Jack's Camp Friends Newsletter |
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I was supposed to record a YouTube video last Tuesday.
Had the time blocked. Had the topic. Even had the script.
Had Dan Weir’s voice (hey Dan!!) in my head telling me (again) that I need to be doing this.
Instead, I walked across camp to check on mold in one of the cabins.
Was it urgent? Sort of.
Did it need to be me? Probably not.
Could someone else have handled it? Definitely.
But there I was, looking at water stuff with our facilities manager, nodding along like this was the best use of my time as a camp director.
Meanwhile, the YouTube video that could really move the needle?
Still not recorded.
Worker Bee vs. CEO
I heard this framework from Fizzle’s Chase Reeves. He talks about two modes you can operate in:
Worker Bee Mode = doing the work, checking things off, responding to what’s in front of you
CEO Mode = building systems, creating assets, working on the business instead of in it
And look, camps need worker bees. We all do. Someone has to check the mold. Someone has to respond to the parent email. Someone has to drive to Boston for the tour.
I don’t want to be in perma-CEO mode. It should be that I continue to get better at intentionally choosing when to switch between them
Because it can be a problem when the director and still operates like a counselor.
I’m really good at worker bee mode. Like, ridic good at it.
A parent emails about their kid’s medication?
I’m responding within the hour.
My dad needs help reglazing cabin windows?
I’m out there holding the ladder.
Staff member wants to show me something in the lodge?
I’m walking over RIGHT NOW!
Every single one of those things feels important in the moment. And they are important. They’re tangible. They’re urgent. They make people feel supported.
But almost none of them are the most important thing I could be doing.
Why YouTube Is Hard (For Me)
I can write a newsletter in an hour. You’re reading one right now.
But recording a video?
It’s ambiguous. I record it, then what?
How does anyone see it?
It gets edited and put where?
Who is holding me accountable to getting it to the world?
Is it worth it? It could be.
But what new work am I opening my self up to that I have to keep up with?
And again, I have 100 unanswered emails right now…
There’s a vulnerability to it that makes me want to go check on cabin stuff instead.
And unlike newsletters, I don’t have a ton of practice with a system I feel great about.
But YouTube is important (read: critical) because it scales.
One recorded video can reach hundreds of parents. Thousands, maybe. It becomes an asset that works while I’m sleeping.
A parent tour in Boston? That’s one family. And it requires me driving two hours each way.
Both matter. But one is worker bee work. The other is CEO work.
And I keep choosing the worker bee stuff because it feels more immediate, more necessary, more like I’m actually helping people right now.
The Real Question
What’s the thing you know you should be doing but keep not doing?
Maybe it’s not YouTube. Maybe it’s:
Building that staff training system you’ve been talking about for two years
Finally writing down your camp’s core values instead of just assuming everyone knows them
Creating a parent communication plan that runs on autopilot instead of scrambling every week
Starting the capital campaign you know you need
All of these are CEO activities.
Strategic. Important. The kind of thing that would actually move your camp forward.
But they’re scary. Or hard. Or unclear. Or they require stepping into a version of yourself you’re not quite comfortable being yet.
So we check on the mold instead.
We answer one more email. We handle one more small crisis. We stay in worker bee mode because at least there we know what we’re doing.
What I’m Doing
I’m still trying to figure this out, obviously.
What I’m trying (I hope!) to do this week: Record one video.
Don’t know if it’ll be good. Don’t know how many will watch it.
But I’m hitting record. Because the alternative is checking on more mold.
Trying to do something that feels uncomfortable instead of the thing that feels urgent.
Your turn: What’s your version of this YouTube fiasco I’m having?
What’s the CEO work you keep avoiding by staying busy with worker bee tasks?
Maybe this week, we both do the thing we’ve been putting off.
You got this,
Jack
P.S. Seriously though. What’s your thing? Hit reply and tell me. Sometimes just naming it out loud helps.