I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, I’ve been a bit slapdash in my weekly missives. I would like to apologize for the typos in my writing. I’ve noticed quite a few in my latest newsletters and was dismayed that I misspelled several words and missed some altogether. Yikes!!! Well, I hope you give me credit for not relying on ChatGPT for my content.

I often re-read my newsletters after sending them off and was surprised to find so many typos in my copy.  I do proofread things before scheduling them, but truth be told, I’m not one for those details. I’m great at many things, but focusing on perfection at the expense of production is not one of them. I would rather ship and share than get bogged down in extensive reviews that come at the expense of other priorities. Lately I’ve only reviewed my writing once, rather than multiple times as I’ve done previously.

While in the past, this sort of discovery might have sent me into a shame spiral, I have a different perspective now.  This realization reminded me of another true story typo fiasco and life lesson. A particularly difficult boss (one of my worst) threw out thousands of beautiful printed marketing brochures (really slick glossy, spiral bound and quite impressive for the time if I don’t say so myself) because he found one typo. Now mind you, multiple individuals read this piece beforehand and no one noticed. Of course, we hadn’t invested in hiring a proofreader at the time. It was back in those pre-Grammarly days and even then, Grammarly doesn’t catch everything. Yet, $15,000 of materials were just trashed (ugh, to think it ended up in landfill somewhere, thank goodness for print on demand now). I don’t recall if the final piece was ever reproduced.

My boss was annoyed and rightfully so. Of course no one aspires to produce work with errors. Do I agree with his decision to throw away all that content, effort and strategic positioning to make a point?  Hell no!  Clearly we had different priorities. He sought perfection and assumed someone would actually notice. I knew the product would support our sales effort by communicating complex issues in a compelling way which seemed like the more important objective. After all, marketing is about being in front of people, getting the message out and making an impact. We were not actually trading money, doing surgery or rocket science – it was a brochure. While it’s important to do things well and quality matters, mistakes sometimes happen.

So there’s a choice. Can we see the larger purpose and deliver a positive outcome or do we punish and hold people accountable for minor infractions?  In the scheme of things, what is more important? Should we try to recognize what is realistic and adjust accordingly? I wished my boss had been more understanding at the time, since unsurprisingly his approach left me demoralized. And at the same time it helped me recognize what I value and consider more important, doing the work.

There could be much heated debate about this subject and I would love to hear your perspective. I believe its more nuanced than quality vs. quantity.  You might choose to halt production of a product with typos or perhaps you would make sh*t happen and get on with it. Everyone has their own degree of what is acceptable. What would you have done in his shoes or mine?

MORE DISCLOSURE

In the interests of full transparency, part of my lapse with the newsletters is that while I love sharing them, they can be time-consuming and I have been focusing most of my time and energy on my passion project – a BOOK.  That’s right, I am finally compiling years of wisdom into a guidebook to help others find their path and purpose.

To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I’ve had 9 different book draft outlines sitting in my files for 10 years. This year I finally committed to make it happen. And I’m feeling more ready to share a little about it with you. I will be revealing a 7-step framework that is the culmination of my transformational coaching work guiding leaders to more meaning and purpose. I hope to share how you can create more fulfillment in your life and work. My mission is to help others find their mission to do their work in the world!

And I would love your support!

If you are interested in supporting me and learning more about my book, I would so appreciate any and all of the following.

• TELL ME: what would you like to learn or hear about related to finding more fulfillment? I’m not writing a career guide per se (ChatGPT can generate your resume). I’ll be sharing how to get more clarity around your personal mission. What would you want to know more about? Are there any topics that could help you find more fulfillment from your work? Where do you struggle?  I appreciate your suggestions so I can incorporate this in my content.
• FOLLOW: please find me on social media and comment on my stuff.  I would love your feedback on LinkedIn or Instagram or here or here on Facebook.
• SHARE: feel free to forward my newsletter to others if you enjoy it and help me get the word out. Please invite them to sign up to learn more.
• READ: let me know if would like to receive an early galley to help me with my proofreading? (Haha, see what I did there? Crowdsourcing my content.)  I appreciate any willing volunteers who would like to be part of my pre-launch crew.  I would love your input to make the book great.
• HOST: I will be seeking speaking opportunities to share about the book.  If you know any organizations that may be seeking inspirational talks around finding one’s purpose in the world, please connect me. I will also speak to smaller groups interested in reviewing the book if this is of interest.
• JOIN: look for a future group program based on the book with worksheets, exercises and coaching support for those who want to go deeper and be guided in community.  Reach out to let me know if you are interested in this.

As my writing coach says: “It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be done.” So I’m taking his advice and putting my work out into the world in a new way and I would absolutely love your support and input.

I’ll be leading some events in NYC this week and next.  Join me for a dynamic panel on Sustainability in NYC this Thursday night or meetup for breakfast and bagels while I present on being authentic for Women’s History Month on Thursday, March 12 at 9:30 am at Serendipity Labs, a co-working space (email me and I’ll add you to the list and you’ll also get a free pass to their space). Both events will be in Lower Manhattan and I would love to see you there!

Reach out to connect.  I would love to hear your thoughts on anything I’ve shared!

To finding more fulfillment,

Lenore