We packed up the team and drove to The Sticks in Kuala Kubu Bharu, and it turned out to be one of the most heartwarming company trips we have ever had.

Of course there was drama. There is always drama when I am involved. It would not be authentic otherwise. But somewhere between the river, the trees, the food, the laughter, and an unexpectedly competitive game of truth or dare, something shifted.

Truth or dare was not exactly in the official itinerary, but it might as well have been. There is nothing like a slightly dangerous question in front of your colleagues to accelerate bonding. Walls came down. Stories came out. People surprised each other. We laughed more than we expected to.

After doing the Forum, I made a new commitment to give the team more of a voice. A voice in who we hire. A voice in how we build team spirit. The idea is simple. We either win together or we lose together. There is no solo victory in a real team.

This trip felt like the cherry on the cake. We had new team members with us, and instead of easing them in slowly through meetings and briefings, we threw them into a river, a cabin, and a circle of truth or dare. It worked.

The Sticks is the perfect setting for something like this. Wooden houses tucked into forest, a river running through the property, trees everywhere you look. When you are surrounded by that much green, your nervous system changes.

Trees release phytoncides, which are natural compounds emitted by plants to protect themselves from insects and bacteria. When we breathe them in, they have been shown to reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure, and strengthen the immune system. It is one of the reasons “forest bathing” in Japan became such a phenomenon. Being in nature is not just poetic. It is biological.

We had a proper dose of it.

There was a flowering tree near where we gathered that stopped me in my tracks. It felt symbolic somehow. Beautiful, slightly wild, completely at ease in its environment. The food was comforting and generous. The river reset all of us. Phones were forgotten for longer than usual.

And most importantly, we became closer.

It is amazing how a shared weekend away can change the tone of a team. Conversations are softer. Trust is deeper. There is more understanding in the room.

Sahin was right.

Sometimes you just need to leave the office, step into the forest, breathe in the trees, and ask each other truth or dare.