So, my friend, let’s treat this winter as fortification for the mind. A good stiff drink of bark and moss and some self-disciplinary tonic for the soul. On Dec 21st, shut the tiny door to your self-healing cave and do not in let any shit for two whole weeks if you can help it. Nobody can take away your thinking space unless you let them. And our societal open-door policy has really gone rogue. So let it swing shut. Just for a bit.
Say no to working overtime and staying late and ‘can we justs’ and dorky networking parties you really don’t want to go to. Say yes to soft silence and warm socks and the tiny animal sounds you make when you let go and become a human after 8:23 pm. These sounds will catch in your throat if you’ve silenced them long enough. Let them rush up to the surface.
I couldn’t say it better than the late Mary Oliver:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
—Mary Oliver, Wild Geese
![Snow man with its twiggy arms on its hips](https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1167&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&w=1568&s=ffa7bb79de9727e8c55e6b986185f7f0 1568w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2334&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&w=3136&s=512dd3586179e2ffeb058ad0571927e4 3136w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3501&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=41&w=4704&s=3b561a59e334dbbfff6c22bc7009659b 4704w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=762&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&w=1024&s=ba28b823bc6715732c0810837e5d8c66 1024w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1524&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&w=2048&s=d0dfcb038e2df679d20194600ca3d10a 2048w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2286&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=41&w=3072&s=bb5d76e505f74850276813c0c7ee07c9 3072w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=570&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&w=766&s=9b8cc61620a34e6b750e424f4cb965dd 766w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1140&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=1532&s=0bdb2cd4a0365a82e17d0b64c5fd062c 1532w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1710&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=30&w=2298&s=ff31bdf6ded6157d7ec5999759bb594d 2298w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=333&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&w=448&s=09f76fbe111bba18256934ead4daf84c 448w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=667&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=896&s=5d6a5cbd993c151a24415ad78614e64d 896w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/snowman-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1000&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=30&w=1344&s=d8cdbb89431e5b28ac5dd8e5fdd32160 1344w)
I’ve been thinking...
Our first human instinct is to assume mal intent instead of looking at a breakdown in the system that caused it. You think your PM is a failure. You think your boss is a jerk. You think your team doesn’t appreciate you. You think your clients are ridiculously impatient. But then we must remember:
Most of the time, in most situations, people are operating at their available capacity. They aren’t doing harm on purpose. They’re just tired.
And they need their little healing cave to rest. So cut them some slack.
“So when you hear people say that change is hard because people are lazy or resistant, that’s just flat wrong. In fact, the opposite is true: Change is hard because people wear themselves out. And that’s the second surprise about change: What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.” —Chip and Dan Heath, Switch
Multinational corporations like Facebook, though, they are just monsters. Don’t cut them any slack. They’re going to eat us all like a pretzel snack.
From the #bookshelf
The best links posted in Slack this week. Straight from our apprentices and their trainers:
Surviving… Thriving in Chaos Our very first alumni, Patti Epstein’s speaking debut at the DPM Summit
Prioritizing author experience An excellent talk on setting up your CMS for a better client experience, by one of our newest apprentices, Katie Fritz.
Making an Insanely Good Author Experience (AX) And here’s Katie discussing author experience on the wonderful devMode.fm podcast.
How to optimize your agency’s process A great workshop summary by Brett Harned.
Digital Dollars and Cents A fantastic read-it-in-an-hour by Jody Grunden, of Summit CPA.
![Digital Project Management Foundations](https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=881&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&w=1568&s=c298113b076826406c249b3d481fec9c 1568w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1763&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&w=3136&s=79dd2ee9f0337a90b36d8f89fe670982 3136w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2644&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=41&w=4704&s=b854022963ee58e870ed9a7e167b2ac9 4704w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=575&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&w=1024&s=0298c93dda503456956c2d37b7fff8b0 1024w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1151&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&w=2048&s=b4601d79ed57ab64da73ef68826594dc 2048w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1727&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=41&w=3072&s=c30b42f491d6706a739edbaad52cb0a6 3072w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=430&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&w=766&s=136f4199d8f9f90657802b8e4aaddd4f 766w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=861&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=1532&s=22388103683ca2c3666985e826158ef1 1532w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1291&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=30&w=2298&s=004b567e144ef02c1351f4fa3f62f9bd 2298w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=251&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&w=448&s=266de41c39e29d08a476e2f97d8a24f8 448w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=503&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=896&s=2f1774789203743df9a313f35a17f978 896w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/dpmf-banner-990000079e04513c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=755&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=30&w=1344&s=7a1523258627886c57efe5f599a69627 1344w)
Hit the emergency shut off valve
Digital Project Management Foundations Course
Our Digital PM Foundations course beta was a hit, so we’re launching it officially this January.
“This is such an awesome course. I keep telling people how great it is to have training that is so specific to the type of work I do every day so I can make changes quickly. It’s honestly invaluable.”
Great for dialling up your PM and Ops processes a few notches.
Four spots left.
Starting at $3990.
![A match](https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=883&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&w=1568&s=53d5128bc61207ba7fea7262a1c858c6 1568w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1766&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&w=3136&s=13f492253aa5b2d337daf1d7548874bc 3136w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2649&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=41&w=4704&s=1aaad16c386e11b95073adbc62214da9 4704w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&w=1024&s=aec824995280ff5f6992643eb1253121 1024w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1153&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&w=2048&s=dafb59699f800c0d37abe8560daf9844 2048w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1730&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=41&w=3072&s=4e9e3456629d76118469b8c9e4f1b231 3072w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=431&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&w=766&s=a60c20f493d9d1417fa56df817202cc7 766w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=863&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=1532&s=87e0e059a6255274572b9196e8dcc745 1532w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1294&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=30&w=2298&s=d1032e8d56afafb2db23f50fa9b056b4 2298w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=252&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&w=448&s=2a0bc9c5072fc8b62df511f625e7f83b 448w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=504&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&w=896&s=61ca4200dfa4e5d3cc5c567038bcfb55 896w, https://louderthanten.imgix.net/articles/future-pm-9900000000079e3c.png?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=louderthanten.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=757&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=30&w=1344&s=7078ceb0e0526168c5e10b19dc585d0f 1344w)
Or take your company up to eleven this February...
The Digital PM Apprenticeship
You spoke, we listened. We’re dropping the regular starting price down to $7990 and commitment down to 8 months so your digital PMs, account managers, coordinators, and design and dev leads can hone their skills like a hungry falcon—but in less time.
Graduates of this intensive program are quickly moving into business development, operations, and PM leadership roles in their companies. They are shifting the ways their companies operate. Call it a proverbial agency launch pad. Classes start in February.
Starting at $7990.
(Pssst. We’ve got one earlybird spot left starting at $6990)