Starting a new business takes a lot of courage but there was no doubting that David Simon, Westpac's former top financial planner, was up for the challenge. Following his stellar 15 year career at the bank, David started Integral Private Wealth in 2015 and it has fast grown to become one of the largest financial advice firms within Westpac's Securitor network.
Integral's leadership team now comprises of five directors who manage a growing team of staff across several office locations around the country. They have been riding significant momentum as the business gains strength through new partnerships.
Integral Private Wealth engaged Gone Bush to bring all partners together (some who had only recently joined the group), deepen their bonds and get focused on what’s most important over the next phase of their business.
Gone Bush approach
Working directly with David Simon, we designed a nature-based strategic offsite to accelerate and strengthen cultural and strategic alignment across Integral's leadership team. Our goal was to connect the team on a deeper level, help them better understand each other, refocus and empower them around their most important collective and individual goals.
Being a high performing, ambitious and fast-growing team, it was determined that an adventure of epic proportions was in order. Soon after, we led Integral's leaders on a two-day crossing of one of the deepest and most rugged valleys in the Blue Mountains, the Grose Valley.
The journey involved trekking almost 20 kilometers over two days - descending steeply into the Grose Valley and following along the valley floor before and walking out of the other side of the valley the following day. Along the way, Integral's leaders were engaged in a sequence of workshop sessions designed by Gone Bush and facilitated by leadership coach, Clint Seares.
A magical evening was spent camped in the valley and enjoying the remoteness and serenity that comes from being completely 'off the grid' and in the wild. The tough climb out on day two was rewarded with a gourmet BBQ prepared by an award winning local Blue Mountains chef complete with a few cold ones for the road.
The result was a massive shared sense of achievement, deeper understanding between core business partners and a boost for clarity, focus, energy and commitment.
"Every detail was impeccable. We still cannot get over the hospitality and attention to detail provided by the Gone Bush crew. They put their hearts into their work and it really shows. This event gave our team significant momentum and helped to refocus on our strategic priorities"
David Simon, Managing Director and Principal Advisor, Integral Private Wealth
Something for you?
If you're ready to host an enriching gathering for your team or community - get in touch with us, we'd love to hear from you!