the organization’s future.
TechnoResilience™
TechnoResilience helps leaders remain adaptive, creative and human while technology accelerates around them. Participants explore how to use technology without surrendering attention, judgment or human connection.
Connective Intelligence™
Connective Intelligence develops trust, listening, collaboration and team flow. Leaders practice responding to what other people contribute instead of merely waiting to deliver their own ideas.
Magnetic Influence™
Magnetic Influence develops ethical influence, status flexibility and the ability to move people toward action. Leaders practice balancing authority with warmth and strength with responsiveness.
Somatic Resonance™
Somatic Resonance develops voice, breath, posture, physical awareness and nervous-system regulation. Leaders learn how their internal state affects the people around them.
Together, these elements create a leadership experience that is cognitive, physical, relational and practical.
Possible Retreat Destinations
Every destination is evaluated according to access, season, group size, accommodations, meeting facilities, activities, safety, accessibility and budget.
Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Kauaʻi can support a retreat centered on nature, renewal, ocean experiences and grounded leadership.
Possible elements include:
- Yoga and meditation
- Surfing or paddleboarding
- Hiking and nature experiences
- Private wellness sessions
- Leadership development
- Storytelling
- Strategic conversation
- Executive coaching
Fiji
Fiji offers the possibility of a more private and immersive island experience for organizations seeking something genuinely distinctive.
Possible elements include:
- Private group accommodations
- Yoga and wellness
- Surfing and water activities
- Cultural experiences
- Strategic leadership sessions
- Executive coaching
- Team challenges
- Restorative time
Mexico
Mexico provides several possible retreat environments, including coastal wellness properties and private group venues.
Possible elements include:
- Yoga and meditation
- Surfing and ocean activities
- Massage and spa services
- Healthy food experiences
- Leadership workshops
- Communication training
- Team transformation
- Strategic planning
Saint Martin/Sint Maarten
Saint Martin/Sint Maarten can combine Caribbean accessibility, luxury accommodations, private meeting space, water activities and restorative experiences.
Possible elements include:
- Sailing and ocean experiences
- Private wellness sessions
- Leadership facilitation
- Team-development exercises
- Executive coaching
- Strategic conversation
- Culinary experiences
- Rest and reflection
A Destination Selected for Your Organization
Yes And Innovations is not limited to these locations.
We can explore other domestic or international destinations based on your objectives, participant needs and practical requirements.
Destination availability, instructors, activities and accommodations are confirmed during the planning process. No particular property or activity is guaranteed until agreements are finalized.
Examples of Retreat Themes
The Aligned Executive Team
For leadership teams that need greater trust, clarity, candid communication and agreement about the future.
The Human Organization in the Age of AI
For leaders navigating rapid technological change while protecting creativity, judgment, emotional intelligence and human connection.
The Founder and Leadership Vision Retreat
For founder-led companies preparing for growth, investment, greater visibility or a significant organizational transition.
Communication Under Pressure
For leaders who must remain calm, clear, flexible and influential during difficult conversations and high-stakes decisions.
The Next Generation of Leadership
For high-potential leaders preparing to assume greater responsibility as experienced leaders retire or transition.
Culture After Merger or Acquisition
For newly combined teams that need to address mistrust, competing working styles, unclear expectations and cultural integration.
Executive Renewal and Reinvention
For accomplished leaders who need space to recover, reassess and determine what comes next.
A Possible Retreat Rhythm
No two retreats have the same agenda, but a destination experience might include:
Morning
- Optional movement, yoga or meditation
- Breakfast
- Leadership-development session
- Strategic conversation or simulation
Midday
- Shared meal
- Rest, coaching or personal reflection
- Small-group development work
Afternoon
- Surfing, jiu-jitsu, nature or another shared challenge
- Facilitated reflection connecting the experience to leadership
- Team communication or creative problem-solving
Evening
- Dinner
- Storytelling or guided conversation
- Informal connection
- Personal time and recovery
Some days may emphasize strategy. Others may emphasize communication, team dynamics, wellness or adventure. The rhythm is customized to the group.
Why Yes And Innovations?
Yes And Innovations combines leadership development with the experience of professional performers, educators, executive coaches, storytellers and facilitators.
Brett Duggan brings:
- 35 years as a professional performer
- An MFA
- Extensive university teaching experience
- 12 years of executive coaching
- Leadership-program development
- Corporate training
- Applied improvisation
- Storytelling and keynote speaking
- Filmmaking and directing
- Expertise in voice, physical presence and communication under pressure
Our creative-performance background allows us to design experiences that are substantive without becoming tedious.
Participants are challenged, but they are not humiliated. Activities are introduced progressively so that people can move beyond their comfort zones without feeling thrown into the lion’s den.
The result is serious development that is also engaging, memorable and joyful.
What Can Be Included?
Depending on the proposal, an Executive Retreat may include:
- Pre-retreat interviews or surveys
- Retreat strategy and program design
- Leadership facilitation
- Executive coaching
- Team-development workshops
- Communication simulations
- Storytelling development
- Executive-presence coaching
- Strategic-planning support
- Destination activity integration
- Coordination with specialist instructors
- Yoga or meditation sessions
- Massage or spa arrangements
- Surfing or water activities
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu instruction
- Cultural or nature experiences
- Evening storytelling or special programming
- Retreat materials
- Post-retreat coaching
- Progress reviews and follow-up
Travel planning, accommodations, meals, insurance, transportation, specialist fees and activities are defined in the final proposal. Yes And Innovations may collaborate with the client’s preferred event or travel professionals and appropriately qualified local providers.
What Your Leaders Bring Home
Imagine your leadership team returning from Kauaʻi, Mexico, Saint Martin or Fiji with more than photographs.
They return with greater trust, clearer priorities, stronger communication, renewed energy and a shared experience that changes how they work together.
