I need accountability partners, how about you?

Shall we make a pact?

2021 and accountability to myself.

This week I met with two friends from a small networking group, and we each identified a 30-day goal, set up another meeting at the ~30-day mark and vowed to check in weekly by email until the second meeting.

Generally, I consider myself a self-directed person. I make lists, check them twice. I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it. I dream it, I work hard, I grind 'til I own it. And other assorted lyrics.

We all hit blocks, though, and I know stating goals out loud, to other people, with an expectation that they plan to ask me how I’m doing on them? It adds something called accountability (and perhaps fear of a public shaming).

Sound fun? Let’s do it.

Let’s use this last-newsletter-of-the year to be each other’s accountability partners. I’ll state a couple of goals to you in this newsletter and then you use the comments on this post to share a couple of yours. And I promise I’ll check in with anyone who shares. Maybe I’ll even schedule an accountability check-in on Zoom with any subscribers who participate!

I’ll start:

Personal Goal: Practice the piano at least twice per week.
I’d wanted to start this in 2020, but I prefer to practice when no one is home because I am so out of practice I’m embarrassed by my playing. Unfortunately, the pandemic meant I was never home alone, so I didn’t succeed in 2020. I need to get over it in 2021.

Professional Goal: Identify 5-10 specific companies I’d like to work with.
I have a great network of super-connector friends, but the last year or two I’ve been reactive when it comes to my work, and I want to become proactive. Part of being proactive means identifying specific targets, not just responding to cool things that come my way. Once I identify targets, I know I can find inroads into them.

Political Goal: Now that ejecting P45* isn’t a driving force, what are one local cause and one global cause I want to focus on?
We should all have goals around our own activism, no going back to complacency for us! But when you care about 25 different issues it’s easy to not really do anything about any of them. I always recommend triaging your issues, and I need to do it myself.

Now…your turn!!

Last week’s Op-Ed Page

As promised, I talked about the canny choices President-Elect Biden is making as he fills out his impending administration (and his one possible mis-step).

But I also talked about the COVID vaccine, and particularly the messaging challenge ahead to increase adoption and reduce fear and treipidation. This week we’re seeing the vaccine roll out across the country, and probably in your own state. Given the national COVID strategy has been to have no strategy in some fruitless attempt to achieve mythical “herd immunity,” this vaccine seems to be our primary shot (pun intended) to achieve any sense of normalcy in 2021. Thinking back to messaging mistakes made at the outset of this pandemic, I’m hopeful the medical community and public health officials learn from those mistakes.

It’s available anywhere you listen to podcasts (including Apple), and here comes the standard podcaster request: If you enjoy, please share, subscribe, rate and review!

Coming this week-ish

A sneak peek of Episode 42 of The Op-Ed Page podcast I’ll be releasing later this week: I have been soaking up the pop culture this past week. Mariah, Dionne, The Prom, so I think for the final podcast of the year I’ll be a little more on the lighter side of things for most of the episode. (Although I might not be able to resist complaining that we haven’t yet gotten to fully enjoy celebrating the incredible milestone of our country electing its first woman Vice President, and a woman of color to boot, because of all the GOP fuckery around the election.)

As always I appreciate a share of this newsletter, of my podcast, of my column, The Activist Leader. And I appreciate feedback and hearing from you too.

Most of all, I appreciate you, my online community of friends. Most of you know I have long deeply connected with and relied upon my online community. This pandemic has only highlighted for me and everyone else how real and important our communities are. I wish you all the best possible holiday season and new year celebration, whatever that looks like, however you celebrate, wherever and whenever you are!

And if you think I can help you break through the things that are keeping you stuck, you can always set up your first introductory 30-minute consult for free by booking it in my Calendly.

Have a great (two) weeks-ish!