SWISS CLOCKWORK MEETS BELGIAN FLAIR
- ON 4-DAY VOYAGE OF SELF-DISCOVERY
by Bruce Taylor

RE-DEFINE, RE-CREATE, REJUVENATE

This is the headline of a brand-new programme for small corporate & association groups which has been launched by Circles, in co-operation with the Belgian business travel house, @dmire & Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau.

In the words of the brochure it’s ‘a four-day motivation & discovery experience guided by Dixie Dansercoer & Julie Brown, at the Circles Center, Breiten, Valais, Switzerland’.

In June I took part, together with a small group of journalists, in an unusual press trip to test out this new programme. Here are just a few highlights from the pages & pages of notes I took – enough to write a book!

DAY 1 - FROM BRUSSELS TO BREITEN

We took a Swiss flight to Zurich, and used a Swiss Pass on the integrated Swiss rail network to Brig. From there it was only 10 minutes to the Badehotel Salina Maris in Breiten (which sounds surprisingly like Brighton in the UK!).

Swiss railways run like clock-work & (like Heineken) reach parts others don’t reach – the views are stunning and constantly changing. And the trains are clean, comfortable & efficient which comes as quite a shock to the British, who are not used to such luxuries!

Had we gone via Geneva, we would have spent less time travelling – just over 3 hours door-to-door from Brussels Airport.

In the late afternoon we had a first informal seminar which, in our case as journalists, was an introduction to the concept and the different partners.

• Dixie Dansercoer & Julie Brown outlined their ‘Circles’ philosophy, which has developed out of presentations about their expeditions & adventures in companies, clubs & even prisons. People continually asked ‘How can you do that? How do you cope with the monotony?’ Mental preparation & team spirit are part of the complex answer.

Circles is not a product or an expedition. It’s a personal voyage of discovery and a search for new sources of energy & motivation. You can give hundreds of speeches to people who have left their computer for a couple of hours, but none go deep enough. There are thousands of motivation techniques, but very few are proven. With Circles, there’s no 10 point plan. Inspiration comes from the power of nature, the Swiss Alps and being away from offices, conference rooms, computers & mobile phones.

“I get my strongest moments out in nature” (Dixie Dansercoer)
Circles is about teamwork, communication & motivation; about developing your own potential & latent energy; and about turning dreams into reality by taking action.

“When you’re 2.000m up a mountain on the world’s largest glacier, you let everything else slide away” (Julie Brown)
Circles is not about hard adventure. There are no shocks. Everyone needs to feel comfortable & relaxed, to avoid embarrassment & the unexpected, to let things go and ‘flow along happily’.

• Markus & Francisca Schmid presented the Badehotel Salina Maris. It’s a family-run business and, although the 30 rooms are not 5* international luxury – they don’t need to be as you’re hardly ever in them – they’re large, comfortable and very clean.

What is outstanding is the ‘Wellness Centre’ with its saline pool, sauna, steam bath, relaxation area and the range of different treatments on offer. Salina Maris is one of 27 Swiss Spas, which are recognised for medical purposes.

Markus & Francisca Schmid believe passionately in alternative healing and the power of crystals. There is a jug of water with rose quartz permanently available for guests. They also advocate exercise; healthy eating; the value of nutrition with plants, herbs & fruits from the forests & mountains; and local wines which are not available outside Switzerland – there are 45 different ones in the Valais alone.

• Brigitte Boone explained her own background in motivational travel, and presented her agency, @dmire, which handles the operational and sales side of the Circles Center Switzerland programme.

Our ‘wellness dinner’ in La Taverne, next door to the hotel, consisted of 4 appetising, healthy courses with 3 different Swiss wines. With the combination of the latter & the fresh mountain air, I was in bed and dead to the world by 24.00.

DAY 2 – EXPEDITIONS AS A METAPHOR

It was one of those rare days when the alarm woke me out of a deep sleep at 07.00 to face another computer-free, sunny day & a delicious breakfast.

And then it was time to work again with a 3-hour session on expeditions as a metaphor in business. I won’t reveal all the secrets here, but the two worlds have a lot in common – an expedition is a business venture & business should allow for creative adventure.

Major factors in an expedition, just like in business, include:

• Teamwork
• Motivation
• Resilience
• Increased productivity
• Achieving goals

Other key words are preparation, organisation, detail & courage
After short presentations on Switzerland & the Valais region, another brief spell in the wellness centre & a light lunch, it was time to go up a real Swiss mountain to the ‘alpage’ where we would be spending the night.

In the winter you stay in an igloo (but you don’t have to build it yourself) and get a feel of a polar expedition – just for one night, not 99 days like Dixie in Antarctica!

After a vertical ascent by cable car with spectacular views over the Aletsch Valley, we walked for an hour to our mountain retreat – a small cluster of wooden houses. They were built in the 18th century and 6 families used to live there all year-round. Later they were abandoned and left in ruins, until Markus & Francisca Schmid lovingly restored them.

We shared a wonderful open-air meal of Swiss cold meats (viande Valaisanne du boeuf), ‘raclette’, country bread & more Swiss white wine and continued to brainstorm informally with Dixie & Julie. At 20.30 on the dot, the world came alive with the sound of music & cow bells – the cows on auto-pilot had come down the mountain for milking and were returning to sleep for the night.

And soon it was our turn, like scouts (or girl guides), on our inflatable mattresses in warm sleeping bags on wooden floors. It was almost like being back at an English boarding school.

DAY 3 – ON TOP OF THE WORLD WITH NATURE & REAL LIVE COWS

We woke early to a symphony of bells, which gradually started to fade away at 08.30, as the cows climbed vertically up the mountainside in search of fresh flowers and grazing. Even Swiss cows work like clock-work, and must be the most relaxed cows in the world, apart from those currently decorating the streets of Brussels.

