Hello World!
I'm excited to launch my newsletter, sharing insights on productivity, creative practices and my recent projects!
Hello World!
Consistent with how the last few months have gone, last weekend I spontaneously decided that I was going to start a newsletter after all, and that the first edition would go out before the holiday break. I haven’t been able to connect with everyone that I want to stay in touch with, so this is a way to share reflections, ideas, updates on what I’m working on, and ways we can collaborate. I went back and forth on whether to build a newsletter for Let’s Summerize or The Getaway first, but the reality is that for me, it’s all connected. My projects come from me, so this newsletter will too.
You’ll hear from me 1-2 times a month. I hope these emails bring you something valuable - a new perspective, a resource, or just something to think about. If it’s not your thing, no hard feelings - unsubscribe here at any time. (I sometimes wonder if email is dead - the noise to communication ratio in my inbox is about a billion to 1.)
Moving the Needle in a Stuck System
I’ve been thinking a lot about productivity in corporate and knowledge work. When you step back and look at it bluntly, it can feel like the entire machine is designed to prevent work from happening. Personal identity and self interest is baked into decision making. Competing and unclear priorities make it easy to slow things down. More people have veto rights than decision authority. I understand this is largely borne of risk management protecting a complicated and nuance system, but at what cost?
Jon Stewart’s recent interview with Bernie Sanders addressed this distortion. He talks about how rules, loopholes, and norms create a system where, if you don’t want to do something, there’s always a rule to back you up. But if you do want to do something, there’s always a loophole. And if someone calls you out, you can shake your finger and claim the moral high ground. (Here’s the clip, starting at the good part: Watch on YouTube).
So here’s what I’m wondering:
What do you think is the root cause of this situation?
Can we fix it from within, or do we need to start from scratch?
Are there organizations out there that have fulfilling, human work cultures AND get work out the door in service of what customers actually value?
I don’t have all the answers, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. Reply and let me know.
Reflections on 2024: What I’ve Been Up To
In the time since leaving my corporate job, I've had a season of exhilaration, excitement, creativity, connection, and learning as I navigate the world of portfolio careers.
Here’s what I’ve been building:
The Getaway: Hosted 15 events, meetings and workshops at my special retreat space designed for reset, renewal, breakthroughs, and big ideas.
Let’s Summerize: Supported 5 teams with strengths-based, strategic planning or team performance coaching. Commissioned for three custom illustrations, visuals and templates. Provided paid and pro bono Graphic Recording services for conferences and panel discussions.
Learning: Training and education in support of Drexler-Sibbet Team Performance model and ICF coach certification; traveled for continuing education to support my Cliftonstrengths Coach and Paper Organizing certifications.
Creative Projects: Designed and produced card decks, personal planners, worksheets and workshops designed to help people think bigger and act more intentionally. Sourced custom candles, blankets, organizing supplies and art kits.
Business Basics: Set up an LLC, 2 DBAs, bank accounts, booking links, payment providers, and all the behind-the-scenes systems that make small businesses run.
Community Impact: Joined the Mound Fire Department Auxiliary Board and will continue leading the Art Adventure program in partnership with Minneapolis Institute of Art at Hilltop Primary school in Westonka.
Spotlight: Team Strengths Sessions
I’ve really enjoyed the strengths sessions I’ve facilitated lately, especially for small and medium-sized teams. Every time I walk a team through their strengths for the first time, the conversations are EYE-OPENING. People feel heard. They understand each other better. They start having NEW conversations about how to work better together. The energy between individuals becomes softer.
Here’s feedback from a session just last week:
We just wrapped up day two and what an incredible session yesterday - the team loved you and we got so much out of it beyond beyond words! Just wanted to say THANK YOU! Thank you deeply so so so grateful
One surprise for me is that I’ve found that working with smaller organizations is where I can make the biggest impact. For these teams, development is a rare opportunity, so it just hits different. If you know a small team that could use help with strengths, strategic vision, or leadership team dynamics, send them my way.
Want to explore what this could look like for your team? Schedule a discovery call here: Book a Call.
Playing and Partnering with AI
One fun way I’ve been using AI lately is for headshots. I recently tried InstaHeadshots, and the resulting headshots were…rather usable?
There are plenty of providers out there and I can’t vouch for anyone’s privacy practices or use of your face. But I used InstaHeadshots and if you want some of your own, here’s my affiliate link.
InstaHeadshots was miles ahead of the ones I tried a couple of years ago, which looked like they’d been trained on a large, but narrow dataset of generic asians and didn’t know what to do with someone like me (Japanese, Filipino, and German).
My Takeaways So Far
Done is Better than Perfect. This has been my mantra as I navigate building a portfolio career, and feeling my way into a balanced, creative livelihood.
Creative Constipation. I think I just had to get a lot of stuff out of my system in 2024.
Work Doesn’t Have to Feel Like a Grind. When you strip away layers of complexity, work becomes energizing and fulfilling. This is a luxury I can access as a solopreneur, but I dream about ways to alleviate these pain points in modern work.
Thanks for Reading This Far
Here’s a little something for those of you that made it all the way to the bottom of this email. 50% of coaching holiday sale!
50% off a single coaching session: $125 (regular $250)
50% off a 3-session package: $300 (regular $599)
Offer’s good until December 31, 2024. Just hit reply and let me know!
Thanks for being here. I hope you are able to rest, reflect and recharge over the next couple of weeks. See you in 2025!
Summer
PS: I’m dreaming up a retreat next year...you’ll be the first to hear about it!