Reflecting on Camp Thrive

Thoughts on Camp Thrive 24-Hours On

A solo world or a world of solos needs community, needs connection, and needs structure.

It needs to develop systems of support, tools, and frameworks to help itself.

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The tools we used for others, we need to use on ourselves.

With the “soloness” comes amazing freedom and opportunity.

Opportunities to be selective and define yourself by the work you do and to explore possibilities and avenues without constraint.

Most of all, to develop a perspective, a point of view, something that can help to explain why the client is working with you or should work with you.

You bring something to the room, to the table, to the experience, and it might not be one thing; it could be the ability to walk into a room of competing agendas and move everyone forward, precisely because you don’t belong to any of them.

This is the world of “Strategy” at its broadest, and in my mind, if you can locate your superpower, perhaps you could call yourself something other than a strategist.

Being free from constraints allows us to build a following, an audience, a community, and tools.

Effort placed into these endeavors reaps rewards over time.

Repetition, consistency, and community are key.

They build confidence, and growth comes from being free to iterate and being open to change.

When it comes to taking our world to clients, we need to understand the business imperative of what we are driving for: How does it connect to the business? How can we bring others on board? How can we break the bubble by bringing new ideas to the table? How can we be ourselves and avoid losing our objectivity? How can we convince in subtle ways? How can our strategic thinking become operationalized?

All this becomes easier when we detach people from the organization and try to consider their goals and motivations

But…

Strategy will only happen if you can inspire.

Make audacious leaps that force people to disconnect from the present and imagine an altogether brighter new future.

Overpower them with emotion.

Strategy is a superpower that can do so much.

Perhaps the secret is not to get lost in the weeds and the wonk, and to understand you are simply helping move people and brands from one place or state to another.

Finally, this is a world of thinkers and the constant buzz of the “always on.”

The solo life is also a thinking life.

Ideas don’t clock off when you do.

The idea of agent-based AIs marinating on ideas while we sleep is no longer a fantasy.

It is the next edge.

For the endlessly curious, the challenge is to touch grass and unplug completely.

Without that, you simply won’t be your best self.