Wales Adventure Weekend

This weekend (10/12/12- 10/14/12) I attended the Wales Adventure Weekend trip through Richmond University’s Student Affairs. I signed up on recommendation from past participants and my own desire to participate in the described activities. After a day of traveling on Friday, my first activity was surfing early Saturday morning. I have always wanted to learn how to surf and was beyond excited. The waves and views made me feel as though I was part of a Discovery Channel special. Learning how to surf in Wales is definitely something I will never forget. My next activity was coasteering. This involved climbing, jumping, and swimming along the beautiful coastline. The only way we were able to have a successful and enjoyable experience was to use teamwork and trust each other. Teamwork and trust are also very important in the workplace. They get tasks done the right way in a timely fashion. Even though I barely knew the names of the people in my group, we moved as one in perfect harmony helping each other navigate through the rough water and slipper jagged rocks. Trust is something that takes a long time to be created, but sometimes is necessary to be established on the spot. Trust holds value in the workplace. It can be the difference between getting a raise and getting fired. If employees don’t trust each other to complete their part of a project, the entire process will slow down causing conflict and failure to reach a set deadline. Jumping off cliffs into the ocean and free climbing the coast also involves taking risks. Deciding which rock to grab and where to jump have a high risk of serious or life threatening injury. Making a risky business decision can result in heavy sales losses and lowered customer satisfaction. Making a risky business decision can also pay off. For example, a large successful company might buy a smaller failing company and make it profitable. Stock investments are risky too. They can bring about heavy losses or large gains. In a multicultural global society I may be working with people thousands of miles away. My experience in Wales has gotten me to accept people different than me. This will make it easy to work with others all over the world.