Two-Day Leadership Offsite on Daily 7 A.M. Crash Costs Thirteen Times the Fix

A trucking company's leadership team concluded a two-day offsite Wednesday at a mountain resort, having discussed the dispatch board that crashes every morning at 7:00 a.m.

The offsite cost $41,000, including facilitation, a ropes course and a lunch described in the agenda as “Alignment.” The crash has been reproducible daily since March. Its repair was quoted internally at $3,100. Outcomes were recorded on a flip chart as three key themes: communication, ownership, and “the board.” A follow-up offsite is planned for spring.

Dispatchers in Calgary, who restart the board at 7:02 each day, were not invited. The retreat’s group photo reached the dispatch group chat at 7:04, during that morning’s crash.

The Pickle Llama was not on the invitation list and was present anyway, standing apart from the ropes course in a manner witnesses described as “assessing.” Invited to take part in the trust fall, he said, “No.” Asked afterward what the group should do about the board, he said, “Fix the board. Skip the retreat.” The facilitator thanked him for sharing and recorded it under “Themes: ownership.”

The board was reported repaired Thursday. The Gazette was unable to determine by whom. The spring offsite remains on the calendar.