Maia (post-kayaking) looking for Together Trailmix
Dear Together Friends, Fans, and Family,
How is your June? Anything like mine? All four of our kids are still in school, but their countdown is on! June 23 is the final day around these parts, and the kids are hanging in through end-of-course exams, choir concerts, baseball tournaments, and track parties. For all of you who lead or participate in these end-of-year events, thank you for your tremendous commitment. Dr. Together and Together Tech Exec and I managed to sneak away for three nights in tents, and while I didn’t exactly scream at all the daddy-long legs all over my tent, I wasn’t ushering the spiders inside either. Perhaps my Together Troop Leader days are waning. . .
It was a big month here in the Together-verse because The Together Group officially turned TEN years old! (Though really, we actually turned 17 years old because of my seven-year-side-hustle, but I digress, because Ten Years of Official Togetherness was a HUGE milestone for our team!) We had a big celebration with the Together Team, past and present, with a fancy lunch, some memories and moments sharing, and each team member received some serious swag. Speaking of that merch, we have exactly ONE Together Yeti left (see photo below), and I want to gift it to one of you. Pop on over to the blog and share a comment of how our work has impacted you or your team, and on Monday we will draw one lucky winner (U.S. only) to receive the one and only Together Travel Yeti – a VERY limited edition piece of swag.
Ana and her Together Travel cup with her morning tea
In other exciting news, The Together Teammate page proofs are completed. For those of you not enmeshed in the publishing process, this is the final phase of a book-birthing. This means I do not see or touch the manuscript again until a full copy of the book shows up at my door – and yours – in August. Speaking of, have you pre-ordered your copy of The Together Teammate yet? For the first time ever, we are offering a personally signed bookplate if you show evidence of pre-order by June 30 – just fill out this quick form! I’ll personally mail you a hand-signed bookplate, you can adhere it to the inside cover of your book, and – boom! – an autographed copy.
Why am I making a big deal over pre-orders? Because the powers that be pay a lot of attention to these numbers as indicators of interest in a book. I’m sure most of you will purchase a copy of The Together Teammate at some point (how else will you round out your Together Trilogy?!), but if you purchase a copy now, it will help others who are not familiar with my work gain additional exposure. I am a fan of all of my books, but I’m especially passionate about this new text because it is written for an audience that is often under-invested-in. Your purchase now helps more of these behind-the-scenes folks learn about this great resource!
And if you are local to the DC area, I’m slated to be at this educator-founded independent bookshop on Sunday, August 27, in the early afternoon, signing copies of the new book and doing some other fun giveaways! The entire Together Family is in on it, and my children are cooking up some merch ideas with a back-to-school theme. Details are coming soon!
Our monthly newsletter takes a vacation in July while I wrangle 15 people for Maia’s Maine summer camp, but we will be sure to share our upcoming classes with you in a short blast – as well as more cool opportunities to engage in my new book! Oh, and one more thing. . . our open enrollment IN-PERSON classes are back. I’m super psyched to meet some of you for some Together Leader action here in DC on Thursday, November 2. Registration is live, and we anticipate this will sell out quickly. A full day with yours truly, a Happy Hour with mocktails and cocktails and Together Trays immediately following class, and a follow-up Zoom implementation gathering a few weeks later. Let’s hang out IRL!
#clogsandclipboards #togetherforever
MHM
Together Treasure Box 
- Bring on a Together Table! School supplies AND self-care items? Check out these fun examples of schools and nonprofits providing their folks with materials and supplies to support meetings and PD time.
- Prepping for Together Time Off? Camp Maia, here we come! Time to get those packing lists ready and assemble some screen-free activities! First up on our annual Maine docket is an 18-mile lighthouse bike trip. Also, I told my kids I was ordering all 15 of our family members matching tie-dye T-shirts for our trip, and I was met with. . . groans, refusals, and whining. Help a mom out. #togetherteenagerproblems
- Reevaluating all those meetings? Or perhaps you are doing what I call a Calendar Cleanse? If summer is a time that allows you space to work on some deeper projects, consider creating a Meeting Matrix! Your team will thank you, I promise!
Top Together Tributes
- Five steps to cleaner house? A million people sent me in the direction of this new book. While I have not read it yet, my favorite quote from NPR’s LifeKit interview is: “A messy house is not a moral failure.” There’s no shame in our family’s Sock Situation, but our recent Sock Sorting event was necessary on a more practical level.
- New book alert! We’re long time fans of The Management Center in these parts, and Jakada and team have released a new one called Management in a Changing World. (Fun fact: the founder of TMC introduced me to Dr. Together!). I cannot WAIT to read this one.
- Need a RTN? I sure could have used a Right Now List when working on my recent book. Step One: Open the Manuscript, Maia! As the author says, “Suddenly you’re no longer skulking around outside the task’s gate, conferring with your procrastination demons.”
