 At a recent networking event, somebody asked Anita what her favorite project management tools are.
Anita’s answer: she doesn’t have any. As experienced project managers, we use the tools our clients are most comfortable with. Our clients’ favorite tools become ours. The question, however, prompted us to think about our favorite things. What helps us find beauty in the world? In our work? In our lives? At Reach Partners, we emphasize values and process. We celebrate the relationships we build through trust. So, you likely won’t be surprised to see that many of our favorite things are experiences and traditions, ways of connecting with others. Others are simply things that make us smile as we do our job. It turns out we do have a list of favorites! Here they are:
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 You might know Reach Partners for one type of project—meeting facilitation or event strategy and execution. But did you know our work extends across a wide range of industries and needs?
At Reach Partners, we love helping organizations turn ideas into action. Our work varies, but our purpose remains the same: to extend the capacity of leaders and teams and guide projects from vision to completion. One way we showcase our work is through case studies. These real-world examples highlight how we become a trusted partner, helping clients navigate challenges, prioritize solutions, and bring their projects to life.  Reach Partners is fortunate to share office space with a voracious reader. To nobody’s surprise, none of us hesitated to start an interoffice book club when Rachel suggested we read a book together.
The three of us are now on our second book. We don’t have a hard schedule. We jointly determine how much to read for our next discussion, and I find an hour on our calendars that works well with other work obligations. We are reading Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. Two of us have read it before, but reading it again is not only helpful but insightful. I find this true of so many personal development books.  Several years ago, Reach Partners started a practice that has now become an established tradition.
We initiated CCC, which stands for Coffee, Cheese Plates, and Cocktails. We are big believers that good food, good drinks, and good conversations go hand-in-hand. By adopting this strategy, we’ve been intentional about framing our relationship-building in a fun, informal way. But let’s face it, this is also our much-more-inviting take on a CRM tool. This is how we stay connected with our current clients while learning about ways we can partner with new ones.  My family and I recently enjoyed a vacation in North Carolina. We visited the beach, attended a professional hockey game, and cherished time spent together.
We also toured the Battleship North Carolina. This ship participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific theater of operations during World War II. It’s now an authentically restored National Historic Landmark. As we walked through the exhibits and learned more about the important role this ship played, I had an ah-hah moment. At Reach Partners, we often use the analogy “we drive the boat” with our clients. It’s a way to describe the role we can play when an organization needs assistance. In North Carolina, I started to question what kind of boat we drive.  Every month you are invited to welcome our newsletter into your inbox.
What you may not fully appreciate is that we carefully choose what to share with you. For us, each newsletter is an opportunity to deepen relationships with our clients and readers. We view it as a conversation, an opportunity for us to learn together. Each month we draft one new blog post and choose additional content that we think might be valuable to you. We also publish because it encourages us to process and learn from the projects we are working on or completed. Writing about lessons gleaned from our work makes our newsletter more meaningful and purposeful. We want to give you a chance to learn from our experiences. This feels more authentic than writing about a random topic. We share our observations and ideas in the spirit of improving together. Our knowledge grows deeper when you, our readers, offer your own insights on the subject. There is connection as we learn together.  In the moments before the launch of an event or project, I’ve heard Anita repeat a sort of pep talk with the team at hand. It always comes during the inevitable scramble that occurs as a project comes to fruition.
During this speech she reiterates the purpose of the activity, project, or event. She also tells the team that she’s intentionally pausing on politeness during this last-minute crunch. From that moment until everything is running on its own, the team will not hear Anita say please or thank you. This speech marks a moment of distinction when the project transitions from planning to execution, when the team moves from preparing to doing. At this moment, Anita shifts her role from relationship manager to focused executor. Declaring this small, but philosophically significant juncture, gives her the critical permission to “go,” and signals the team to do the same.  Reach Partners knows the value of a wrap-up or lessons-learned meeting and how that can offer insight into future projects. We have talked about how best to present a Post Activity Report and who should be part of this kind of reflection.
But recently, someone asked whether it’s necessary to plan a wrap-up session when the event is never going to happen again. The short answer: yes. The longer answer, here’s why:  Asking for help is hard. Or, at least for many of us that’s true.
When we hesitate to ask for support, however, we unnecessarily suffer through difficult situations at work, at home, or even in a relationship. The reasons we avoid asking for help vary. Maybe we don’t know how to ask. Maybe we are too proud or scared to show vulnerability in our Midwestern culture. Perhaps we carry generational baggage that tells us we are not worthy of needing assistance. Whatever the barriers are, we need learn how to rise above them. Leaders who ask for help are the kind of people with whom Reach Partners thrives. They are humble and know their limitations. Leaders who ask for help tend to value expertise that others bring. To get better at asking for help, we encourage you to think about the obstacles and why it’s worth overcoming them.  People often say they need something specific to generate more energy and are disappointed when they never seem to have enough of it. I suspect this gap occurs because we focus on the things that gives us energy instead of the processes we set up.
Think about it: How often have we been asked, “What gives you energy?” How often have you been asked, “How do you produce energy?” Maybe it’s the “how,” not the “what,” we should seek. After all, we have more control over the “how.” As I reflect on this, I want to share a few ways you can create positive, helpful energy: |