2024 Strengths Finder
Walkshop
Swiss Alps
Trail Difficulty: moderate to Difficult
For the first time in 2024, our community will be tackling the Alps. This trip will explore historic mountain towns like Grindlewald, Meiringen, and Wengen. And the trail itself will take us past beautiful alpine lakes with trails through both peaks and valleys always with the views of the snowy peaks and the Jungfrau in the distance.
Swiss Alps at a glance
6 nights accommodation in upscale mountain hotels
4 days of hiking, 1 day workshop focused on our leadership strengths
12 Leaders looking to both find, and push, their limits
4 Towns across the Alps (Meiringen, Grindelwald, Wengen, Murren) - including the famous Reichenbach falls where Sherlock Holmes met his match with Professor Moriarty
Switzerland Walkshop
A select group of 12 people will be going offline to recharge while walking and wandering in small groups through the picturesque backdrop of the Swiss Alps. As we hike, we will identify a topic and then swap insights, perspectives and stories. The path will not be easy - going up and down the alpine trails connecting mountains towns with incredible views along the way. The trails themselves will guide our interactions: as the path narrows we will restrict our discussion to a single pair of hikers who could fit together on the trail. And later, as larger spaces open up in the peaks and valleys, we can regroup, slow down, and take stock of our surroundings.
Our facilitator
Mark Rickmeier is the Co-Founder of Walkshop and the CEO at the Product Innovation company TXI (stands for Technology, User Experience, and Innovation). In his writing and publishing time, he serves as the Business Innovation chair on the Forbes Executive Council and the Company Culture Chair for Fast Company’s Executive Board.
In his various leadership roles, a large part of his responsibilities is finding and growing leaders to tackle their next challenges. While we will be tackling the large physical challenge of hiking across the Alps, Mark will introduce the “Beyond / To” framework designed to help leaders uncover their greatest strengths and how to capitalize on them to push their limits and careers forward.
Switzerland Focus: Leadership Strengths
As leaders, we have are constantly faced by new challenges in a rapidly changing environment. What special skills do each of us have to fall back on in times of uncertainty and adversity? And how best can we leverage those strengths to drive us forward? During this Walkshop, we will explore our unique strengths as leaders and challenge each other on how we can capitalize on those moving forward. Daily facilitated discussions:
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Sunday, September 8
Before we can challenge ourselves to push our own boundaries, we first have to gain a better insight into our unique strengths. The first day on the trail will be exploring each of our top 5 areas of personal leadership strengths - looking to find common patterns in our community and learning more about each others.
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Monday, Sept 9th
Day 2 is all about story telling. As we walk along the mountain tops today, we will have incredible views alps (both the peaks and the valleys).
We will use these views to inspire our creativity around the topic of leadership strength. Namely, we will talk about how our strengths have shown up at work and how those have helped us reach new heights.
This is a good day to self reflect on the accomplishments that have propelled your career to date and when you have really utilized your strengths to drive your career forward.
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The third day is a day off from the trail. This “inner hike” day will be a chance to physically recover and dive deeper into the conversation together.
The Tuesday workshop will dive into the topic where we both uncover our best strengths and how those skills have worked well for us to date. But evolving as a leader means pushing ourselves intentionally to bigger goals.
The “Beyond / To” framework will helps us both recognized what we have accomplished and challenge us to think bigger about what else we can do.
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Wednesday, September 11
We will focus our discussion time on day 4 to the vision each of us took away from the previous day’s workshop. What would success look like if we really doubled down on those strengths?
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Thursday, September 12
On day 5, having gone through the “Beyond / To” exercise, we will talk about immediate actions to take and think about how best we can hold each other accountable when we return from the trail.
At a meta level, we will also explore what ideas and insights we will each take back with us when we return back home. What have we learned from the hike that we can use to build traction at home?
Homework: Pre-read Materials before the Strengths Finder Walkshop
Hiking Schedule
Saturday, September 7: Arrive in Switzerland
Arrive, unpack, and get accustomed to your surroundings (and for some, get over jet lag before hitting the trail the following day). You will need to get to Meiringen (about a 2.5 hour train ride connecting through Bern).
Sunday, September 8th: First Day on the Trail
Location: Engstlenalp to Meiringen
Difficulty level 3: Advanced
Distance: 21 km (13.5 miles), 570m descent, 1810 m ascent
After a breakfast, begin our walking by wandering through the Alps. Our first day is hilly, at times narrow path up the peaks before we descent into Meiringen. On the way is the Balmeregghorn, a grassy hill with long views over meadows in the mountains. If desired, cable cars can be used to save your knees from the steep descent down into Meiringen.
