This week we are having a retreat to plan the next evolution of Branch Water and prepare for 2022. When you’re in the day-to-day melee of life, it’s often easy to just get into problem-solving mode. While there are goals, objectives, strategies, workflows, procedures, and all sorts of other tools available to help us continue in the desired direction, it is critical to take an objective look at where we are and what we want to do next.
We’ll use the outputs of this time to refocus the tools and ensure we’re still going in the direction that we want to be heading.
We’re excited about this year’s retreat because we’ve got a big plan to get through. We have had a really great year of growth that has opened up a lot of possibilities. We have several strong streams to work with, and we need to spend time focused on planning. Our goal is to enable a tremendous coordinated effort.
Our execution will continue to evolve and improve over time. We will continue to learn as we go. I know there will be times when I feel like I’ve botched something, but I’ll learn from it and do better.
This week we’re away from the office, away from the kids, away from all other commitments. This week, we’re regrouping in a location that lets us relax and unwind. Only through unwinding are we going to be able to really get a good the desired perspective.
We love being with everyone, and taking this time away to reset alone lets us be there more fully for the rest of the time. One thing we’re looking at is making this a quarterly plan. It makes a lot of sense to me to make more frequent, more minor course corrections. It adds an additional layer of logistics, but if we are getting more value out of our time, it may be worth it.
I am pretty existential today. I had the pleasure of spending some time this morning listening to a segment of the Lex Fridman podcast and his conversation with Stephen Wolfram. I’ve only had time to listen to about 45 minutes so far, but this is a fantastic conversation.
I love decoupling things from other things, whether it’s weight loss from exercise, earning money from time, or in this case, intelligence and consciousness and Time from Action.
I really love thinking about how the separation of action and time at the elemental level of the universe presents the theoretical possibility of warp speed and a similar concept for a ship that could travel through time. Then the conversation pivots to computational equivalence and irreducibility, tricky sounding phrases. Still, they are part of breaking down highly complex systems into their elemental components, like Time and Action.
What would the world look like to the weather? That’s an interesting question that I’d love to explore, even from a silly perspective. The earnest question implies the reality of consciousness or intelligence. Does a thunderstorm have a particular feeling about itself as we do?
My mind is blown! I see the coming together of all these concepts where my world view is getting more and more confirmations from every direction.
There is always something new to learn and a way to grow. The more perspectives and ideas we can take in, the better prepared we can be for the chaotic dance of life.
I am excited to set out our plans for the next evolution and take those forward into the unknown.
Stay Safe Out There,
~Zach