A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?
#13: Is the form determined by the function?
#14: Does this involve making up for a past failure?
#15: Can this be simplified?
#16: Are you willing to create the systems necessary to support this?
#17: Is this scalable?
#18: Will this require doing more than one thing at a time?
#19: Will this require tapping into the type of energy you just used?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #20
Will this require you to work against the energy of the season?

In my experience, this is very hard to do. It’s quite tricky to be productive when you’ve got a case of the summer-hookies or winter-naps.

Again, this doesn’t mean abandoning this idea. It might mean altering its timing. Or changing the elements of this project’s container – especially Environment and Energy – so your approach is compatible with the season.

Set yourself up for energetic success.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #21 – Is this plan common-cold proof?

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?
#13: Is the form determined by the function?
#14: Does this involve making up for a past failure?
#15: Can this be simplified?
#16: Are you willing to create the systems necessary to support this?
#17: Is this scalable?
#18: Will this require doing more than one thing at a time?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #19
Will this require you to repeat what you just did/tap into the type of energy you just used?

For me, creating or teaching or marketing back to back to back is draining. On the other hand, because they are so different, alternating between them is energizing. Contrasts are refreshing.

Similarly, we are organic beings who can’t be on all the time. We need down-time to clear away the old, make space for the new, and replenish. We need space for transitions.

Constantly trying to be on the upside of the creative cycle isn’t sustainable.

Which doesn’t mean not doing the awesome thing you have planned, but might mean adjusting the timing of it. Or at least getting some decent R&R before beginning.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #20 – Will this require working against the energy of the season?

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?
#13: Is the form determined by the function?
#14: Does this involve making up for a past failure?
#15: Can this be simplified?
#16: Are you willing to create the systems necessary to support this?
#17: Is this scalable?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #18
Will this require you to do more than one thing at a time?

Are you spreading yourself thick or thin?

I’m a one-thing-at-a-time kind of gal. Creating, teaching and marketing require very different types of energy from me. Too much overlap just isn’t doable. Though all three are happening in some way all the time, I have to choose an area of emphasis.

I need to get as clear about what I won’t be doing while working on this project as what I will be.

Which means my plan has to include measures to put certain things in place before I begin so essentials are handled while my focus is elsewhere. (This post is a perfect example: it was written and scheduled many weeks before it was published today.) This kind of preparation is an important part of a project’s support structure.

You may like a little more variety, but you still have a limited capacity. Your question might be: Will this require me to do more than three things at a time? The point is to know your upper limit and honor it.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #19 – Will this require tapping into the type of energy you just used?

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?
#13: Is the form determined by the function?
#14: Does this involve making up for a past failure?
#15: Can this be simplified?
#16: Are you willing to create the systems necessary to support this?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #17
Is there anything about this plan that’s not scalable?

We tend to be more inclined to plan for our failure than our success. And this habitual bracing for disappointment tends to get us in trouble when it comes to planning and systems-crafting.

Imagine this thing being ten times more successful than you expect.

What would that be like? What would happen?
Could you handle that within your capacity?

If not, either simplify and/or create systems to make your plan scalable, or put boundaries in place that honor the limits of your time and energy.

Plan for success.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #18 – Will this require doing more than one thing at a time?

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?
#13: Is the form determined by the function?
#14: Does this involve making up for a past failure?
#15: Can this be simplified?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #16
Are you willing and able to create and maintain the systems necessary to support this plan?

Sometimes a creating a new thing and the systems that support it go hand in hand in a way that is entirely palatable. Other times, they feel like apples and oranges.

And sometimes you really don’t feel like eating an orange.

I’ve occasionally sent projects back to my muse and turned down opportunities because the necessary systems were deal-breakers. (And I say that as a systems savant.)

Whatever your project, it’s not going to go well without systems to support it. Committing to the idea means committing to both. Be honest with yourself about whether you have the desire and capacity to create the necessary support structures.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #17 – Is this scalable?

The latest in an occasional series on how I unplugged over the weekend.

It was the first term of my freshman year of college. A group of young women I had just met insisted that I come to a concert with them. It meant driving to nearby Dayton (Ohio, that is), but I was promised it would be worth it.

And it was. It was more than worth it. From the moment the performers opened their mouths to sing, my mind was split wide open. Though the music was rooted in deep traditions, I had never heard anything like it. It was a whole new world. And I loved it.

