Building connection to a new community of leaders
Ideas tend to flow more freely in a Walkshop than they would around a conference table. People are more inclined to ‘think outside the box’, and come up with fresh and radical insights and innovations when they go off the grid for a few days. And by the second day of the hike - the normal inhibitions and pretense all melt away while you focus on the trail, your destination, your companions, and yourself. After all, nature nurtures.
Discover
Find inspiration as you begin your journey away from your daily routine.
Commit
Dedicate time to thinking about the changes you’d like to make - one step at a time.
Connect
Gain connections, fresh insights, and support from leaders across the industry in your new endeavors.
Our Team
Mark Rickmeier has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry and has served as the CEO of TXI, a Chicago-based strategy and product innovation firm, since 2011. Mark co-founded Walkshop as an outdoor hiking and leadership development experience for executives looking to get offline and back into nature – while digging into topics of personal development and growth. He also founded Kermit Collective, a space for digital agency executives who are direct competitors to come together across company lines to actually collaborate and share best practices between worthy rivals.
Mark is the Company Culture Chair for the Fast Company Executive Board and is the Business Innovation Chair for the Forbes Business Council. He is the author of the Sticky Note Game and creator of Inclusion Meeting Cards, designed to help companies improve the effectiveness and inclusivity of their conversations. And he is a frequent contributor to the IndeCollective, where he shares advice on leadership and personal growth.
MJ is a product and technology advisor who focuses on creating solutions to the most challenging business and product problems. She is a passionate advocate for bringing transparency, authenticity and humanness back into leadership, and focuses much of her energy on finding ways to elevate diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Outside of work, MJ is an avid runner, hiker, and camper, and really wants to own small farm animals one day. General rule is that MJ just wants to get outside, be amongst trees, and breathe in the pine.
Stretch your legs. Stretch your creativity.
Each Walkshop is a unique way to bring industry leaders together in a different kind of setting. Unlike other events, conferences, or un-conferences that rely on post it notes, board rooms, and conference tables - this is an opportunity to get yourself - and your ideas - out in the open. The change in environment, the change in routine, and the physical activity lead to a very different kind of interaction.
Connecting through shared values and shared experience.
The Walkshop is an invite only experience that brings thought leaders together from their various fields, unified by a desire to explore unique ideas for themselves and their business, to try to do something truly unique:
Wander where the wifi is weak.
Where does your path lead?
