Objective #5 Reignite LinkedIn and blog presence

Here we are—the fifth and final objective of my current plan.

This should be the easiest to explain and the simplest to track.

Objective #5 is this blog, my LinkedIn presence, and the general act of putting myself out there.

I can say with certainty (after exactly two months of posting) that this objective is the most difficult of the five:

• It's really hard to keep a consistent cadence week after week (hence this post being a day late)
  
  
• It's really hard to create content that feels meaningful. I'll admit to using AI to help proofread and smooth out thoughts I'm struggling to write down - but other than that every bit of content you've read here has traveled directly from my brain, through my fingers, and into my keyboard. I don't track keystrokes - but if I did I'd bet $100 that backspace is my most used key.
   
• It's really hard to find the right balance between making myself sound like a self-righteous asshole or like a clueless moron. I need enough technical lingo to signal competence  - but not so much that I sound like I'm spewing developmental word soup du jour. 
  
  
• It's really hard to navigate being candid and sharing some of the frustrations that are motivating me without feeling like I'm just turning this blog into a pile of dirty laundry and bitching about my company or my work.
  
  
• It's really hard to spend hours each week meticulously writing these posts for only 5 or 6 people to read them. Building an audience was not the primary reason I started doing this but sometimes it feels futile to be launching into the cold void of the internet. 

But the fact that it's hard is exactly why it matters, why it was an objective that I needed to include. For every reason that it's hard, there's a parallel reason why it's valuable.

• A consistent cadence forces me to be accountable to my plans - otherwise I'd come here and tell you about all of the nothing I accomplished the past week. So far my posts haven't really been about progress - but after this week the stage will be set and I'll have nowhere left to hide.
  
  
• Creating meaningful content forces deliberate and intentional growth. It's not enough to just read a book or earn a certificate - I need to come here and intelligently explain WHAT I've learned and WHY it matters. This codifies my knowledge, justifies my growth, and signals I'm developing genuine expertise—not just collecting credentials.
  
  
• Finding the balance between being an asshole or a moron forces me to be a better communicator and a better leader. It refines my ability to read a room and use the appropriate language for my audience. It teaches me to apply challenging ideas like systems thinking or root cause analysis in ways that engage people without needing them to become experts first.
  
  
• Learning how to talk about challenges in my workplace in a way that is candid, critical and productive without being outright negative or demeaning is essential to the work that I want to be doing. I want my observations to enlighten and inspire my peers - not to belittle or shame them.
  
  
• Not having an audience isn't valuable - building one is. 
  
  
  • One reason I don't have many readers yet: I haven't really told anyone about it. Sure, my couple hundred LinkedIn connections might see the link if the algorithm favors me, but until I commit to sharing this directly with friends, colleagues, and coworkers, the flywheel won't start spinning.
  
  
  • Another reason the audience hasn't taken off: the content probably isn't that good yet. I'm a reasonably fine writer—but if two months of mediocre posts built massive followings, everyone would be a blogger. 
    
    
  • The more I do this, the more the content will improve. As the content improves, the audience will grow - and so will I.

So that's Objective #5: holding myself accountable, forcing me to justify my work, and exercising muscles in communication, leadership, and vulnerability that might otherwise atrophy.

After this week, the stage is set. The five objectives are clear. Now comes the hard part: doing the work and reporting back on whether any of this matters.

Thanks for reading (all 5 or 6 of you.)

CHG