That mind blowing concert was given by Sweet Honey in the Rock. And, lucky me, I got to see them perform again last night. Twenty-seven years later, they still blow my mind.

From the moment the theater went dark and I heard the opening words of In the Upper Room, I become a Believer again. Inside, I was waving an arm, palm to the ceiling, shouting testify! Outside, I was a polite Portland audience member who swayed only slightly so as not to disturb her neighbors. (This doesn’t happen in Dayton. Or at Carnegie Hall. There, no one needs to be encouraged to clap or be reminded to join in harmony, please. There, it’s like Church.)

It was an hour and a half of full body goose-bumps. It’s the most satiating art I’ve ever experienced. I never want a concert to end, but eventually it needs to end because I can’t hold any more.

I woke this morning feeling fueled. Wanting to testify.

Besides being amazingly talented vocal performers, the members are also accomplished musicians, arrangers and composers. They dance and choreograph. They act, direct and produce. They are authors and scholars. They are teachers, founders, organizers and activists. They are partners, parents and friends. I am as awed and humbled by their lives as by their concerts.

At a time of year when we are being encouraged to follow our dreams and desires, and to generally “go big,” I am grateful to have been reminded that power, beauty, service, satisfaction, and wealth can also look like this. Inspiration and guidance can come from sources beyond the increasingly ubiquitous skinny white chick in a short skirt and seductive pose who sells fulfillment via the internet.

[  I'm not dismissing the work of such women, I'm just advocating for greater diversity here. Success comes in a lot of different flavors, as do the actions necessary to create it. Please remember that in your visioning and planning for the coming year. ]

I am also grateful to be reminded that I need more of this in the coming year – the kind of satiating and fueling experiences I can’t experience via social media or my blog feed.

Or – sigh – properly share with you. It defies words. It transcends the medium. You had to be there.

If you can, go to a concert. (Like the young women who initiated me, I really must insist. Even if it means a road trip.)

Until then, a few links to give you a taste of Sweet Honey…

[ if you are reading this post via feed or email, you may need to click through to the blog to see the videos ]

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?
#13: Is the form determined by the function?
#14: Does this involve making up for a past failure?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #15
Can this plan be simplified and still achieve the desired outcome?

In the words of Antoine de Saint Exupery, “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

You don’t need half the bells and whistles you think you do. There is an easier way to make this happen.

Keep it simple, sweethearts.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #16 – Are you willing to create the systems necessary to support this?

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?
#13: Is the form determined by the function?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #14
Does this plan involve making up for a past failed plan?

If part of this project’s purpose is to right a wrong, do some self-forgiveness before you proceed. Get clear on what is and isn’t necessary.

Don’t let your guilty conscience or bruised ego distort the form of this container.

And remember: You can finish what you’ve started without having to finish it the way you started it. A Do-Over is always available to you.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #15 – Can this be simplified?

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?
#12: Does this honor your strengths and preferences?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #13
Is the form of this plan determined by its function?

Again, are you forcing anything here?

Have you confused what you need with what the project needs to be successful?

Are you rushing things?
Would doing things in a different order better serve the work?
What about the context?
Are the right people involved?
Is energy flow impeded in some way?

In creating a plan you are solving basic design problems. So in the words of Tim Gunn: Make it work.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #14 – Does this involve making up for a past failure?

A series of questions to answer before you move forward with an idea, project or plan…

#1: What is the magnitude of what you are trying to achieve?
#2: How much of this is new?
#3: Is there a way to test this?
#4: Does this require ongoing experimentation?
#5: Does this require you to promise something before it is complete?
#6: Will this require more than three months to deliver?
#7: Will this plan allow you to easily transition to the next thing?
#8: Does this support future projects?
#9: Is this in alignment with your mission?
#10: Is this in alignment with your values?
#11: Is this in alignment with your desired lifestyle?

• • • • •

Vetting Question #12
Does this plan honor your strengths and preferences?

Are you so in love with this idea – or afraid of something else – that you are changing yourself to fit the plan instead of changing the plan to fit you?

If this idea requires you to be someone you’re not – to do things you don’t enjoy nor have a natural aptitude for – send it back to your muse with thanks and ask her to deliver it to someone else with the necessary superpowers. This one isn’t for you.

No project is worth compromising your standards and boundaries.

• • • • •

Next: Vetting Question #13 – Is the form determined by the function?