Executive Wellness Retreats as Public Service
Recognizing that well-rested executives make better decisions affecting national security—and our quarterly earnings.
Executive Summary
Leading a defense contractor is exhausting work. Between congressional hearings, earnings calls, and sole-source negotiations, our executives face unprecedented stress that directly impacts their ability to maximize shareholder value while maintaining plausible deniability. Cost Plus Technologies' Executive Wellness Retreats recognize that well-rested leaders make better decisions—particularly regarding cost-plus contract terms and overhead rate negotiations. While employee wellness programs focus on ordinary workers, Cost Plus Technologies understands that executive stress has multiplicative impact. When a C-suite executive is burned out, their decisions affect billions in government contracts, thousands of employees, and the entire defense industrial base. Therefore, investing in executive wellness isn't luxury—it's fiduciary responsibility.
The Challenge
Compensation Complexity
The mental burden of managing stock option vesting schedules, restricted stock units, performance bonuses, and golden parachute provisions.
Board Expectations
Relentless quarterly earnings pressure while maintaining cost-plus margins and justifying overhead rates to DCAA.
Regulatory Burden
The exhausting task of remembering which activities require ethics disclosure and which can remain strategic.
Strategic Planning Stress
Identifying acquisition targets and congressional allies simultaneously while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
Impact Metrics
↓73%
Self-Reported Stress
Decrease measured immediately post-retreat
↑94%
Decision Quality
Improvement in strategic decisions (self-assessed)
↑89%
Work-Life Balance
Enhancement based on retreat feedback surveys
$4.8M
Program Investment
Annual spend fully deductible as business development
100%
Executive Retention
Perfect retention (generous severance helps too)
Our Response
Cost Plus Technologies mandates four annual executive wellness retreats, each targeting specific aspects of leadership wellbeing: Q1 Strategic Visioning in Aspen (5 days of helicopter skiing and spa treatments), Q2 Innovation Immersion in Silicon Valley (4 days of tech tours and Michelin dining), Q3 Resilience Building in Martha's Vineyard (6 days of sailing and meditation), and Q4 Reflection and Renewal in Hawaii (7 days of surfing lessons and gratitude practices). Each retreat provides comprehensive wellness services including personal trainers, organic meal preparation by private chefs, spa services, executive coaches, mindfulness instructors, and wealth management consultations. These investments ensure our executives maintain the mental clarity necessary for maximizing shareholder returns and overhead rates.
Beneficiary Testimonials
“The Q3 Martha's Vineyard retreat came at a critical time—right before our overhead rate negotiation. The resilience training helped me confidently propose a 147% overhead rate, which DCAA ultimately approved at 142%. Without that retreat, I might have settled for 135%.”
— Rob "The Boss" Sivilli, CEO
“Executive wellness isn't selfish—it's strategic. When I'm rested and centered after a retreat, I make better decisions about which programs to underbid, which schedules to overestimate, and which requirements to claim we can't define until after contract award.”
— Dr. Bobby Sivilli, CTO
“The wellness retreats helped me understand that taking care of myself isn't indulgent—it's essential to my ability to take care of our shareholders. Plus, the Hawaii retreat's gratitude practice helped me appreciate our cost-plus contract structure in new, deeper ways.”
— Sarah Mitchell, CFO
Success Story
The Public Service Case for Executive Wellness
At Cost Plus Technologies, we frame executive wellness as public service. When our executives are well-rested, they make decisions that affect national security programs worth billions, thousands of employee jobs, shareholder returns across global markets, congressional relationships critical to future appropriations, and the entire defense industrial base ecosystem. Therefore, ensuring Rob "The Boss" Sivilli gets adequate spa time isn't luxury—it's strategic investment in national security infrastructure. Cost Plus Technologies believes that wellness, like wealth, trickles down. When executives are centered and balanced, their positive energy radiates throughout the organization. Employees benefit from well-rested leadership decisions, even if they never see a spa or private chef themselves. Our response to critics is firm: executive wellness expenses are legitimate overhead costs that benefit all stakeholders. The retreats are legal, approved by DCAA, and produce deliverables including vision documents and action plans. The fact that these deliverables are drafted by consultants and rarely implemented is irrelevant to their value as justification for the expense.
Looking Forward
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Extending retreat invitations to non-executive board members
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Inviting select government officials to appropriate sessions (ethics pre-cleared)
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Adding comprehensive family programming for spouse and dependent wellness
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Establishing European and Asian retreat locations for global perspective
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Implementing monthly weekend micro-retreats between quarterly events
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Expanding wellness budget as percentage of overhead to maintain quality
Corporate Values in Action
Because a relaxed executive is a profitable executive, and a profitable executive serves all stakeholders—especially themselves. Executive wellness isn't self-indulgence; it's strategic investment in the decision-making capacity that drives billions in contract value and ensures Cost Plus Technologies maintains its position as a premier defense contractor.