Summer slow-downs are over
Plus: Announcing Optionality's kick-off IRL event next month!
Goodbye summer, hello Fall
Unlike the woman in the image above, I said goodbye to exactly zero beaches this summer because I didn’t make it to a beach even once. Don’t feel too sad for me, though; I knocked out a LONG list of home projects that had waited patiently (in one case, almost 10 years) to climb to the top of the priority list. A new roof, a fixed fence, a filled-in sinkhole, a decision made to get solar (instigating the new roof), and best of all, a totally cleaned up and re-landscaped backyard. I am still in the honeymoon phase, where I go out back every day to tour my new little plants and see how they’re coming along.
I’m usually a person who writes off summer for slacking and thinks the Fall is the proper “start of the year,” so these few months of intense domestic productivity were not in the plans when the year started. Can you relate?
Optionality’s Fall will be Fierce!
Optionality slacked a bit over the summer, too. We took a break from webinars and podcasts in July and August, and over in the Premium community, our working groups went on a brief hiatus, too. But now we’re back with that new school clothes feeling, and we’ve got some opportunities to share with you.
September’s webinar: This Friday, September 13 at 12PM PT
Hear from journalist and author Brigid Schulte about why work stopped working for so many of us and what we can do about it. Her new book (Over Work) covers both problem and solutions. Brigid was covering the “future of work” long before it was the buzz term it is now, so she has both a long view and a deep focus to share with us. This will be an interactive session, so come bring your questions! Open to all members. Recording sent to everyone who registers.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtcO2uqD8oE9zMRkC7HaPUqvfQM0TZ4LWB
Announcing our first Optionality IRL event October 2nd in Silicon Valley!
Thanks to our host, Extreme Networks and its WIN Alliance (their women’s ERG), it’s time for us to start meeting IRL. Join us Wednesday October 2nd, 3-5PM PT at Extreme’s Silicon Valley office in San Jose. We’re collaborating to celebrate Optionality Premium member Maria Ross and her new book. Maria has become an Empathy Evangelist. Her first book on that topic, The Empathy Edge, discussed empathetic leadership as a differentiator and business imperative. Her follow-up, The Empathy Dilemma, digs deeper into how empathetic leaders can balance the practice of compassion with performing to organizational or client expectations, all while protecting one’s personal boundaries. It’s not easy, but it’s so important. We’ll start with an hour to connect (and consume light snacks and beverages). Then, we’ll have a program where we learn more about Maria’s guidance on achieving this tricky balance, take attendee questions, and all share stories about how we all have seen empathy in action in the workplace (and times when we have not). Come with your stories. We all have them! Open to all members and guests.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/optionality-irl-the-empathy-dilemma-tickets-1010123866677
It’s a perfect time to upgrade to our Premium community
September Office Hours: We do monthly Office Hours for Premium members, and this month’s is this Wednesday, 9/11/24, at 12PM PT. This month, a member is going to workshop her learnings about how to send more effective cold emails that convert in preparation for rolling out this thought leadership more widely. The Premium community is the perfect place to workshop your ideas with a wise group of people who want you to succeed!
Working Groups: Our working groups took a couple of months off too, but we’re getting back to it starting this week. Currently, we have a working group dedicated to helping members bring a book to life. Some of us are in the proposal phase (🙋🏻♀️); some are getting ready to launch. Many of us have published before. But we all know that any stage of the process is easier to manage when you have support. We also have a working group dedicated to personal positioning. If you're great at helping other people articulate their personal brand, differentiation, and value proposition but SUCK at doing it for yourself, this is the working group for you. These are 6-8 week sprints, depending on the size of the group.
And don’t forget The Wisdom Exchange! A place to get just-in-time advice, learn a new skill, or get a helpful nudge toward making progress on any number of goals.
Like I said, a good time to upgrade!
In honor of the end of summer, what’s your favorite thing you did all summer? (The backyard refresh is my clear winner).
Did you miss last week’s Conversationality with optionality member ? Here’s a little tidbit. You can find the full conversation in the Conversationality tab: