Hey all,
Kicking off Week 7, and believe it or not, weāre at the halfway mark for #30DaysOfShipping!
This week, weāve had a chance to see how some of our initial groups are doing, and I wanted to share some observations. A few topics for this week:
Team Leads
Zoom Calls and Morale
Building in Public and Motivation
Before we get started, though, I wanted to link our project tracker and mentor list for any newcomers! In that sheet, youāll find projects to join and potential mentors who can offer advice in areas of interest.
Team Leads
The evidence is anecdotal so far, but it seems that the most important aspect of a project group getting off the ground is the teamās leader.
Weāve seen a number of different types of team leaders:
Mentor Lead
Idea-driven Lead
Point person/Facilitator
With SoS, we want to make sure initiative gets rewarded. Weāll be reaching out to team leads weekly to ensure youāre equipped with the knowledge and support to be successful.
Thank you to all of our leads, whether that was a role you started with, or one that youāve had to step into. We appreciate you!
And if you want to be a team lead for a project, letās talk! (reply to this email).
Zoom Calls and Morale
One thing Iāve noticed about SoS is that those who demo, stay for breakout sessions, or otherwise engage on Zoom - are more likely to get help and support from the community.
Likewise, when teams form, those teams that hold Zoom kickoff calls and get to know each other - are more likely to be going strong weeks after formation.
There are so many things that can kill a project, and low morale is probably the top one. Every little thing you can do to gel with your team puts you in better shape when the going gets tough!
Building in Public and Motivation
And for those of you who are building solo - I canāt stress how important it is to share what you are working on. Donāt build in isolation. You canāt expect to build for a few months, have a big reveal and then everyone suddenly loves your project.
That can happen, but when you follow the ābig revealā strategy, all too often, you lose momentum in the middle. The project is bigger than you thought, and thereās a strong urge to abandon it.
When you share progress, people can celebrate with your intermediate milestones, give you early feedback on your product, point you to useful resources, and overall, just help you get through the psychological battle.
Ask for help, donāt build in silence. Remember, the reason weāre doing the #30DaysOfShipping challenge is not to make a big fuss on Twitter, but to practice the forms of communication that enable other people to help you - both now, and in the future.
And a reminder that the challenge can be started (and paused) at any time! Personally, Iāve been distracted the last couple days, so I was quiet over the weekend. On the other hand, Tommy started his Day 1 yesterday š
Thatās all for now - keep up the good work and see you Thursday/Friday!
Cheers š¢
Phil