What Happens When You Ask For Any & All Thoughts & Feedback

“Any and all thoughts or feedback welcome.”

This ask will get you just that: any and all thoughts or feedback.

If you’re looking for thoughts, feedback, or approval on a piece of messaging or communication, be specific about where you need someone’s eyeballs or what you need for them to think about.

When you direct someone’s attention to a specific place that needs another brain - maybe the opening or the closing sentence(s) - you’re asking for efficient support and you challenge them to be mindful and specific with their feedback.

Less eyeball rolling by you guaranteed, as well.

Talking About a Phenomenon Every Human Experiences

Leadership Coach Drew Chin of Attuned To and I sat down recently (and virtually via IG Live) to talk about a phenomenon that every human on the planet experiences at some point - imposter syndrome.

Let’s catch you up on my five favorite aha! moments from that conversation:

1. The key thing about imposter phenomenon is that we make up stories about ourselves. These stories are false narratives that we believe - and others don’t.

2. Imposter syndrome wasn’t always called that. It was originally studied as ‘imposter phenomenon’ - phenomenon being something to be observed.

3. You don’t really say, ‘I think I have imposter syndrome’; rather, you say, ‘I feel like I have imposter syndrome’. That language difference between ‘think’ and ‘feel’ is HUGE. It’s a ping to you that there is a deeply-rooted feeling that’s probably associated with a long-held belief or story.

4. Your environment might be sending you clues that might make you feel like an under-valued imposter. Think about why or how your environment is structured and how that impacts you.

5. The opposite of imposter phenomenon? Celebrating successes. Let's commit to THAT.

Pop over to IG now and watch the playback of my 30 min interview with Drew 

Three things you should be scared of

There are three things you shouldn't be scared of when it comes to your messaging:

1. Your founder or career story, path, or trajectory

2. Your expert voice on or speaking to a relevant or timely topic

3. Owning space with both and/or either

“I was customer number one”

"I was customer number one. My parents were customers number two and three. Twelve years and 52 iterations in, we're still focused on making AG1 the world's most effective and simple solution for comprehensive daily nutrition. We're now a community of hundreds of thousands of people taking active ownership of their health with AG1, and I'm so grateful that you're a part of this journey."

That's the closing paragraph from Athletic Greens Founder Chris Ashenden on the marketing slick included with my first AG1 order.

My favorite line - "I was customer number one."

All the mission, vision, and values strategy work in the world can't say it as well as that says it.

Human-driven storytelling can be so simple and powerful.

"The most complex problems are solved by humans."​ A Q&A with Attorney & Podcast Host Kevin Pratt

Kevin Pratt is a human lawyer.

What the heck's that mean? It means he lives and works in a way that puts humans first - and so much more.

In this Q&A, the attorney who serves a team of entrepreneurs at Oyster and the host of The Human Lawyer podcast talks about his favorite thing about being human, how it builds relationships and how it builds the future.

ms: The Human Lawyer. Why? Why does the field of law need this touch? 

kp: The practice of law is a helping profession. The best lawyers I know really lean into the relational aspect of practicing law, whether it's relational alignment with their clients, colleagues, or adversaries. The problem is relational stuff doesn't sell in a polarized world. It doesn't generate clicks. It's usually not showy. It's just there: a steady, slow drip. The only way to recognize the steady, slow drip is to turn the faucet on, flooding the landscape with human stories that demonstrate why being proximate really does pay. Whether your cause is death penalty reform or financial services advise and counsel, there is an undercurrent of humanity that can link the work together. The challenge however is in identifying it. So the hope is that in helping a person identify their own human stuff, how it's unique, and why it's valued in the marketplace, that same person will be more sure-footed and proximate to the things she cares about. And she's starting a cycle. And we'll all benefit from her.

ms: What are some of your favorite 'human' questions to ask those you interview? 

kp: The expansive, existential ones that don't have a straight answer. We're not trying to solve any societal problem; we're just trying to understand things better. It just so happens the "thing" in this podcast is each other. That understanding informs so many other things, but the hope is that we can create a space where people feel comfortable pontificating about the things that matter and all the things life can be.

ms: If you're not a lawyer, but if you're interested in bringing this 'human' touch into your business, field, or industry, what's that first move you'd recommend based on the Human Lawyer? 