Monday, September 9th: Second Day on the Trail
Location: Meiringen to Grindlewald
Difficulty level 2: Intermediate
Distance: 23 km (14.2 miles), 1410m ascent, 990m descent
The hike continues on Day 2 with the easy angled Grosse Scheidegg. We will climb and descend through meadows and woods, with a more gentle hike compared to the other days. Literature fans will enjoy hiking past the famous Reichenbach falls, where Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty had their final conflict.
Tuesday, September 10th: Strengths Finder “Beyond / To” Workshop
Distance: None. We’ll in town for an “inner hike” for this day’s workshop.
Workshop: 10:00am - 3:00pm
On this day, we’ll take a break from the trail to rest our legs and catch our breath in the fairy tale city of Grindelwald. We’ll spend the day doing group work going through the “Beyond / To” exercise. The workshop will consist of personal introspection and writing time, sharing and discussion about each of our core strengths and ambitions for the next steps in our careers.
Wednesday, September 11: Day 3 on the Trail
Location: Grindlewald to Wengen
Difficulty level 3: Advanced
Distance: 19.2km (12 miles), 1170m ascent, 930m descent
On our third day of hiking, we will have an adventurous day on the North Face of the Eiger (the Jungfraujoch railway can be an optional excursion for those wanting to see the snow covered peak). We will roll down gently to Wengen, one of the three famous Berneses Overland resort towns in the Alps.
Thursday, September 12th: Day 4 on the Trail
Location: Wengen to Murren
Difficult level 2: Intermediate
Distance: 8.7km (5.4 miles), 870m ascent, 500m descent
Our final day of hiking will take us from Wengen to the moutain town or Murren. The final day’s hike is more modest one through Lauterbrunnen and to Murren, a car-free pedestrian only town and curious delight. It feels like it is suspended in mid-air in the mountains.
Our closing dinner will be at 7pm, where we’ll recap our experience and relive all of the wonderful memories made over the past week.
Friday, September 13th Head home
Time to say our goodbyes to our group and head back to reality. Or optionally, stay for a long weekend to explore the Swiss alps on your own. No scheduled activities for the day (travel day for most).
"Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” — Jack Kerouac
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"Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” — Jack Kerouac 〰️〰️〰️
Frequently Asked Questions
What's included in my ticket purchase?
Stay in comfortable hotels with private rooms in Alpine mountain towns
Breakfast every day is included
Luggage transfer from hotel to hotel - only hike with a day pack
Relax in private bedrooms
Gain access to the Global Walkshop community (online portal, slack workspace, etc). The learning and engagement doesn’t stop when you’re off the trail - it’s just that start of your engagement with this community of executives, designers, authors, speakers, and hikers.
Airfare and transport to and from Switzerland will be your responsibility.
What will we be eating along the way?
Breakfasts will be supplied by our hotels and lodges each day. Special dietary needs can be accommodated. Lunches can be packed from the morning breakfast buffet or purchased in town. Each evening, we will have dinner at a local restaurant (but dinner will be covered by each person individually).
What should I pack for the trip?
Backpack that can get wet and survive
Phone charger and converter
Journal
Good pens
Snacks
Lots of extra socks
Good hiking shoes (plus an extra pair of shoes)
Rain gear and extra clothing. Dressing in layers allows you to adjust to changing weather and activity levels. Two rules: avoid cotton (it keeps moisture close to your skin) and always carry a hat
Spare plastic bags (keep things dry)
Sunscreen and sunglasses
Bug spray
Compass
Band-Aids (in case you get blisters)
First aid kit
Flashlight
Whistle
Hiking poles recommended for hilly terrain
What will the weather be like?
Typically in September, the weather is between 50 - 60 Fahrenheit (10 - 15 Celsius). Weather is usually sunny, though it can snow in September.
How should I train / prepare for the hike?
The hike in along the alps route is harder than in previous trips, with a change in elevation. Everyone should start an exercise routine several months before our trip and start increasing the amount of physical activity they experience in a typical day in anticipation of the experience.
What will the hotels be like?
Everyone will enjoy their own private room in upscale accommodations. We will arrange for luggage transfers in between each hotel - so you do not have to carry a large pack or heavy luggage on the walk.
2 night stay in Meiringen (Sept 7-8)
2 night stay in Grindelwald (Sept 9 - 10)
1 night stay in Wengen (Sept 11)
1 night stay in Mürren (Sept 12)