BUD: One of my buds is getting better and better at making quick decisions. I have a lot of decisions to make right now and so this is an opportunity for me to refine my ability to make solid decisions quickly but from a grounded an thoughtful place.

THORN: I had a really challenging start to my September. I ended up having to cancel on a bunch of people because I didn't plan well -- I over-scheduled myself and the result was letting others down and feeling like I may have disrespected their time.

Bud: Saying no to exciting opportunities is something I'm sitting with. Particularly with my team and our ambitious but ambiguous scope, not trying to tackle everything at once!

Thorn: The realities of what we're being asked to do and how much we need to deliver (and the pace of that) isn't changing, and so supporting my team as best and as actively as I can while also acknowledging that the pact isn't changing has been a learning curve for us all, and something i continue to strengthen as a muscle for myself as a leader.

Bud: Deepening relationships with our partners in GET

Thorn: How much work I have to do to get the team what it needs!

Bud - excited for the challenges and possibilities ahead. Growing with my team.

Thorn - learning the new department and ways of working.

Bud: we're working on better integrating into our IMP and see so much opportunity

Thorn: lots of competing prios! Need to do a better job of streamlining and choosing.

Bud: Trying to grow my AI skills - built my first (very simple) agent in Copilot

Thorn: the onslaught of tasks coming in Q3/Q4

BUD: One of my buds is being more present. I did that well in my first meeting this morning!

THORN: I received data that my direct staff is having different experiences, including some not so great ones.

Bud: Bringing AI into Tinkercad to make it even more of a delightful Design & Make education experience.

Thorn: Some level of disconnection in this hybrid environment.

Bud -- get better at my facilitation and driving tricky conversations

Thorn -- Not always present and calm with my kids.

BUD: My MLT is actively working through healthy conflict and courageous conversations - surfacing tensions on everything from process to decision-making (thanks to the new campaign ecosystem pilot) which is in turn helping us establish even more trust as an MLT.

THORN: Marketing as a 'branded house' vs 'house of brands' to education audiences is an incredibly complex initiative; also, our data isn't as 'available' or centralized as we would like to run deep segmentation and personalization.

Excited to be defining concrete next steps for launching our PLG engine and align teams around real impact. FY27 here we come!

BUD:

I'm new to the XLT and this level of leadership. Leaning in excitedly!

THORN:

Not enough hours in the day – learning the balancing act required to steer the ship.

Bud: Growing the AI upskilling program into AI workflows

Thorn: Summer is over ☹

Rose-I've set up some essential infrastructure for my team -Bud--I'm learning and figuring things out

Thorn-none yet

Bud: the work that MS&P team is doing!

Thorn: politics

Bud: Strategic planning for FY27 - getting clarity on our goals, building our plans, creating the collaboration connection we'll need to be successful

Thorn: So much to do, so little time :)

🌺 excited for a new manager coming soon!

🥀 how busy I am and missing out on some offsites I want to attend to support the teams (AEX, GPM)

Bud: Ongoing effort to prioritize and focus my attention on the things that matter most

Thorn: Falling into old patterns of behavior and allowing imbalance to perpetuate in my life

BUD: Team is adopting AI and is getting quite good at it and enthused by the productivity savings.

THORN: So many priorities and deliverables leave empathy behind sometimes.

"Hi what's up?"

silence

Not getting my daily lunch walk.

Quick workout

Cuddles with my kids

Ice cream

Bag of chips

(and ignore word limits)