My husband’s work recently hosted a manager’s retreat at a dude ranch near Tucson, Arizona, called Tanque Verde Ranch. Spouses or a Plus One were also invited to join in the meetings and activities throughout the weekend. Let me say, I’m not sure what I expected from the dude ranch…but it completely exceeded my expectations! It was wonderful. This place was the perfect combination of rustic and modern, with good food and service, while maintaining the ranch style theme throughout the property. Tanque Verde Ranch is nestled in the eastern side of Tucson, right along the edge of Saguaro National Park, and it was so peaceful. One of my favorite things about visiting this hotel was being able to walk outside, stop, and listen to…nothing. Only the wind and maybe a few animals could be heard. It was glorious. And the view from our room was amazing, with a look right out a large picture window toward a mountainside covered in desert landscape and hundreds of cacti. Watching the sunrise over the mountain was so beautiful and ethereal. We even got to experience the desert up close on horseback with a guided ride. I was not expecting to experience such closeness to God in the middle of a work retreat, or getting to spend time with my husband and talk about deeper topics than the meal plan for the week. It was so amazing to be able to walk, hand in hand, down the half cobbled, half cement trails and take in the beauty of God’s creation.

It was really wonderful getting to see my husband in his element, talking with his co-workers, listening to presentations and working together to address company concerns and their point of focus for the next year. Matt’s company is small, but has been rapidly growing over the last 2 years since he’s been there (the company was already growing rapidly before he came on, hence the need to hire someone to bring their estimating in-house!). They have doubled their revenue in the last year, and are continuing on an upward trend. The main reason for this manager’s retreat was to allow them to take time to stop and remember their “Why”. Why are they continuing to work for this company? Why are they coming to work every day? Why are they spending so many hours at work away from their families? It was so interesting to sit there and listen to their opinions and ideas from an outside perspective, especially from someone who has worked at a small company but in a completely different area of service. These people truly care about what they are doing on a day to day basis, and yes, every company has growing pains and people within a company experience conflict, but they ultimately want the same thing: to succeed and to leave a legacy of loyalty to employees and clients. 

Each and every employee, from senior leadership to department management, responded to the “why are you here?” question similarly. They are there to make a difference, to help others, to take care of others, to be part of creating something beautiful, and to leave a sterling reputation for the company they represent daily. It was very inspiring listening to these answers. The presentations discussed going back to the basics and the importance of focusing on training everyone, not just certain people. They discussed taking the opportunity and the time to make yourself into something or someone better. They also discussed the importance of relationships (not just personal, but professional as well) and thoughts (both intrinsically and extrinsically driven), and how important these ideals are to performance at work, and at home. 

I found it interesting that there were several instances where each senior manager spoke about training, and how they would much rather work with an individual who had an amazing work ethic and zero experience in the field, than work with someone highly skilled who just worked for a paycheck. Someone with an exceptional work ethic can be trained and molded and wants to learn and assist as much as they are able. This reminded me so much of coaching, and one of the senior managers, during a discussion, gave this quote, “Uncoachable kids become unemployable adults.”. To me, this means if someone does not want to accept positive criticism, they have no aspirations to improve themselves. We could go on and on about this, but I digress into safer waters.

One of the senior managers led a meeting that centered around how important our thoughts are in our ability to achieve our goals. This really resonated with me, especially lately, when I have been feeling a little lost and unsure of where God has been calling me. A verse came to mind in the middle of the meeting:

“...we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

It shows how important our thoughts really are, at all times. Some people call this mindfulness, others call it being intentional about positivity. Either way, all the terms mean the same thing: positivity matters. In other words, garbage in, garbage out. Toxic thoughts can have physical effects: stomach ache, anxiety, depression, anger, fear, stress. Negative thoughts can tear your world down, they build on each other and create so much darkness and despair that it is truly difficult to turn it around if it gets out of hand. Owning one’s thoughts, putting a stop to the negative right away can derail that thought train, and replacing it with a positive outlook can help shift the mindset.

I think overall, everyone walked away from the weekend uplifted about where the company is headed, and thinking about what type of legacy they want to be part of, both at work and at home. Loyalty is so important, to the people we love, the people we work with and for, and to God. He is always loyal and faithful, and He will never leave us. What a perfect place to think about how Great and Mighty and Wonderful He is…standing in the middle of His creation and admiring the beauty He has made. It truly made for a peaceful weekend, and I am so very thankful to Matt's company to have had the opportunity to take part in the activities! 

If you’re ever looking for a place to get away from it all and enjoy nature, we highly recommend the Tanque Verde Ranch! It was a great place to get away and connect with each other and with the outdoors, and a great way to experience a little piece of history in Arizona.