Crowd Surfing

Letter from the editor

November 6, 2024

Vicky Janowski,

You’ve all heard the cliché “Work smarter, not harder?” Sometimes “Work broader, not harder” is better.

A lot of times when we think of networking we think of our circles and how they share their wisdom and connections for work.

But as a person just as busy as you are out there, I say crowdsource whenever you can.

Other people know more about what you don’t know and have lived through experiences that you haven’t yet.

And be sure to reciprocate. Share your tips and resources with others to make their learning curve less steep and so they can save time too.

That association of business publications – we often check in with other editors around the country for their suggestions on how they tackle something.

Feel the pain of the annual summer camp signup race for the kids – we’ve started pooling info on registration dates from others who have some of the answers but not the full picture.

At work and in life, the broader the pool of info, the greater the knowledge and the lesser the freaking out (in theory – or this mindset could just free up time to find other things to freak out about, but at least you tried.)

You can learn more about groups doing just that for parents to share info collected among thousands of local families by clicking here.

Terri Everett shares some of the leadership lessons she’s learned along the way in her career – her experiences are your gain.

Have to bring dessert to the family Thanksgiving gathering? Save yourself time scrolling and searching for what to make and replicate the pie recipe provided by Pie Slayer’s owners. They’re the pie experts – it’s in their name – so defer to them since they’re willing to share. (Post photos on WILMA’s social media if you do make it, would love to see.)

We all know lots of things but not all the things.

I say broaden out your intelligence networks and collect all the intel you can.