What do purpose, adult friendships, languishing and Barack Obama have in common? My latest reading list, as a matter of fact. This installment explores themes across community and relationship building, as well as examining present-day problem solving.

I’ve curated a list of 3 principles that will help you nail the facilitation of customer interviews, manage different personalities, and extract the quality feedback you need to move your product or business idea forward. When we share insights with each other, we all benefit! And it all starts with a proven process.

Time for reflection, recharging, and independent play are top of my priority list this summer, along with some offline projects that require hands-on labor. In order to create space for these, I’ve had to practice setting boundaries and saying “no” to some things, which is challenging, but the overall result is that I have more control over my capacity and can focus on the non-work activities that are a priority for me this summer. Here’s a list of the practices that help me navigate this balance.

I can’t help but draw on my experience as a facilitator to examine how the methods I use when leading Design Sprints and workshops might be helpful in navigating life with a child, and creating more communication pathways for us. I’ve found a handful of things work really well for our family and give our daughter more agency to participate in creating plans, communicate with us, and keep us present with one another.

There’s something adults can learn from kids to allow us to explore and create more freely. These three behaviors are worth taking note of, and might pay dividends personally and professionally.

I believe we can be the architects of the future we want, and that often means swapping a passive manifestation mindset for a more proactive approach. When I think back to the time I felt ready to do something new, I moved from uncertainty to a clear “yes” after taking an active role in the 3-step process, which looked something like this.

Use these approaches and navigational tools to help eliminate surprises, and align the team so everyone is on a similar page heading into the Design Sprint. Humans are creatures of habit, so taking some of the uncertainty out of this major schedule change help folks show up with positive attitudes ready to work toward an outcome.

What happens when a company outgrows its name? It’s kind of like walking around in someone else’s clothes: people get the wrong idea about who you are and what you stand for. And that’s not good for business. Here’s how do you rename an entire organization in one day.

This reading-list installment features four women authors who each bring a little something different to the table (or the nightstand, depending on where you like to do your reading).

Whether you’re leading an hourlong workshop or a five-day Design Sprint, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself from feeling emotionally drained and completely exhausted. My hope in sharing these 3 steps — which are my own learnings that I practice every day— is that they save you from feeling burnt out and get you back to the things you love.

Testing is arguably one of the most critical parts of the Design Sprint process. If you’re running a remote process, here’s a straightforward and streamlined way to stay organized and collect this key feedback from testers.

Jackie believes in service. She has been volunteering for most of her life and has worked with organizations in the Twin Cites such as Amicus (Prisoner mentorship program), Free Arts Minnesota, and as a hospice volunteer. When she started her business, she committed to giving back to help her community thrive. Each year, she offers her services pro bono.