At Life Floor, our Core Values aren't simply words that describe the company we want to be. They shape how we work together, how we serve our partners and customers, and how we approach the future.
This July, our team had the opportunity to step away from our everyday routines and spend several days reconnecting, reflecting, learning, serving, and planning for what comes next during our annual Offsite Team Training and Strategy Building Retreat.
From strategic conversations and team development to volunteering, outdoor adventures, friendly competition, and plenty of laughter, our time together gave us an opportunity to celebrate what makes Life Floor special: our people.
Starting Where Life Floor Is Made
Before the full team gathered in Minnesota, several Life Floor team members traveled to South Dakota to visit Life Floor's North American manufacturing facility.
Seeing the manufacturing process firsthand created an opportunity to better understand the people, processes, craftsmanship, and attention to detail behind the products we represent every day.
For a team spread across different roles and responsibilities, experiences like this help connect the pieces. From an idea and a design to manufacturing, sales, installation, and ultimately the people enjoying an aquatic space, every step requires Collaboration, Integrity, and Excellence.
Creating Space to Connect and Think Bigger
Our retreat brought us to the Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul, Minnesota, where the natural surroundings gave us a change of scenery and plenty of room to think. Over several days, we looked ahead to where Life Floor is going and how we can continue improving the way we work, serve our customers, support our partners, and advance our mission. Strategy was an important part of our time together, but equally important was creating opportunities to strengthen the relationships behind that strategy.
Our team explored the nature center, tackled icebreakers, and faced off in some highly competitive Olympic-style team activities. There was strategy. There was teamwork. There was questionable athletic ability. And, most importantly, there was a lot of laughter. It was a fitting reflection of our value of Positivity: doing meaningful work while remembering that there should always be room to have fun along the way.
Learning ABOUT What Makes Our Team Stronger
One of the most meaningful parts of our retreat was taking a deeper look at how each of us contributes to the team through our CliftonStrengths results.
Every person approaches challenges, communication, problem-solving, and relationships differently. Understanding those differences helps us recognize not only our individual strengths, but also the strengths we gain when we bring different perspectives together.
The conversations gave us a better understanding of one another and reinforced something we believe strongly at Life Floor: we are better when we work together. Innovation rarely comes from everyone thinking the same way. By creating space for different ideas, experiences, skills, and approaches, we become better collaborators and a stronger team.
Putting People First Through Service
Our Core Value of People reminds us that the work we do should ultimately improve the lives of others. During the retreat, we had the opportunity to put that value into action beyond the aquatic industry by volunteering together at Feed My Starving Children.
Working alongside other volunteers, our group helped prepare 86 boxes of food, providing 18,576 meals for children in Cuba.
There is something powerful about working side by side toward a goal that extends far beyond your normal workday. Packing meals required teamwork, efficiency, communication, and a willingness to jump in wherever needed. But more importantly, it gave us an opportunity to serve together and remember that even relatively small actions can create a meaningful impact when people come together around a shared purpose.
Celebrating the People Behind Life Floor
Our team dinner gave us a chance to recognize and celebrate one another, with awards highlighting each team member and the unique contributions they bring to Life Floor. Of course, no Life Floor gathering would be complete without a little creativity. We work hard, but we also genuinely enjoy celebrating the people beside us.
We also found a particularly Life Floor way to celebrate our co-founder and CEO, Jonathan Keller. As part of our 15th Anniversary, we thought it would be fun to surprise Jonathan with each of our favorite versions of Jonathan. The results included Princeton Jonathan, Runner Jonathan, Timberwolves Fan Jonathan, Life Floor Jonathan, and several other interpretations accumulated through years of working and laughing together.
Bringing Our Values Back With Us
A successful retreat isn’t measured only by what happens while everyone is together. It’s measured by what we bring back with us. We returned from our time together with new ideas, stronger relationships, a better understanding of one another, and renewed excitement about where Life Floor is headed.
People remind us who our work is ultimately for.
Innovation challenges us to keep imagining better solutions.
Excellence pushes us to deliver experiences we are proud of.
Integrity guides how we make decisions and how we treat others.
Collaboration reminds us that our best work happens together.
And Positivity ensures we have some fun while doing it.
As Life Floor continues to grow and evolve, those values remain central to who we are. Our retreat gave us time to celebrate how far we’ve come, but even more importantly, it gave us time to prepare for what comes next. We’re excited to build it together.