kp: Identify the disconnect. Lawyers are not unique. They render a professional service. Many other people do that same thing, albeit with a different focus: accounting, architect, marketing, etc. When we focus so much on the work, the work can swallow the person, not just in an introspective sense, but also in the way that person is perceived externally. We seek to understand by distilling things to their lowest common denominator: a baseline that we can evaluate based on other similarly-situated people, places, or experiences. We do ourselves a disservice in that sense. The reality often is we see ourselves as this incredibly complex being, but we fail to see others in that same light. We use words to describe that: words like selfish, narcissistic, etc. But that's too harsh. Humans try to create order and the baseline creates order. But if we just give ourselves a little more margin; more runway for the complex; we create space for different paradigms, more creative thought processes, and deeper connections.

ms: What's your favorite part of being human? 

kp: How unpredictable it is. Just when you think you know, you don't. IYKYK is fun on the socials; it's a consistent whiff in real life.

ms: Is the future human, and why? 

Completely. The most complex problems are solved by humans. Creative solutions are proposed by humans. Technology simply amplifies the human experience when deployed thoughtfully and ethically. We must remind ourselves that there's a person behind the screen and that, while technology can scale relationships, impact is scaled by the ingenuity, finesse, and responsiveness of an idea. That starts and ends with humans.

Keep learning with kp:

• Listen to the freshest episode of The Human Lawyer here.

• Read his 100 word blog post, 'the best art of all' with toth shop here.

A more interesting question than “How are you?”

I can't take credit for this brilliant idea - credit is due to Jen Gitomer - but what if instead of asking someone 'how are you?' or 'how's your day?' you ask that someone to tell you the highlight of their day so far. You can frame this a couple of different ways: the highlight, the funniest, the most interesting, the biggest aha! moment.

Whatever you choose, it will be, by far, more interesting, more real, more connection-inspiring, more human.

“My priority shifted to mental and emotional agility.” Former Davidson College NCAA Division 1 Athlete Isabella Lozano Talks Agility

Isabella Lozano learned a lot about life before she even graduated from college. On a school holiday break from Davidson College, she was in a life-threatening ski accident that caused traumatic brain injuries that changed how she would experience her life and move around the world forever. As you can imagine, it also shifted her perspective on life - physically, emotionally, mentally - forever. It was a practice in many types of agility, all at once because she was determined to get back on the field.

The good part, the journey part, of Izzy’s story is that she powered her mind, body, and spirit through rigorous rehab, restoration, relearning - to take the field again at Davidson before she graduated. Davidson tells that story here. 

In this interview, Izzy, now a Davidson College alum who works full-time as a Communications Specialist, shares her thoughts on agility. 

ms: As a lifelong athlete, what did you grow up / learn about 'agility' or staying 'agile'? How would you have defined 'agility'? 

il: As someone who grew up playing sports, I learned how important physical agility is in any sport. During lacrosse practices, we would dedicate time to agility to improve our reaction time and ability to change direction or speed quickly. As a result of the constant emphasis on physical agility growing up, I would have defined agility as the ability to move quickly and nimbly. 

Coaches of youth sports teach players about the physical game. Although the physical game is important for any sport, many coaches do not teach the mental skills that can impact athletic performance. Growing up in athletics, not enough emphasis was placed on mental and emotional agility. An athlete’s abilities are often equated to their physical capabilities because it is easy for coaches and trainers to see the physical results. However, emotional and mental agility are just as important. There are even times when these components are more important than one’s physical abilities as an athlete, which I wish I learned prior to college. 

ms: You were in a life-changing skiing accident, which forced you to rehab/relearn some skills - both physical and emotional. How did you stay agile or practice agility through your recovery journey? 

il: I sustained traumatic head injuries from my accident, including a fractured skull, broken nose, fractured cheekbones, broken teeth, and damaged optic nerve. As a result of these injuries, I lost my sense of smell and peripheral vision in my right eye. 

My first reaction after my accident was, “I need to get back as fast as I can.” But I quickly realized that I needed to slow down and let myself heal before anything else. I had to switch my mindset to focus on my mental and emotional agility, something I had not heavily acknowledged in the past. I began to realize that various aspects of my life would be forever changed. Still, my focus was to wake up every day with a positive outlook on my recovery. I knew this would be a critical factor if I ultimately wanted to come back stronger than before. 

