KEEP THOUGHT LEADER FILES

However you keep up with and organize your ideas, I recommend you have a simple system for organizing your ideas related to the WRITING DEN. I prefer analog and digital filing systems. I have printed out the WRITE TO LEAD booklet and placed it in a three-ring binder. Doing so gives me the visual cue to keep these ideas “at the ready” every day at my writing desk. I also use a combination of folders in Evernote and Word to organize my ideas for thought leadership. You might like keeping a WRITING DEN notebook to reference.
Regardless, choose a system that works for you. Keep it simple and effective.

PLAN AHEAD

Schedule time for you to work on your Writing Den instigations, to review them, proofread & ship your work, and connect with others in the forum.

Place in your calendar 2-3 45-minute sessions each week so you can prioritize the instigations and your thought leadership, your influence, and your impact.

OFFICE HOURS

Keep a running list of questions throughout the month that you might like to ask during Office Hours.

Put the Office Hours on your calendar. Most Office Hours occur on the first Monday of the month at 2pm ET via Zoom:

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/973803344

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +14086380968,,973803344# or +16465588656,,973803344#

Or Telephone:
Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 973 803 344
International numbers available here.

JOIN THE GROUP
I strongly believe that DIT (Do it together) beats DIY. You are in great company of a Pack of smart, supportive allies. Connect with them in the WRITING DEN private forum.

Join the private forum here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twwritingden/

Your participation in this program and in this forum is strictly confidential. Everything said and shared is held in confidence by all Writing Den participants and mentors.

GUIDELINES FOR THE FB FORUM

Use this forum to solicit & give encouragement, feedback, and suggestions.

Please keep posts concise – under 75 words if possible – and, if necessary, end with a specific request.

Help your pack mates help you by being precise (specific) and concise (brief) and clear.
Editing posts is welcome. And you can edit FB posts after you’ve posted by clicking on the upper right-hand corner of your post.

Ask for something specific – versus “What do you think?”

Ask for specific encouragement:
“I would love to hear which parts of X excite you or that you think would excite my targeted readership.”

Ask for specific feedback:
“Is X an actual CIA?”
“Is X an actual clear stance?”

Ask for a specific suggestion:
“What alternatives to X do you have?”
“How could I refine X?”
“What suggestion do you have for how I can integrate research into X?”
“Can you recommend a smart approach to X?”
“I’m having difficulty with X because of Y. What would you recommend for Z?”

As always, keep tone generally supportive, strategic, and buoyant so we can all flourish together while keeping it real.

ADD THIS GROUP TO YOUR FAVORITES LIST

You can make accessing the WRITNG DEN Forum easier just by adding it to your Favorites list in Facebook.

To add a link to your Favorites list:

1. Click Home on the top bar.
2. In the left menu, find the link you’d like to add to your Favorite’s List. If you don’t see the link you’re looking for, hover over a category name (ex: Pages) and click More.
3. Hover over the link, click  and select Add to Favorites.

USE HASHTAGS

You’ll notice that I/we use hashtags – # – a lot. For the WRITING DEN forum, we use hashtags to organize threads of conversation.

This allows each of us to use Facebook’s search tool within our forum (the magnifying glass and box at the top of a Facebook screen- see screenshot below) to read through all of the same hashtags. For instance, if you entered the term “#intro” in the Facebook search tool within our forum page, every den member entry using this hashtag would be listed on your screen.

FORM ALLIANCES

Search the #intro hashtag regularly in the WRITING DEN forum. See which den members play in your field or are pursuing ideas complementary to you and your ideas. You might make a file or a page in your notebook titled “Potential Thought Leader Allies.” Then list the names of den members who might be people you might like to connect with, collaborate with, cross-promote with, or partner with in the future.

SHARE & BUILD UP EACH OTHER

We lift each other up here through words, knowledge, ideas, resource-sharing, collaboration, connecting. We’re here to run together and learn from each other how to be the best business leaders, thought leaders, conversation leaders, story leaders, and all-around business artists we can be.

Here are tips for engagement:

• Share your responses and questions to the prompts & lessons each week.

• Help each other out. It’s what a pack does.

• Howl for each other.

• Share relevant resources and expertise.

• Be in conversation with each other if you’re in the same or in complementary fields. Link to each other’s posts and articles. Share when appropriate. Interview each other.

• Each Friday, we’ll have a Howl-Out when you’re encouraged to share one of your latest offers, victories, or break-throughs.

• Outside of Howl-Out Fridays, please do not use this forum to announce your offers or events.