I‘d hoped this week to be able to share with you The Manifesto for New Work Pioneers as a PDF download. And I do have a document sitting here on my Mac with that title.
But, I ain’t going to be putting it up here today. First, I haven’t figured out the technology required to actually put it on my blog. Second, I haven’t had the time to tart the thing so that it looks as smart as I want.
However, these are just superficial symptoms masking the real issue:
I’m not happy with what I’ve written. The thing hasn’t flowed as I’ve been working on it and it’s felt more of a chore than a joy. Which is a bit of a red flag, if ever I saw one.
I sat at the weekend with these realities and with the inescapable consequence that I was going to fail on one of my own deliverables. My frustration was immense. To begin with, what kind of thought leader doesn’t honour her commitments? Also, I felt that I had something important to discuss, but that it wasn’t coming across in a way that did it or you justice.
I wanted to keep moving and to make progress, but I had to confront my own limitations. I considered spending the weekend sweating it out, pushing through myself. There’s no doubt that in previous lives I’d have done just that. But I value myself and other people and things in life too much now to sacrifice them to my inherent need for perfection. Also, I intuited that something other than force was needed to get beyond my stuckness. And so I took the opposite path, deciding to take the pressure off myself and to wait for the way ahead to show itself.
This morning I have more clarity. Reading back through what I’ve written I can see that I’ve put together what I imagined a manifesto to be. Structured as I imagined it should be structured. Saying what I thought it should say. I’d been looking at manifestos by people like Chris Guillebeau and attempting to be “me too”. In the process, I’d psyched myself into a “less than” place. I’d lost my own creativity, and my own voice.
Responding yesterday to the rich and engaging comments I’d had from last Friday’s post, I realised also how much I enjoy connection, conversation and challenge. And yet how doing a big piece of writing achieved the opposite for me, leading me to try to create something in a vacuum.
Instead of muddling through with what I have I decided to throw the thing in the air and let it reinvent itself. My current thought is to do it as a series of posts, each around a particular theme, each created in the moment and put out there for your immediate involvement and commentary. Not only could this be collaborative and fun, but it’d buy me the time to reach out more to figure out the practical stuff.
What do you think? Are you up for it? Assuming so, my plan is to begin on Friday 9th April. I’d love to have you along for the journey!
Twitter: IAC_Heather
says:
I think that sounds like a great idea and I’m definitely up for a great journey!
Taking the weekend off and allowing the stress and pressure to abate was the best move to make. This is exactly what I do when something I’m working on is not what I was intending it to be.
.-= Heather Villa´s last blog ..Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 3/26/10 =-.
Hi Heather. Taking the weekend off has definitely felt like a good move. It’s amazing how it gives a completely different perspective on things and allows different possibilities to emerge. Glad to hear this is the kind of thing you do too and that you’re up for a bit of co-creation!
Twitter: HeavenandEl
says:
Hi Christine,
For what it’s worth, I personally think that sounds like a great idea. You could then put all the finished information into your PDF format at the end if you so desired. That’s what John Haydon did with his 31 day challenge and it’s resulted in a great product.
I admire your honesty too. It would have been easy to go for damage limitation but this way allows all your readers to get involved. Count me in. I’ve book marked your site on my phone so I don’t miss a word
As for the technical side of things, I wouldn’t allow that to give you any sleepless nights. We can help you out
Eleanor
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..What do you do when your bottle threatens to pop? =-.
Thanks for your endorsement, Eleanor. I wasn’t aware that John Haydon had done something similar….
And, yes, I could have gone for damage limitation, but I knew I’d have been letting myself and everyone else down that way, so it was best to be upfront about where I am. Thanks, too for the offer of help! I’m looking forward to having you onboard for feedback and input here!
Twitter: HeavenandEl
says:
Looking forward to it Christine. I’ve added your feed to my email to be sure I don’t miss the start. I’m hopeless at remembering stuff!
Great job on the threaded comments too
Have a fabulous Easter weekend
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..Friday Friends: Hanging my head in shame =-.
Thanks, Eleanor! And thanks for the info you gave me on threaded comments. I’ve made a note to thank you publicly on the first post. If for any reason I forget, please nudge me and I’ll add it. It was a great idea!
Been there and done that myself many times, Christine. I personally think the drive to make and keep commitments does us more harm than good. So what if you miss a deadline every now and then? Are we and our associates really that shallow to only think of each other in terms of our ability to deliver? I want off that treadmill. Thanks! Bret
I love your perspective, Bret! I think you’re right: hopefully we and our associates are richer than to judge one another simply in terms of whether we deliver to deadlines or not. Having said that, I felt that I’d set an expectation on this blog some weeks ago, and I didn’t want to let the timeline go by without acknowledging what was going on one way or another. So, maybe it’s okay to miss a deadline, so long as I share with my readers why I’ve done so?
Twitter: ali_davies
says:
Count me in!
In relation, to your question “what kind of thought leader doesn’t honour her commitments?” I don’t think it is a case of not honouring your commitments. As an outsider looking in it seems more like you identified something wasn’t working for you and have changed it to suit better and deliver more powerful results. From where I am sitting that is great role modeling as a thought leader.
.-= Ali Davies´s last blog ..Confessions of a Blogging Virgin! =-.
Thanks for that stunning perspective, Ali. It did feel quite risky yesterday to post that article and trust that people would understand. I hadn’t considered that what I’d done and how I’d done it was of itself a piece of role modelling. I appreciate your input here and I’m really looking forward to hearing what you’ve got to say when I get to the manifesto posts!
Twitter: eduardsays
says:
You said it Christine! I like to consider smarter but less painful options to pushing trough. Like going around the obstacle, finding the back door or at least, digging under it
.-= Eduard @ People Skills Decoded´s last blog ..3 Major myths about being a coach =-.