Once I began rehab, I went to the training room every day. I spent time doing exercises to improve my coordination and gain confidence in playing with a vision impairment. Many people around me thought that I should never play again because of the risks involved. This was a major obstacle for me because I had to prove to myself and to others that I could fully recover. Throughout the process, there were times when I would get down on myself, but I had to remind myself what goals I was working towards. 

ms: You're back on the field. Did your definition of agility change or shift after the skiing accident? 

il: Following my accident, my definition of agility certainly changed. My priority shifted to mental and emotional agility. Prior to my accident, I was not aware of the impacts that mental and emotional agility could have on an athlete. With every setback or disappointing doctor’s visit, I decided that I would accept the outcome and work as hard as I could to come back. Now, I define agility as the ability to face and adapt to obstacles. One of the most significant takeaways from my recovery journey and taking time off the field was that my biggest obstacle is my mind. How I choose to face inner thoughts and experiences determines my success. My life mantra now is that life is too short to sweat the little things. 

ms: Agility isn't always an athletic term - it's really a life term. How did the agility you've learned - or relearned - impacted how you approach school, work, relationships? 

il: My shifted perspective of agility has impacted every aspect of my life. Going through my recovery and facing the mental and emotional obstacles along the way, I realized that I can get through anything. Now, when I am faced with a challenge in school, work, or relationships, I know that I can overcome any challenges that come my way. Most recently, after the COVID-19 pandemic started, our lives were turned upside down. After a lifetime of in-person learning, I had to switch to online learning. I never expected my senior year in college to look like this. However, I knew this was just another challenge I would have to learn to adapt to and overcome. Rather than dwelling on the pandemic’s negative effects, I chose to look at the silver linings, such as getting one last opportunity to make memories at Davidson. The agility I relearned also affected my relationships. Throughout my recovery, my friends and family supported me and inspired me to maintain my agility. Today, I continue to surround myself with supportive, positive people who share the same values.

ms: What would you want your undergrad peers to know or understand about agility - whether you're on the field or off? 

il: When it comes to understanding agility, I want to emphasize that your mind is your most powerful tool. There will always be unexpected challenges or obstacles we have to face in life, both big and small in size. When you face these challenges, stress, feelings of doubt, or other negative thoughts may be unavoidable. These inner experiences might be inevitable, but we can all make a conscious decision on how we will react to the situation at hand. Do not let anyone or anything get in the way of achieving your goals. 

Connect with Izzy here.

YOU must be the chief learner in your classroom.

This lesson isn’t limited to teachers in classrooms. 

It’s for you. 

YOU must be a chief learner in your classroom. 

And, yes, you have a classroom. 

Your classroom is your office. 

Your classroom is your team. 

Your classroom is your company. 

Your classroom is your work. 

Your classroom is your impact.

Your classroom is your family. 

Your classroom is your small group at church. 

Your classroom is the first-time soccer players you coach. 

Your classroom is your next interaction with customer service. 

It’s all your classroom. 

What is agility? Or - what does it mean to you?

What IS agility? Or - what does it mean to you?

If we’re going by the book, there are two definitions: 

• the power of moving quickly and easily; nimbleness;

• the ability to think and draw conclusions quickly; intellectual acuity

What that means: It’s being able to pick yourself back up after hard feedback or a failure; it’s re-prioritizing priorities; it’s being able to shift a story we tell ourselves quickly; it’s recognizing the comfort and the challenge of a situation; it’s your ability to think fast when served a hard question; it’s having a plan B and knowing how to implement it; I’d even say it’s taking three deep breaths when you’re stressed, panicked, anxious. It’s any choice you make to use your natural abilities and talents to think and act quickly. 

In any case, agility is a word we use in a variety of contexts - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual - and creative. Creative agility is the best of both of those definitions - the power, ability, talent to move quickly AND the power, ability, talent to think quickly. 

Here are three quick tips when it comes to refining your creative agility:

1. Get the shit out of the way: this week, on a toth shop team call, I called this the #ugly20; for writers who struggle to start or move through a project, do the #ugly20. Much like the first 15-20 minutes of a workout after it’s been, like, two weeks since you worked out, the #ugly20 is that 20 minutes where you get all the ugly thoughts, feelings, or ideas out of the way via handwritten notes or a blank Word doc; in doing that, you clear the space to move forward and think faster; as well, that time serves as your warm up lap when writing. The faster you get at this process, the faster your brain will support.
   
   

2. Figure out and implement a way to capture ideas: maybe it’s a physical notebook in your backpack or a note in your phone. Find your way to capture your ideas quickly.
   
   

3. Explore unknown intellectual territory: Read something you’d never read - and find a way in which it connects to you, your life, your work. This doesn’t mean read the longest, most dense work ever written; it just means switch gears on your brain - and find a connection to it. Try to get faster and faster with this. 

