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It’s a resolution I want to do… but don’t want to do.
A mentor of mine asked, What new skill do you want to build this year?
I realized I didn’t know. It took a few days of letting the question sit… but it came a few days ago.
Ready?
(That question was for me, not you. Am I ready to share? Not really… but I’ll do it anyway.)
→ I want to share more of my doubts, mistakes, and failures with you.
<cringe> 
Yeah… that’s the feeling I get when I type this and say it out loud.
Why on earth would I want to do this?
– Because I admire the transparency, honesty, and authenticity of leaders I’ve seen do this.
– Because I’ve seen firsthand how this allows others to be strong and courageous.
– Because (unfortunately) it’s a part of innovation, trying new things, and personal growth.
– Because they’re real. And it’s important for me to be real to you.
– Because it’s a part of the human experience we all share.
In fact, I have an example of a mistake I made just this last week.
I promised to announce something I’ve been working on in last week’s newsletter – something I’m really excited about!
I’ve been preparing for this for months now… designing, writing, making videos, setting up systems.
I dove into a session with my coach, happy with all my progress! It was then, I realized things weren’t going to happen on the timeline I planned for.
I missed something.
The thing I missed didn’t negate all the great work I’ve done. But it did highlight that there was a gap that needed to be filled.
You see, I’m trying a few new things. And when you’re trying something new…
it means you haven’t done it before (obviously). But that also means – you don’t know, what you don’t know.
The only way to make progress in innovation is to learn along the way. I appreciate your grace as I learn & adjust.
My mission to best support diverse professionals means I need to make sure things work, for you.
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
— Henry Ford
Here’s to being bold in 2024! 
"Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in business at all times."
P.S. The person who inspired this new resolution is… my daughter.
She told me a story about her day. They were learning a new concept in 5th grade math class and her teacher gave the class a problem to practice on.
The teacher called on my daughter, and asked how it was going.
“Bad,” my daughter said. She didn’t quite get the problem. And the class laughed at her… even the teacher chuckled.
I was horrified when I heard that. But my daughter laughed it off. She thought it was funny… “I guess people don’t often say the truth if they’re not doing good.”
In the end, she said her teacher helped her and she figured it out.
But earlier this school year… the same thing would have broken her. She was so worried about what the other kids thought, especially in math class.
She didn’t want her teacher to know she was struggling. She had lots of questions but didn’t ask any of them.
How did things change so quickly and dramatically? I realize I made the deliberate choice to start sharing my mistakes with her.
The times I didn’t know what to do and asked for help.
And now… she’s modeling it for her classmates.
I thought… maybe I should be doing more of this!
“Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in business at all times.”
– John Gerzema
an American CEO and columnist who focuses on social sciences
