Sagacious Serendipity

Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York is a majestic castle-like structure, six stories high and an eighth of a mile long. The Mountain House sits on the edge of a glacier-formed lake high in the Shawangunk Mountains. Since its inception in 1869, people come to renew body, mind, and spirit. Sky Top Tower sits atop Mohonk Mountain, transcending all other vantage points as it proudly overlooks the Mountain House and six states. Sky Top Tower is the pinnacle.

In this magnificent setting, my co-facilitator and I envisioned bringing our client's marketing team to "the pinnacle," symbolizing how the group met the challenge to excel the rate of their success. But what began as a journey to help our client “rethink” evolved unexpectedly into a dramatic lesson: realizing what you’ve stumbled upon provides valuable learning and opportunity to innovate.

Be Flexible – We prepared a detailed script, but let what we now call sagacious serendipity guide us.

Innovate – We planned a lakeside campfire, but torrential rains dashed our plan. Instead, we retreated to the intimacy a majestic fireplace where storytelling evolved a deeper appreciation of one another.

See Past the Obvious – The next morning, at the historic Mohonk greenhouse a 100-year tradition was in progress. Not unlike the gardeners, our client was working to secure future success.

Be Ready to Learn – An heirloom planting exercise reinforced the greenhouse metaphor for cultivating the seeds of a new beginning.

Act on What You Learn – On last day, atop Sky Top Tower the client committed to act and implemented their plan for securing their success before departing Mohonk. It was their pinnacle.

Celebrate – This client session changed my co-facilitator and me too. As we walked Mohonk’s golf course reflecting on what transpired the past 3 days, we uncovered a half-buried golf ball with the markings: Pinnacle 2 Gold. We accepted this confirmation and celebrated our lesson learned: Embrace the wisdom to understand what you have stumbled upon, and apply sagacious serendipity in your work.