The Main Thing

There's a phrase I keep coming back to lately: The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

It sounds simple. It isn't. And I'm writing about it today because I failed at it.

If you've noticed, it's been six weeks and two days since my last post. Six weeks since I made good on the commitment I made to you when I launched this site: that every Friday, I'd share what I'm seeing, thinking, and learning. 

I didn't do that. And I owe you an explanation.

The honest answer is that I let other things crowd out this commitment. Not unimportant things. Donor follow-ups after meetings. Feedback on projects that needed my input. Working through an inbox that never seems to empty. Each task felt necessary in the moment. Each one was easier to check off than sitting down to write something reflective and thoughtful.

And so the weeks slipped by. One became two. Two became five. The nagging feeling that I'd dropped the ball got quieter as other urgent things took its place.

This week, the Program Innovation team called me out. They did it with grace, even suggesting that maybe I'd overcommitted by making these posts weekly. But they were right to name it. I made a commitment to this team, and I didn't follow through.

The Deeper Issue

Here's what I've been sitting with: this isn't really about the blog. It's about what the blog represents.

When I launched EMERGE Forward, I said visibility and transparency were priorities. I said I wanted you to understand what I'm seeing and how I'm thinking about our direction. I said the best transformations happen when everyone understands how their role connects to the bigger picture.

That's a main thing. Not the only main thing, but an important one. And I let it get crowded out by things that felt urgent but weren't more important.

The inbox will never be empty. There will always be one more email to send, one more piece of feedback to give, one more meeting to prepare for. If I'm not intentional about protecting what matters most, my calendar will happen to me instead of the other way around.

I suspect some of you know exactly what I'm talking about.

The Trap of Busyness

There's a version of this lesson that gets oversimplified in our sector. Someone says "stay focused on students" or "keep students at the center," and everyone nods because of course we're focused on students. No one would ever say otherwise.

But that framing misses the point. Working through my inbox doesn't mean I'm not student-focused. Giving feedback on a project is part of leading an organization that serves students. The issue isn't that I was doing things that don't matter. The issue is that I wasn't protecting the things that matter most.

Busyness is seductive because it feels like progress. You end the day exhausted and assume you must have accomplished something significant. But effort isn't the same as impact. A full calendar isn't the same as a strategic one.

The discipline isn't saying no to everything that isn't the main thing. It's developing the reflexes to notice when important commitments are slipping, and doing something about it before five weeks go by.

What I'm Doing About It

I'm not going to pretend I have this figured out. But I am taking it seriously.

Over the break, I'm going to reflect on my calendar and reimagine how I structure my work. Not just where meetings go, but what I'm protecting and why. The goal isn't to work less. It's to be more intentional about what gets my time and energy.

And I'm recommitting to this blog. Not because it's the most important thing I do, but because it represents something important: my connection to you, my visibility into what's happening across the organization, and my accountability to lead transparently.

One more thing. While I didn't get polished posts up these past weeks, I have been thinking and processing. So along with this reflection, I'm posting several other articles to get you caught up on what's been on my mind.

Consider it some leisurely reading over the break or when you have a moment. The thoughts are there for you when you want them.

Thank you to the Program Innovation team for the accountability. Thank you for the grace you extended alongside it. It was an important reminder to keep the main thing, the main thing.