What changes the way we tell the story

At 22 years old, fresh off an English degree from Kenyon College, one of my first professional projects out of college was writing a Teacher Resource Guide to accompany the production of 'Honus and Me' at City Theatre in Pittsburgh. 

To update the audience - 'Honus and Me' is a children's novel by Dan Gutman that tells the story of a struggling, 10-year-old baseball player named Joe who finds a rare 1909 T-206 Honus Wagner baseball card; there are lots of lessons in there, but in a Sandlot-like experience, Joe finds himself meeting and tossing a ball with Wagner, the legendary Pittsburgh Pirate widely believed to be one of the most famous shortstops in baseball history. Playwright Steven Dietz adapted the book into a play, which played at City Theatre in 2006.

Writing the Teacher Resource Guide could have been a very simple plug-and-play exercise. But, as a recent college grad hungry for that $250 project, I ran with it - I emailed with the Pittsburgh Pirates archivists; I sat in on play's rehearsals; I went so far as to find Wagner's grave on the hillside of a cemetery in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, maybe 20 minutes from where I lived. 

Needless to say, I got really into it. 16 years later, it's still one of the professional projects I'm proudest of for a couple of reasons: 

1. I was neither a teacher nor a baseball fan - I needed to find a way into this story; 

2. Yes, this was a Teacher Resource Guide designed for teachers bringing students to see the show and to teach on the story and the themes, but, really, this was a people story; 

3. When we choose to get really into something, it changes the way we tell the story. Yes, there's 360 degrees to a final product to show every angle and side; that's only really possible when we do 360 degrees of preparation. 

You can’t cookie cut your way to a good story

There are a lot of people out there who will cookie cut, paint-by-numbers, over-engineer, spreadsheet tabulate (yes), formula-ize (should i keep going?!) the story. 

You can’t do that. 

Because we - as in, humans - can’t do that with our very human lives. 

When was the last time you tried to cookie cut, paint-by-numbers, over-engineer, spreadsheet tabulate, formula-ize your life? How did that work out for you? 

Give the true, right, good story the space it needs - and deserves - to breathe and take up space.

What's the best part of being human?

What's the best part of being human?

Whatever your answer is to that question, I can guarantee it's fully human, both emotionally and physically. Things like feeling goosebumps; feeling love; feeling stomach-churning nervous; finding the balance of fear and excitement when you step out of your comfort zone; feeling warmth; feeling cold; the moment you realize you’re from the same hometown as the person sitting next to you on the plane; kinetic sparks between people who go to pick up the same thing; how you've figured out how to smile with your eyes while wearing a mask.

To take it one layer deeper, what is the best part of being human are our shared values. Sharing an appreciation for things or experiences like creativity or community; respect, courage, bravery. 

However, you see or feel being human, I bet there's an aspect of connection - with each other, with experiences, with ourselves.

In a USAToday interview months ago about his (now relatively) new book, The Anthropocene Reviewed (Subtitle: 'Essays on a human-centered planet’), John Green (Kenyon '00) noted that he wrote the book because he wanted to write about the places where his everyday life runs into large forces in contemporary human experience. The best part is that he noted that a year and a half into writing the essays, a bigger force showed up.

"This book is my attempt to pay attention to what I pay attention to," he said. "It's my attempt to see the wonder and the beauty in the world without minimizing or denying the reality of suffering and injustice. I guess what I hope people take away from it is a feeling that being alive, having consciousness, is very strange. It's not always easy. But there is so much wonder and joy to be found in giving the gift of our attention."

(Sidebar: For anyone who needs a refresher, the term 'The Anthropocene' is used to describe the time during which humans have had a substantial impact on planet Earth.)

Green's aha! moment, the most human thing, or the best part of being human, is paying attention. It's not easy, but it is, in fact, one of the most human things we do.

In that case, our roles as writers, marketers, communicators, storytellers, humans in 2021 is to find places, stories, great lines, cultural references, points of connection that makes us feel human again. We learned that hard in 2020. There’s no algorithm for that. It just requires paying attention. The future of business will need it.  

At the end of the first chapter - aptly named 'Fully Human' - of the book Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People in Them (HBR, 2020), Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini make the case that bureaucracy - ‘humankind’s most deeply entrenched social technology’ - must die. They then ask: “You were put on this earth to do something significant, heroic even, and what could be more heroic than creating, at long last, organizations that are fully human?”