I think I’ve read more recollections recently than I have in years past in part because there have been more of them to consume. Last year was a slow-motion, ongoing trainwreck for work and it took a lot of of folks. So, as you can imagine, 2023 was packed with a lot of coaching and advising sessions. A lot of folks I met feel stuck and frustrated. People without a job watch their savings dwindle while those with jobs want to do something else but they are too afraid to leave. It wasn’t a great year for dreaming “what if.” Instead, we spent most of our time making actionable plans to get people out of their doom spiral and moving forward. As Gordon says, “When the world is running around, you make the best of what’s still around,” and that’s what we did.
The rest of my time was spent testing different businesses in the form of a consulting group, an enterprise product studio, and a community for new entrepreneurs. Most of these efforts were low-fidelity which worked out well. I’m grateful for the many conversations and work streams I had with folks throughout 2023. In doing so, I learned more about myself, and the kind of work I want to do.
While all of this was going on, Brett and I released a second season of our podcast Sprints & Milestones. We started the program many years ago to promote Brett’s book Project Management for Humans. For our second season, we brought folks in to talk about failure, how they endured, and what they learned from the experience. We were both blown away by the vulnerability and radical candor that our guests brought to each show. It renewed our interest and excitement for helping leaders and teams to do better and be better. Though design will always be my primary love, my passion is driven by exposing problems that are preventing people from doing their best work and achieving their potential.
Near the end of season two of the podcast, Brett and I started to knock around the idea of forming a different kind of consultancy with a focus on helping leaders and teams get unstuck. With this focus, things came together pretty quickly and last Fall we were proud to introduce Same Team Partners. Our purpose is to help agency owners and in-house executives build better people, processes, and places for creatives. It’s work that we both love to do and we have a proven track record of success.
After taking a break for the holidays we got back together this week to put the finishing touches on our new capabilities deck. We’re now open for business and recruiting new teams for us to join. If you know an agency owner or an in-house leader who is bogged down, we are ready to go and start knocking down blockers and destroying silos. Download the deck, take a look, and get in touch or send it to someone you know who’s stuck in their company, career, or role at work. And if you’re not already, please subscribe to our upcoming newsletter and blog, Same Page.
I’m hoping 2024 is another year packed with meeting more folks and hearing about the challenges they’re facing. Even if it means you and I just getting together for a few minutes and saying hi, let’s do it! Feel free to grab a day and time on my calendar that works for you and I’ll see you soon.
