I flew out of Chicago for St. Louis, connecting there to Colorado Springs (saved the Bank about $500 that way – those direct flights to smaller airports are really expensive). I had to rush to take this photo cause the shuttle to the Broadmore, the hotel where most of us stayed, had arrived:

Note the blue screen of death – what an auspicious begining!

Most of us stayed at the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort, which is beautiful, resting alongside a mountain range beneath the Roy Rodgers Monument:

The buildings were decorated by an Italian designer (whose name escapes me unfortunately) – there are wonderful grotesques painted in the ceilings of some parts of the hotel. A man-made lake is the focal point of the hotel- the hotel is actually divided into two general parts, one on each side of the lake connected on both ends and by the walkway pictured that divides the lake in two. I arrived Sunday at around 4PM, so I ate at Julie’s, a little restaurant on the west side of the lake. I had a salad, because I had a 7PM appointment for a Swedish massage, which was excellent – put me right to sleep (especially after a few sits in the steam room). I can’t say enough about the hotel – the staff was wonderful, the spa and restaurants were exceptional and the setting made it a great place to return to for gathering energy after a long day at training (or should it be called discovery?).

I’m not going to try to describe the four and a half days of the Leadership Development Program from the Center for Creative Leadership– I found it very meaningful and learned a great deal, perhaps more than any other training experience I’ve ever had. Below are a few photos of the group of us:

This is another team photo, this time posed before our insurance model

Another exercise, this time for a split-out part of the group.I’m the one that
noticed that we’re being photographed

This is a group photo. If everyone agrees, I may someday add a
little line drawing to show who’s who

I took other photographs, but these were both the best and the ones that told the most of the story. I’m just surprised that there was no Canadian bacon at breakfast….

I didn’t get much time or have much energy left to read, but I did finish one book, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time by Douglas Adams of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fame. The book contains part of a book under construction at the time of Adam’s death along with a large amount of other material including thoughts and ideas that came along for his short but spectacular ride on this small planet.