Koumbit's 2009 Weekend Retreat - Building the future as a team

Last weekend (most of) Koumbit's team took leave of the office and headed out into the wilderness to participate in our sixth weekend retreat, which is a chance to reflect on where we have been and to brainstorm as to where we want to go, both as a team and as individuals.

These events have always played a vital role in ensuring we develop holistic goals encompassing the aspirations and values of the team, our members and our clientele. Once again, Koumbit's team emerges from the retreat feeling refreshed from a weekend in the country and refocused around a common vision.

It is always nice to take a step back to appreciate what we have accomplished as a team and the unique nature of the organisation in which we work. Over the last year or so we moved into a new office and almost doubled the effective workforce, adding both depth and breadth to our team. Despite never having undertaken a formal sales campaign of any sort, and having adopted a deficitary budget, the projects kept flowing in and we ended up generating a decent surplus that we were able to reinvest into our special projects including, but not limited to, Aegir, FSQ, and our Timetracker and project manager (Kproject)... all of which are additional sources of pride for us.

Moreover, as anybody who has been in contact with Koumbit will know, we are unlike any other in our class. You just don't find that many horizontally structured and technologically sophisticated service-providers in the non-profit sphere who invite everybody/anybody to participate in the development of the core business model. Koumbit is a unique platform for the development of projects aimed at "empowerment through collective innovation" and, after all, who doesn't like to be empowered?

It is nice to feel proud. It is the kind of feeling that is worth working for. So over the course of the week end the team set about ensuring that the organisation will be a source of pride for the foreseeable future. From improving quality assurance, customer service and documentation, to improving workers quality of life and paving the way for a grand future in which Koumbit's model flourishes throughout the world. We covered a lot of ground and came away excited by the future.

Keep an eye on us. We might not be very glossy, but we sleep well at night with the knowledge that we are helping to build a better world for ourselves and for society as a whole.