So…fun update for you.

But first I need to put on my confident zombie goddess face.

This is probably the most off-brand I will ever be. Also if you’re in southeastern Washington June 7th-9th or 14th-16th, The Tempest opens at the Uptown Theatre! Come see!

I’m not sure why I need confident zombie goddess face for this? Well, I sort of do. I’m kind of…self-conscious about my tendency to change things all the time. And if I know anything about goddesses, self-consciousness does not apply to them.

I’ve decided to do a major re-write of Gather the People before releasing it.

Why? Well, I’ve caught a vision for it that won’t let go of me, and it’s made me excited about revisiting this work. It also aligns with feedback I’ve gotten from several of you…namely that more concrete examples would be extremely helpful.

So I’m taking three different people and organizations through my approach and sharing that process in the book. I will continue to show how I’m using the principles in my own work, but you’ll also get to see examples of:

•  a freelance illustrator trying to grow their business
• a local community group trying to build a public market
• a bootstrapped startup trying to sustainably create demand for their software product

These are all actual projects that are near to my heart, run by people who are even more dear to me. I believe getting to know them and seeing how they implement these principles is going to help you see many, many possibilities for how you can gather people around your work in a way that feels good and works with who you are and the impact you want to have.

So what now?

With this new direction, I’m suddenly finding I have a lot more to say on this topic. Which is great, because after 13 years of talking about digital business strategy, I’ve had a lingering fear that I’ve said all I have to say.

But even better, I hope me sharing my thinking as I’m writing gives you more hope and vision for what is possible for you. No matter where you’re at, whether you’re just starting or whether you’ve been doing this business thing for a while, whether you feel like a raging success or a complete failure or somewhere in the middle, I’ve been there (and I’ve worked with people who have been there, or who are there.)

For those of you who have pre-ordered, I’ve already talked to you about all of this…thank you for being so flexible and supportive! For everyone else, pre-orders are still open, but the delivery date is vaguer than ever.

To close, I want to send you away with my zombie goddess blessing:

Honor, riches, every blessing
Long continuance and increasing
Hourly joys be still upon you
Juno sings her blessings on you

(Literally 90% of my lines in the play, slightly adjusted for context.)

<3, Sarah