Want a smoother ride? Eliminate barriers
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Hey Reader, I’m writing to you from the plane on my way to Atlanta for BLD Southeast. I haven’t been to Atlanta in years, and I really enjoyed it last time I was here, so I’m excited to get back. The first time I visited, one of my favorite parts of the city was the Beltline, a 22-mile loop of trails and parks that connects 45 different neighborhoods. Earlier this week, I wrote on LinkedIn that I wanted to bring my skates with me on this trip so that I could hit it up. I love roller skating (despite the fact that I am...not that great at it) but NYC's streets and sidewalks are terrible for it. That's why I was super excited when they opened up a new riverside promenade right across the street from my apartment earlier this year. At first, the mile-long pathway seemed perfect — unfortunately, it wasn't. When I examined it with a skater’s eye, I noticed three big gaps in the concrete that stretched across the entire path every hundred yards or so. Bikes and walkers could easily ride over or step on them, but they were the exact size of a roller skate wheel — a pretty big hazard for a novice like me. Still, I put on my skates to try it out. To my disappointment, the gaps were impossible to skate over; I had to hop or step over them, three times one way and three times back. Having to think about the gaps makes it stressful and annoying enough that I don't skate over there much. As I was prepping to head to Atlanta, I got a little bummed out thinking about how it would be easier to bring my skates to an entirely different state than walk across the street from my apartment. And that made me think about the workshop I’m doing at BLD Southeast to help B Corp leaders find their focus for the rest of 2024 and into 2025. One of the key things I want them to consider as they evaluate what matters most is not just what they have to DO to achieve their goals, but what will KEEP THEM from achieving their goals in the most effective, sustainable, compassionate, and impactful ways. Something I always remind my clients is that action items don’t have to only consist of next steps forward. Some of the most impactful actions are eliminating gaps and barriers so that you have a much smoother ride toward your end goal. In other words, is the path you're planning to build so hazardous that you'll end up having to take your skates on an airplane to get any work done? I know I’ll see a few of you at BLD Southeast, but if you won’t be there, we’ll actually be talking about the exact same thing at next week’s Office Hours. I’ll give you a framework for figuring out what matters — you’ll leave with your best next steps to take. Will I see you there? You can register for free here. And if you have questions you'd like to ask in advance for the Q&A, just reply to your registration email so I can be sure to get to them. Talk soon, P.S. — Want to work together in 2025? 2025!? Yes, 2025. I'm incredibly lucky to be fully booked for the rest of 2024, so if you're looking ahead to the new year, let’s get some time on the calendar to talk about it now so that we can make it your best year yet. Just reply to this email and we can set something up. Love today's newsletter? |