How We Wrap Up the Year at UpFrame:

A Cozy Retreat Filled With Reflection, Connection, and Leveling Up

By Carrie Kuhl | CEO

Every year at UpFrame, before we turn the page to a new season of projects, clients, and ideas, we hit pause. Our annual team retreat has become our chance to breathe, reconnect, and reset — not just as coworkers, but as people showing up to do meaningful work together.

This year, our theme was cozy, and we leaned all the way in. Slippers, blankets, coffee, and s’mores created a space that felt less like a meeting and more like a warm gathering, the perfect backdrop for honest reflection and fresh inspiration.

Arriving in Comfort (and Slippers)

We met at The Nature Park in Brookings, a spot that naturally invites you to slow down. With warm drinks in hand, a yummy breakfast ready for us to dig in, and cozy blankets around our shoulders, we kicked off the morning with Two Truths and a Lie by a warm fireplace—the ideal blend of laughter and “wait… is that actually true?” to set the tone for the day.

Looking Back: Gratitude, Wins & A Letter to Future Us

Our first session focused on reflecting on the past year — the moments that made us proud, the work that stretched us, and the projects that reminded us why we love what we do.

We also continued one of our favorite traditions: writing gratitude cards to one another. There’s something powerful about seeing, in writing, the ways your team notices and appreciates your contributions.

This year brought a new twist: we each wrote a card to ourselves beginning with the prompt:

“One year from now, I will…”

These cards are tucked away until next year’s retreat — a small time capsule of intention and encouragement waiting for our future selves.

We also walked through our 2025 numbers, financial wins, and client momentum — celebrating the collective effort that made the year successful.

The Stoplight Session: What to Keep, What to Clarify, What to Let Go

Next up was our annual Stoplight Session, where we sort our experiences into:

Green — More of this, please
Yellow — This needs a little clarity or support
Red — This needs to stop or shift

It’s honest, energizing, and incredibly helpful. The themes that surfaced helped us identify our top quarterly goal, ensuring our next steps are guided by what truly matters to the team.

Understanding Ourselves Better: Predictive Index Insights

This year, we each completed the Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment. Sharing our results sparked meaningful conversations about how we naturally communicate and collaborate. It provided new language for understanding each other — and reaffirmed just how complementary our team truly is. We each wore a nametag with our results on it so we could remember throughout the day.

Creative Exploration: The “What If…” Session

After lunch of everyone's favorite comfort food and opening our gifts, we shifted into a brainstorming mode using Duncan Wardle’s “What If” + “Yes And…” method.

We explored questions like:

What if UpFrame could support our clients in totally new ways?
What if we reimagined how we operate or collaborate?
What if we shifted parts of our work to open up new possibilities?

Ideas came quickly — and the “Yes And…” approach helped us build on one another’s creativity instead of narrowing it down too soon. By the end, we had a whiteboard full of future possibilities.

Bringing It All Together: Vision and Rocks

With energy high from ideation, we moved into the Vision → Traction portion of the retreat. We talked about where we want to be in the coming years and identified the 90-day Rocks that will help us take meaningful steps toward that vision.

This is the moment where big ideas meet real strategy — the bridge between dreaming and doing.

We also made time for S’mores.

Our Word of the Year: Level-Up

One of our final activities was choosing our Word of the Year.

Everyone shared a few words that captured the mindset they want to bring into 2026. It didn’t take long for a theme to emerge: Level-Up.

Level-Up reflects growth, refinement, courage, and the elevation of what’s already working. It’s not about replacing — it’s about enhancing. And it felt like the perfect guidepost for the year ahead.

Final Reflections & Micro-Goals

We closed the retreat in a circle, each person sharing a takeaway and a micro-goal they’re carrying into Q1. It was a thoughtful, grounding way to wrap up a day filled with creativity, clarity, and connection.

After the Retreat: Financial Planning and Future Capacity

Once the retreat wrapped, we transitioned into year-end operational work. This includes updating our cashflow spreadsheet and reviewing financial performance from the current year. These insights help us set realistic goals, forecast capacity, and understand when and where hiring may be needed.

Looking Ahead: Owner’s Retreat

At the start of the new year, we hold our Owner’s Retreat to finalize goals and walk through our first-quarter EOS Traction setup. This ensures that everything we uncovered and aligned on during the team retreat flows into a clear, actionable plan.

Moving Into the Year With Clarity and Momentum

Our annual retreat is more than a day away from the office — it’s our reset button. A chance to reconnect with each other, reflect on our growth, and set intentions for what’s ahead.

This year, we left with full hearts, aligned priorities, and a guiding word that captures our shared energy for the year:

Level-Up.

And we’re ready for it.