WEBVTT - Don't put good ideas on a shelf

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that you shouldn't put your good ideas on

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<v Speaker 1>a shelf when you come back from a conference or

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<v Speaker 1>retreat or anywhere where you brainstorm great ideas for your future.

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<v Speaker 1>You need some system for holding yourself accountable for thinking

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<v Speaker 1>of these ideas again and acting on them. So I

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<v Speaker 1>go to a fair number of conferences, usually as a speaker,

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<v Speaker 1>but often I attend other sessions. While I'm there, I

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<v Speaker 1>see people all shiny eyed and excited about putting good

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<v Speaker 1>ideas into practice in their lives. They leave with their

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<v Speaker 1>swag bag and their notes in the conference branded notebook.

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<v Speaker 1>Then the conference swag bag goes somewhere in a corner

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<v Speaker 1>in their office and then gets kind of moved onto

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<v Speaker 1>an office shelf and never looked at again until some

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<v Speaker 1>move inspired decluttering. This is kind of a waste. A

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<v Speaker 1>good idea is worthless if it is not implemented. If

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<v Speaker 1>you go to the expense and effort of spending time

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<v Speaker 1>thinking of good ideas, and especially if you have traveled

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere in pursuit of getting these good ideas you want

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure you at least try to make them happen.

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<v Speaker 1>This is why I think it's great when conferences or

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<v Speaker 1>retreats build follow up into their business models. You go

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<v Speaker 1>for three days to think big thoughts, but you are

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<v Speaker 1>also paying for monthly check ins with other people for

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<v Speaker 1>a year afterwards. People will take this more or less seriously,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, but at least you will see that recurring

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<v Speaker 1>zoom meet up on your calendar and it will remind

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<v Speaker 1>you that at one point you came out of that

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<v Speaker 1>retreat thinking you would do something. But even if you're

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<v Speaker 1>gathering doesn't offer that, you can create your own follow up. First,

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<v Speaker 1>be very clear on what you intend to do afterwards.

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<v Speaker 1>Be better doesn't work. What three actions do you intend

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<v Speaker 1>to take when who else will be involved? Then you

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<v Speaker 1>can put these steps on your calendar. If there is

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<v Speaker 1>no obvious time to do them, just pick a time.

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<v Speaker 1>When that time comes, you can either do it or

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<v Speaker 1>choose another time. Simple enough, though, to keep this from

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<v Speaker 1>being constantly kicked down the road, you do need some

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<v Speaker 1>system of accountability. One easy idea is to team up

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<v Speaker 1>with someone else or three to four people who went

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<v Speaker 1>to the conference and form your own accountability group. You

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<v Speaker 1>can set your own frequency, which can be related to

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<v Speaker 1>how intense the check ins will be. If you're just

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<v Speaker 1>checking in by email, you could do this once, so

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<v Speaker 1>if you are meeting by zoom, it will probably be

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<v Speaker 1>once a month. In person could be quarterly. Set the

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<v Speaker 1>next few meetings so you don't need to rely on

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<v Speaker 1>someone organizing them every time, though realistically someone will need

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<v Speaker 1>to take charge. This someone will be you. This is

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<v Speaker 1>just the reality of you being the kind of person

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<v Speaker 1>who listens to a productivity podcast, but that is okay.

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<v Speaker 1>The accountability will be helpful for you as well, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you are in charge, you can organize these meetings

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<v Speaker 1>how you want. You may decide at some point that

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<v Speaker 1>you no longer care about the things you decided you

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<v Speaker 1>would do at the retreat or conference, but you want

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<v Speaker 1>this to be an act of decision rather than because

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<v Speaker 1>you simply forgot a conference workbook and tope bag do

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<v Speaker 1>nothing stuffed in the corner. It's when the actions you

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<v Speaker 1>decided upon wind up on your calendar, and when you

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<v Speaker 1>have accountability to make sure you've done them, that you

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<v Speaker 1>really get a return on your investment. In the meantime.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.