Most projects don't fail suddenly, they drift.

This starts when a stakeholder disengages. Or a volunteer stops showing up. It continues when a conversation that should happen gets postponed. People keep completing tasks, but something underneath starts to unravel.

The signals show up long before the event or project is completed. Still, is anyone paying attention?
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At Reach Partners, we’re good at measuring outcomes. The longer we do this work, the more convinced we become that small, often early, signals tell us what's happening long before the final results show up.

​We notice a difference between projects that feel like a grind and projects that people want to stay in. The difference isn't usually found on a task list. We find it in how people show up.

Are people engaged? Are they asking questions? Do they feel connected to the work and to one another? If so, the project or event is more likely to be successful.

After every major event we produce, there’s one thing we schedule:  a rest day.
 
I grew up hearing my grandmother call herself “lazy bones” while maintaining an immaculate house, baking cakes (yes, plural), preparing meals, caring for others, and leaving behind more in a day than the rest of the family could accomplish in a week.
 
She would say it almost casually, as if it were true.
 
I never believed her, but I did absorb something else: the idea that rest was suspect. That no matter how much had been done, it was never quite enough to justify stopping.
 
I still feel that tension.

We've all been there – staring at a project that should be moving forward but somehow isn't. Anita and I call this feeling "spinning," and it's one of the most frustrating experiences in professional life. Whether you're physically drained, mentally stretched, or working at the edge of your expertise, being stuck on something you know has value feels awful.
 
I've kept a sticky note on my monitor with simple wisdom about how to break free from project paralysis: "What is my understanding of the task? What do deliverables look like? What are the first 3 steps?

Anita and I have our own language when it comes to giving directions while driving.

When Anita says, “turn right,” I'll promptly turn left. Almost every time. Meanwhile, when I announce that “We need to head north,” she will ask: “Which way is that?”

Apparently, we have complementary directional abilities. I can't tell my left from my right, but I have strong spatial awareness and can almost always point north. Anita can give clear instructions with the confidence of someone who absolutely knows where she's going, but she has no idea which way north is.

Our solution? We acknowledge these shortcomings and turn ourselves into living directional coordinates. Now Anita says “take an Anita” when she needs me to turn toward her side, and “take a Rachel” when we need to turn toward mine. Problem solved.
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In our work at Reach Partners, we’ve learned that client projects also require translation – or a new collective language. After all, communication is more than finding the right words; it’s about making sure everybody understands where we’re heading.

Some of us are wired to think – and we do so deeply, thoroughly, and in spirals.

We imagine the possibilities. We anticipate outcomes. We consider people, timing, risk, and reward. Thinking is how we prepare. Thinking is how we protect.

It’s good work.

But thinking is only part of it.
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As Eddie Rickenbacker, an American fighter pilot in World War I, said: “The key to success is to think things through and then follow through.”

At a recent networking event, somebody asked Anita what her favorite project management tools are.
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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:

​Empathy is often seen as a soft skill but make no mistake—it is one of the most challenging and essential tools for effective leadership.
 
Jon Micheels Leiseth, Theatre B’s artistic director, offered a powerful reminder of this during his Creative Mornings session titled Threads. He shared a personal story of feeling miserable while navigating the diverse needs of his collaborators while adjusting to new directing challenges. A mentor’s advice helped him refocus: the project itself is the baby.
 
This advice shifted his perspective from managing people’s emotions to birthing the work. It allowed him to align his skills and energy with the purpose of the project.
 
In both creative and business settings, empathy must be used wisely to avoid frustration. Otherwise, compassion overload can lead to a resource drain.

October is National Women’s Small Business Month, a time to celebrate the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs and reflect on what it takes to build a successful business.
 
At Reach Partners, we’ve spent years growing our business and supporting others along the way. In the spirit of this month, and with a focus on securing new projects, we want to share insights from our own journey while spotlighting women-owned businesses in our network.
 
One of the greatest lessons we’ve learned over and over is that no one succeeds alone. Surrounding yourself with capable, knowledgeable, and inspiring people is a key part of the formula for success. I’m grateful daily for the leadership and excellence shown to me by Anita.
 
By surrounding yourself in a network of women entrepreneurs, you create a support system that has the potential to lift everyone higher. Partnerships can unlock new opportunities and help women-led businesses grow stronger together.

​Trust is a strange, living thing, isn't it? It breathes in the spaces between promises and deliveries, between what’s said and what’s done. It’s nurtured through small actions and gestures, yet it can sometimes feel as elusive as smoke.
 
Why do some clients trust us immediately, while others seem to withhold it forever? What is the alchemy behind trust?
 
Let’s start with a simple ingredient: delivery.

​Whenever two or more people meet in an office, conference room, or workspace, issues may arise. After all, differing opinions are a side effect of being human.
 
To prevent something small from shifting into a serious problem, we’ve learned at Reach Partners that open discussion can benefit the productivity of our team. Addressing small and large matters early on can lead to a healthier organizational culture.
 
As much as we like each other, Anita and I acknowledge and accept we’ll have challenges working together. To address these, we keep “issues” as a weekly agenda item at our staff meetings. By giving ourselves a consistent time and place for the conversation, we can prepare for dialogue instead of argument. This allows us to focus our work time on client projects instead of stewing over issues. It is one way we value each other, deflate disagreements, and take action to move forward.