These are great metaphors to play with, Eduard, when it comes to confronting problems. Thanks for sharing!
Christine, I think the ‘posts to conversations to (maybe) manifesto’ is a much more “you”-kind of process. Also, you’ve consistently been demonstrating here that your thoughts on the different kind of work really resonate with others, who then jump at the chance to contribute to what you’ve written. Maybe a ‘manifesto’ is more of a group project than a solo one?
Also, imho, I’ve found that some manifestos are starting to feel ‘canned’. While I love the ChangeThis site and mission, and often find kindred souls and ideas there, I also sometimes feel like it’s more soapbox, less action. At worst, those manifestos are exhortations, not conversations that move us forward.
All the more reason to see how you might transform the manifesto writing process as a community, building one.
cvh
.-= cv´s last blog ..Heaping Scorn & Criticism on Feminist Advocates at Newsweek =-.
That’s a useful perspective on the whole “manifesto” thing, CV, and I wonder if it puts into words something about why I was uncomfortable with what I’d come up with.
Connection and conversation are so important to me. I’m really a bit of an extrovert and get best results with others. The whole sitting in a darkened room writing a manifesto process did feel like it was going against its “thing” about community. Where I feel I’ve got to in terms of putting it out there and attempting to co-create something feels a bit edgy, but also really exciting. Who knows where it will go now?! What I know is that my energy is back for the whole process, so that’s a great sign.
I’m really looking forward to having your input, challenge and quirky thinking on this. Besides which, I think we’ll have a lot of fun!
Hi Christine,
Looking forward to part 1 on Friday 9th then !!! Sounds like a smart move to me.
Brilliant, Tim. Glad your here for the ride – I’m SO looking forward to what your contribution!
Hi Christine!
Love your honesty and authenticity and being willing to share this with us.
Funnily enough I saw this after I wrote a blog post with a similar theme…don’t we all just grapple with the same stuff?
Thanks, Yael, I appreciate your comment. And, yes, isn’t it funny how we all do grapple with the same stuff, so that when we read something other people have written it really resonates!
Hey Christine
Yes , funny and comforting in a way too! and forgot to mention I will also be looking out for your series. best wishes!
That’s good to know, Yael. I’ll value hearing your voice here!
Twitter: barneyausten
says:
Hi Christine
Sounds like a plan to me. Go with the flow I reckon and do what you feel comfortable with. Smaller, focused pieces that you can then create a “master manuscript” from will work just as well.
Looking forward to the read!
Best
Barney
.-= Barney Austen´s last blog ..A Tale Of Two Creatures =-.
Thanks, Barney. I think smaller, focused pieces will allow for much more participation and that’s important to me.
Looking forward to getting your input as we go along!
Great that you followed your instincts Christine … I can understand your feelings completely and the idea for more collaborative posts sounds really cool.
Thank you, Jen. Glad you think it’s a cool idea!
Sounds like a fab idea Christine – can’t wait!
.-= Ben´s last blog ..6 outstanding ways to support someone in their dreams =-.
Glad you’re in, Ben. Really looking forward to what you have to say!
Twitter: mandylehto
says:
The best piece of advice I ever got in Uni was: ‘Sometimes intelligence, my dear girl, is knowing when to quit.’ That insight has lead me in good stead, but finding new ways and opportunities to use it can still be challenging. It really takes courage and honesty to throw your hands up and admit what you’re doing isn’t working. Good for you! And still, you’ve found a way to alchemize the situation. Looking forward to whatever unfolds next. I’m in.
.-= Mandy Lehto´s last blog ..Bonus Time – Reassessed =-.
That was good advice from your teacher, Mandy!
My Transactional Analysis friends keep reminding me that I have a “Be Strong” driver, which means that sometimes I’ll hang in on something even if it’s past it’s sell-by date. But on this occasion that wasn’t going to work! As you rightly say, it can be hard to know when to quit, but sometimes doing just that is the best thing for everyone.
Looking forward to your thoughtful input.
Twitter: marcwinitz
says:
Food for thought Christine, why not host a “collaborative manifesto forum on the topic of NWP. It’s bascially what you are saying except instead of doing a series of posts you get contributions all at once – perhaps turn it into an eBook for all participants that want to contribute or that you select.
Thanks, Marc. This is a terrific idea. You mean to set up a forum on the site instead of doing it via posts?
Christine,
I love your honesty. And really excellent writing. I agree with everyone who praised your courage in letting us in on your process. I think that’s so much more valuable than presenting a perfect finished “answer.” We all learn much more when you show us how you’re doing this. I look foward to reading more.
Have a wonderful weekend, I hope you DO step back and chill out. I’m doing that myself for the next day or so. Rest and sleep can be so rejuvenating!
Linda
.-= Linda Wolf (Insanely Serene)´s last blog ..Saying No is an Act of Love =-.
Thank you so much, Linda. I’m happy you’re part of the process!
I have used this last weekend to really step back, relax and revitalise. As you rightly say, rest and sleep are so restorative. Hope you’ve managed to have a similar break yourself.
Christine,
I love not only the honesty in this, but also your sensitivity to your own work and creative process – to be able to get passed the “okay there are words written therefore its done” and feel that the words and process weren’t right yet. Fabulous. If only we could all be in tune with when our work has gone off track in this way….what a different that would make to the quality of what gets created in the world, and the satisfaction we have when creating.
Of course, the irony does not escape me that your process here embodies so many new work principles – paving your own manifesto-writing path, leaving the herd, being honest with yourself about what’s true to you. So fabulous and an inspiring model for us all.
Warmly, t
Thank you SO much, Tara. I really value your reflections on this. Strangely, it was not until I began writing today’s post that I understood the parallels so keenly for myself!
Lovely to see you here and thanks for your lovely comment.