Sales Tips and Sailing at DMC Boston's ADCM

A few times per year, each of the DMC offices takes the day off to work on company improvement and have some fun. We call it the All Day Company Meeting, or ADCM. Our Spring 2015 ADCM featured a brewery tour and indoor rock-climbing, so we decided to get some fresh air and take to the seas this time around. With the recent opening of two new DMC offices in New York and Houston, DMC's Boston office got the chance to share an ADCM with employees from all three offices.

We spent the morning having discussions with some of the more experienced DMCers in Christopher Columbus Park. We set up picnic blankets on the grassy lawn, and learned things like how to maintain a friendly work environment, how to entertain and thank clients, and a lot of general tips and tricks to being a great consultant. In the afternoon we weighed anchor and tried our hand at sailing races (but not before squeezing in a picnic lunch from Jimmy John's and free ice cream from a nearby ice cream truck). 

A sailing race begins with a 5 minute countdown where all sailboats jockey for ideal placement. The goal is to be passing through the starting line at full speed when the countdown hits zero. Professional sailors manage to do this with absurd accuracy and skill.  Since this was nearly everyone's first time sailing, we only managed to point our boat roughly in the correct direction, but our competitive spirit heated up quickly anyways.

We split into four teams and set sail into the Atlantic Ocean after a quick training session with our captains. The teams competed in a regatta around Spectacle Island (a small island just off the Boston coast, so-named for its eyeglass shape). The island apparently has berry-picking, a potential future activity. The course also went right by Logan Airport, so we spent 3 hours watching jet and turboprop planes flying directly overhead. Dan Freve (manager of the Boston office and an experienced sailor) and his team took an early lead with their mastery of tacking. This involves sailing at alternate 45 degree angles to effectively sail upwind. Right on their stern, however, was a sailboat led by Houston office manager, Jason Mayes.

It was at this point that we switched from sailing upwind to downwind which requires changing one of the sails. It was neck and neck right up until we rounded Spectacle island, where the race opened into a close race for first and second with third place straggling behind. A smooth transition from the Jib to the Spinnaker allowed Jason’s boat to pass, and they did not look back on their way to the finish line. A post-regatta celebration was held at Granary Tavern in downtown Boston where us land-lubbers enjoyed some grog and merriment. We spent the rest of the night bar-hopping until 2am and arguing over who really won the race.

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