They were very positive experiences.
They were valuable at the time for team building and over time for the broader thinking that they inculcated in at least those Team members who wanted to get value out of them; that is, they were valuable if you were open minded about their potential – which I think was the case for all or the majority of the people involved.
They were particularly valuable in these two cases because the client decision-makers attended or empowered them.
The good relations to this day among those key consultants who attended the sessions, I am sure have a lot to do with participation in those workshops and thus there is a spin-off value whenever those consultants work together on new projects because of what they bring from those experiences.