New Year, New Perspectives: The Importance of Togetherness

Written by Allen Smith

A new year has a funny way of inviting reflection. December often finds us looking back at the path we’ve taken, evaluating what worked, what didn't, and what we hope looks different twelve months from now. January, in that sense, becomes a canvas for intentions and resolutions. Sometimes they’re bold and specific. More often, they’re a little nebulous: be better at this, do more of that, end up somewhere different than here. That space between reflection and intention is full of opportunity. But it’s also where so many of our well‑meaning plans quietly stall.

The Problem with Resolutions

It’s not that resolutions are bad. They’re valuable signals of intent. The trouble is that they’re often visions without fully baked plans, and, even more often, they’re fueled by willpower alone.

Another pernicious but unfortunately common thread? They’re often conceived and carried out in complete isolation. For some kinds of change, that can work just fine. For others, it’s a hidden constraint that shows up immediately. Momentum fades, perspective narrows, and accountability weakens.

At Umbraco HQ, we often say that community is one of our superpowers. If we were to highlight a specific dimension of that broadly defined superpower that does a lion’s share of the work, it's "togetherness." Treating change like a team sport allows us to move bigger rocks than we ever could alone. And interestingly, collaboration doesn’t dilute self‑improvement at all. It actually amplifies it.

This serendipitous phenomenon happens because being part of a community means two things can be true at the same time: you’re celebrated for who you are, and you’re contributing to something larger than yourself.

What the Developer Relations Team Does

Each year, the DevRel team gathers for a retreat. There is work, but that’s not the headline. The real focus is togetherness: time spent connecting, breaking bread, chasing white rabbits, scratching long‑standing itches, and tossing ideas at the wall to see what sticks (sometimes quite literally, with sticky notes).

We cook together. We play games. We get out and explore our surroundings. That has meant trips to the Danish seaside to see wild horses. A shared smorgasbord of Yorkshire’s best cheeses and relishes. Surreal karaoke in a ten‑by‑ten basement of a Copenhagen tiki bar.

These moments might sound incidental, but they’re not. Memories are the glue. When the hard problems run dry, and when they pile up unexpectedly, it’s those shared experiences that help us stay connected, aligned, and resilient.

Why this Works for Us

The residue of this togetherness is alignment, rejuvenation, and a galvanization of ideas.

There’s no shortage of digital collaboration tools in the world. From Zoom to Trello to Teams to Slack, we use them all, and they work well for what they’re designed to do. But retreats don’t exist to solve a tooling problem.

We’ll collaborate throughout the year on the ideas we surface and set in motion during a retreat. What the retreat really provides is something far harder to manufacture: a space where we can be emotionally present with one another.

That kind of presence can’t be replicated by transactional tools. Even the most productive meetings, whether they're remote or in an office, tend to be shallow by necessity. They’re ceremonial interruptions to our natural flow state. Not because they’re bad, but because they’re designed to answer pressing questions.

Retreats serve a different purpose. They’re meant to pose questions and help us set headings.

Picture from the Community Teams visit 2025

Many Organizations; One Community

It’s relatively straightforward for companies to organize annual retreats for their teams. And, to be clear, they should. We do this at Umbraco HQ through our team retreats and with an org-wide Company Week each year.

But what about open‑source communities?

What about groups of people who are meant to solve problems together while working at different organizations, in different roles, across different countries? For the Umbraco Community, the answer is CODECABIN.

CODECABIN is a multi‑day, invite‑only retreat designed for community members who want to spend time among fellow Umbracians. It intentionally takes place in a remote location so people can focus on being present with each other. There’s food, workshops, games, activities, and plenty of tinkering.

But there is never so much structure that people who don’t speak code as a second language feel out of place. The goal isn’t output for output’s sake. It’s connection, shared context, and the kind of togetherness that strengthens a community long after everyone goes home.

Apply Today

If the idea of starting the year with connection instead of isolation resonates with you, I’d encourage you to learn more about CODECABIN. It’s happening at the end of March in Colorado this year, and spaces are quite limited, so if you want to attend, you’ll need to submit an application by Sunday, January 18th, 2026. You can read more about the event and apply at https://codecab.in.

Here’s to a new year and to moving forward together.

Design uden navn (4).jpg — Pictures from CODECABIN 2025