And then in the silence, you began to hear birdsong and the hum of bees. You almost expected Julie Andrews to jump out at any moment, singing something out of the Sound of Music!

Then it was down the mountain again, and up another (by cable car) to Riederalp & Mossfluh for a 3 hour trek alongside the incredible Aletsch glacier & forest, which is a UNESCO protected site. When you see this glacier for the first time, you understand immediately why Dixie & Julie have chosen Breiten as their Circles Center base. It must remind them of their polar regions.

In the early evening we drove to the Goms Valley and visited the village of Blitzingen where César Ritz - ‘the king of hoteliers & the hotelier of kings’ - was born. We went on to discover an unusual, hands-on ‘water experience’ at Kneip and then it was time for a “Ritz Philosophie” dinner at the Alpenhotel Castle. This is an optional extra in the Circles programme. It follows the Ritz philosophy of using regional & seasonal produce. The setting is brilliant, the food wonderful and it makes a great last night.

DAY 4 – COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION

The last seminar session was about communication, once again drawing on expedition experiences.

Communication on an expedition is vital – it can be a matter of life & death – and it needs to be simple:

• Stick to the facts
• Avoid stating the obvious (waste of time & energy)
• Conserve energy by minimising unnecessary verbal activity.

It also involves the development of strong listening skills to avoid the misinterpretation of information and ensure you are all communicating on the same wave-length. You also need to understand how others react. All this, and much more, has important lessons for modern business communication.

And then it was time to take the seamless minibus, train & Swiss plane back to Brussels and the ‘real’ world again!

RE-MOTIVATED, REJUVENATED, DE-STRESSED & DE-TOXED

I found a note among all my papers, which I had written on the return journey:

“I was the ideal candidate to be de-stressed & re-motivated. I came on this trip stressed out & tired after 20 consecutive days of hard work. I came to forget the computer and to take a deep breath.

We have spent 4 days free from the internet, email & mobile phone, with no stress and no deadlines- just time to think, breathe, listen & talk in the fresh mountain air. Yes, a complete de-tox!

I now have the chance to take back control over my own life & work; take decisions about what is important, and not always be caught up in a whirlwind/snowstorm. Dixie is a great example and all of us need such reminders from time to time.

I go back to Brussels (feeling!) 5-10 years younger. My only vice has been the Swiss wines.”

After this past week, I may just need a short refresher course!

WHO IS CIRCLES CENTER SWITZERLAND FOR?

Our group was not a team – we were there as individuals to assess the programme, but as a journalist, you often have to use your imagination.

• It’s ideal for small teams of up to 15 people within a company or an association who need to communicate better.
• It’s even better for new cross-company project groups, where there are different disciplines and different countries involved – an increasing trend in European corporate & association life.

On a short intense trip like this, you really get to know people better (and how to communicate with them), than in endless formal meetings. And better communication saves every organisation time, money & stress. The recent survey by Emphasis Training in the UK (see MICE News – Intelligent emails) estimates that the misuse of email alone can cost a company up to 14.000 Euro per year per manager!

As a marketer, if I were putting together a project team, I would bring them here without hesitation for 4 days’ soft teambuilding, brainstorming, inspiration & communication training.

The basic concept is brilliant and it’s totally flexible, depending on the individual needs of each client.

WHO EXACTLY ARE DIXIE DANSERCOER & JULIE BROWN?

For the benefit of those who are not Belgian:

Dixie is a famous Belgian. He’s a quiet, modest man with muscles of steel and a will of iron. He’s calm, collected and gives the appearance of being laid back, but somewhere inside there’s a massive fire burning. Dixie has a long history of sporting achievement and polar adventures. He’s equally at home in the Antarctic & on a Swiss mountainside. He gives the impression of a man who is always in control, both of himself & others. And it’s his desire to test the limits and to help others discover what motivates them - their own personal passion - which drives him.
In 2003 Dixie was nominated an ambassador for the Swiss mountains & nature.

Julie is not so quiet, but then she’s an American from Cincinnati, Ohio. She’s articulate, honest and direct – and says what she thinks & feels. She too has the same rod-of-iron willpower and has accompanied Dixie on a number of his recent adventures. She is the PR arm of this extraordinary duo. In her short time in Belgium, she has not only learnt to speak Dutch, but also French – no mean feat for an American abroad.

WHY SWITZERLAND?

Well, it’s simply not feasible to take people to Antarctica and Switzerland has mountains, glaciers & nature on a more human scale and much closer to home.

Sales arguments for Switzerland are strong:

• At the heart of Europe.
• A land of real contrasts – from glaciers to palm trees.
• Excellent meeting facilities
• Speaks 4 languages
• Switzerland works!
• Easy access (6 airports)
• Good value for money (if you compare the same facilities in other countries)

The Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau offers 5 regions & 17 destinations for you to choose from. They also publish some excellent material with original ideas for meetings & events.

MORE INFO?

on Switzerland
mailto:myriam.winnepenninckx@switzerland.com
http://www.myswitzerland.com

on the Circles Center Switzerland programme
mailto:brigitte.boone@admire.be

on Dixie Dansercoer, Julie Brown & Circles
mailto:circles@pandora.be
http://www.circles.cc

on the Badehotel Salina Maris
mailto:salina.maris@breiten.ch
http://www.salina.maris.ch

on the Valais
mailto:manu.broccard@valaistourism.ch
http://www.valaistourism.ch

on the Aletsch Valley & Breiten
mailto:info@breiten.ch
http://www.breiten.ch

on the Goms Valley
mailto:susanne.berchtold-mutter@goms.ch
http://www.goms.ch