merrier.”
“Right, of course, but what about all the ideas and research I’ve—we’ve submitted so far?” Jen asked, bobbing and weaving her head slightly in an attempt to cover more of the screen space behind her.
“Nobody’s knocking your work, Jen,” Karina said. “It’s
not
about that, okay?”
“Oh, no, I wasn’t saying that—sorry, I’m not being clear. I guess if I knew which ideas and research Leora liked and disliked so far—whether or not the research and ideas were mine!—then I would know how to proceed from here,” Jen said. “I mean, she’s so busy, maybe she hasn’t even gotten to them yet, which would be totally understandable, obviously—”
“Your work is
good,
” Karina said. “Like anything else, there’s stuff that really sparkles and stuff that could be better.”
“Right, okay, thanks, that’s good to hear,” Jen said. “What could be better?”
“Well, I’m not a mind reader—you’d have to ask Leora,” Karina said.
“That would be great, actually—I can ask Sunny to set up some time.”
“
Naahht
too sure she’d have the bandwidth for something like that right now,” Karina said. “Though I can certainly
try
to bring it up with her.”
“You know,” Jen said, “it’s crazy, but Leora and I still haven’t even met!” The second this fell out, Jen realized the error she had made.
Karina nodded pensively. “You know, I’m curious. If you are asked for three ideas on how to message a LIFt concept, do you come up with ten ideas, and present what you think are the best three? Or do you only come up with three ideas and just present those?”
“Oh, gosh, I don’t know. It depends.”
“Interesting. So sometimes you’re just presenting the first things that pop into your head? Kinda seat-of-the-pants?”
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t do that. There’s probably always a whittling process.”
“Interesting. But then there’s the question of how you determine the best three out of ten. How do you know that you’re not hiding your brightest light under a bushel? Do you trust us to see the ideas you want to hide?”
“Oh, it’s not about hiding—it’s always different.” Jen sat up straight, still holding the earbud cord, severing it with a muffled
pop.
“You know, I’m sorry to harp on this”—Jen laughed right here, as she often did with Karina, and Jen always imagined these laughs as having mass and taking up space, but plush mass, deferential mass, a comfy cushion to soften any demand or contradictory opinion—“but it would be so amazing, just in terms of time management, to have a little bit of feedback on all the work I’ve done so far. I mean, if that’s possible. I completely understand if—”
“I’m giving you feedback right now,” Karina said.
“Of course, but—”
“Here’s your feedback in a nutshell: More, more, more!” Karina said. “How’s that for a vote of confidence? Just assume that there’s an
insatiable
appetite for your ideas and your efforts right now. What you have to remember around messaging is that this is a
collaboration.
”
“Oh, sure, I know—wait, what does that mean?”
“It means that we don’t hunker down in our hidey-holes guarding our turf. We’re all in this together, sharing ideas, bouncing ideas off one another. Collaboration and sharing.”
“I didn’t—”
“I’ve
gotta
run, Jen,” Karina said, turning to leave and waggling her fingers over her shoulder. “Gotta tend to the spawn.”
Jen cushion-laughed. “Oh, for sure, you’ve gotta do that!”
The Existential Question of Why We Are Here
Leora Infinitas’s fondness for fortuitous acronyms began but did not end with the name of her foundation, and often a LIFt initiative began and ended with the spark of an inspired abbreviation. Leora proposed a proposal for an “edu-preneurial summit” on the global rise of web-based autodidacticism, to be called Women Inspired for Self-Education (WISE). She proposed a
“Right, of course, but what about all the ideas and research I’ve—we’ve submitted so far?” Jen asked, bobbing and weaving her head slightly in an attempt to cover more of the screen space behind her.
“Nobody’s knocking your work, Jen,” Karina said. “It’s
not
about that, okay?”
“Oh, no, I wasn’t saying that—sorry, I’m not being clear. I guess if I knew which ideas and research Leora liked and disliked so far—whether or not the research and ideas were mine!—then I would know how to proceed from here,” Jen said. “I mean, she’s so busy, maybe she hasn’t even gotten to them yet, which would be totally understandable, obviously—”
“Your work is
good,
” Karina said. “Like anything else, there’s stuff that really sparkles and stuff that could be better.”
“Right, okay, thanks, that’s good to hear,” Jen said. “What could be better?”
“Well, I’m not a mind reader—you’d have to ask Leora,” Karina said.
“That would be great, actually—I can ask Sunny to set up some time.”
“
Naahht
too sure she’d have the bandwidth for something like that right now,” Karina said. “Though I can certainly
try
to bring it up with her.”
“You know,” Jen said, “it’s crazy, but Leora and I still haven’t even met!” The second this fell out, Jen realized the error she had made.
Karina nodded pensively. “You know, I’m curious. If you are asked for three ideas on how to message a LIFt concept, do you come up with ten ideas, and present what you think are the best three? Or do you only come up with three ideas and just present those?”
“Oh, gosh, I don’t know. It depends.”
“Interesting. So sometimes you’re just presenting the first things that pop into your head? Kinda seat-of-the-pants?”
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t do that. There’s probably always a whittling process.”
“Interesting. But then there’s the question of how you determine the best three out of ten. How do you know that you’re not hiding your brightest light under a bushel? Do you trust us to see the ideas you want to hide?”
“Oh, it’s not about hiding—it’s always different.” Jen sat up straight, still holding the earbud cord, severing it with a muffled
pop.
“You know, I’m sorry to harp on this”—Jen laughed right here, as she often did with Karina, and Jen always imagined these laughs as having mass and taking up space, but plush mass, deferential mass, a comfy cushion to soften any demand or contradictory opinion—“but it would be so amazing, just in terms of time management, to have a little bit of feedback on all the work I’ve done so far. I mean, if that’s possible. I completely understand if—”
“I’m giving you feedback right now,” Karina said.
“Of course, but—”
“Here’s your feedback in a nutshell: More, more, more!” Karina said. “How’s that for a vote of confidence? Just assume that there’s an
insatiable
appetite for your ideas and your efforts right now. What you have to remember around messaging is that this is a
collaboration.
”
“Oh, sure, I know—wait, what does that mean?”
“It means that we don’t hunker down in our hidey-holes guarding our turf. We’re all in this together, sharing ideas, bouncing ideas off one another. Collaboration and sharing.”
“I didn’t—”
“I’ve
gotta
run, Jen,” Karina said, turning to leave and waggling her fingers over her shoulder. “Gotta tend to the spawn.”
Jen cushion-laughed. “Oh, for sure, you’ve gotta do that!”
The Existential Question of Why We Are Here
Leora Infinitas’s fondness for fortuitous acronyms began but did not end with the name of her foundation, and often a LIFt initiative began and ended with the spark of an inspired abbreviation. Leora proposed a proposal for an “edu-preneurial summit” on the global rise of web-based autodidacticism, to be called Women Inspired for Self-Education (WISE). She proposed a
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