I was sitting at Emma’s Bagel Café in Skokie with a colleague from Jewish Child & Family Services a few years ago. She was so impressive—always seeming to be on top of everything happening across the agency. Hoping to capture her secret, I asked, “How do you always know everything that’s going on here?”
“I read your newsletter,” she said.
Don’t just do. Synthesize.
I remember this conversation often. Indeed, my responsibilities then included all external and internal communications. Including an employee newsletter that welcomed new employees, announced new initiatives, and covered trending topics related to how we served our stakeholders.
But it was a task that I did for others: write the articles, gather the photos, and meet the deadlines. Focusing on the goal of getting a newsletter out, I forgot to synthesize the knowledge gained in the process.
Once you know something, it’s yours.
We come across all kinds of information every day. In fact we are barraged with it. Some we seek out to do our work better or live our lives better. Others we collect to serve our clients or people in your network.
Here are a few things I’ve learned in the projects I’ve been working on this week, where I learned new things–everything from the history to how to celebrate Juneteenth and the ongoing lack of representation for people of color in the aviation industry (100 years after Bessie Coleman fought the odds to get her license) to more about the history and importance of Pride Month.
- Who’s celebrating Juneteenth this year?
- Bessie Coleman 100th Anniversary Celebration
- June is Pride Month
What about you? What is something new that you learned this week that you can drop into conversation?