Design Our 2024 #FreeHugs Postcard!
Are you a creative person? Does your art dazzle, amaze, and inspire? Do you want the opportunity to have your original design travel across the world? We have an exciting opportunity for you! Here’s the rundown: Swift Kick loves free hugs, both virtual and in-person. We want to spread that love as far as it […]
Four Ways To Make Sure Every Member Feels Included At Your Events
There were 100 people in the room, but I felt so alone. In NYC, I attended an EdTech meetup, a community dedicated to developing tech solutions in the education space. Education is a passion of mine, so I was eager to check out the group and establish some valuable connections. Unfortunately, my initial optimism quickly […]
Do You Actually Know The People In Your Community?
In the middle of nowhere Indiana, lies a Mecca of amazing food known as the Oy Vey Cafe. As the name suggests, it’s a Jewish-run café, with all the food cooked by the family and inspired by their Jewish heritage. While the food itself is remarkable, this isn’t a food blog. So, I won’t focus […]
The Ryan Meetup Phenomenon: A Playbook for Crafting a Thriving Community
If your name is Ryan, then I’ve got the community for you. However, there are three essential guidelines you’ll need to meet before you can join their vibrant Meetup community: This group gathers monthly to socialize, united solely by the common thread of sharing the name Ryan. Their shared aversion to the name Bryan has […]
Vision, Mission, and Values Part 4: Creating Your Team Values
At this point in the journey, your team should have a clear sense of what mountain you will climb (Vision) and which path you will take up that mountain (Mission). Most teams might stop here; however, there always comes a point in the journey when challenges happen and tough decisions must be made. Sometimes you […]
Vision, Mission, and Values Part 3: Creating a Mission Statement
In my last post, I shared a process for creating a vision for your organization. What type of world do you want to create? If everything goes right, the vision will be the final result of all your efforts. I referred to this as the mountain you want to climb. Now that you are clear […]
Vision, Mission, and Values Part 2: Creating a Vision
When you ask yourself, “What mountain do we want to climb?” What you are really asking is, “What big problem would we love to solve?” Or, “What kind of world would we love to live in?” If everything went right over the next 1, 3, 5, or 10 years, what would you have solved through […]
Vision, Mission, and Values: Part 1
One of my best friends moved 2000 miles away from me to set up a new life with his family in Colorado. Needless to say, we knew we had to find ways to stay connected. So we decided to plan an adventure trip together and settled on climbing a mountain. Neither of us had any […]
How To Run A Strategy Retreat For Your Organization
It didn’t take long for the celebratory election smiles to fade to confusion and fear as we realized we didn’t know what we would do for the next 12 months. Six people, including myself, were elected into leadership positions in our local National Speaker’s Association chapter. We accepted our new task of running the chapter […]
Dirty Marketing: The Negative Impact of Mixing Marketing with Relationship Building in Business Communities
It felt like he had just dropped a dirty towel into our perfectly purified community, and it didn’t sit right with me or anyone else in the group. As a forum moderator for a community of business owners, I facilitate peer groups for members to learn and grow from each other. For example, one section […]