About 4 years ago, Seth Godin started posting an annual Shipped List; a public account of all the projects that he had completed (aka “shipped”) in the previous 12 months. I liked the idea and have, every year since, posted my own version. (Here’s my first one from 2011)
While I hope you find it interesting, my bigger aim is to encourage you to create and post your own “shipped list”. The biggest (and unexpected) benefit to doing so is it sticks with you throughout the following year. For me, anyway, each time I think about procrastinating or shelving something, I’m reminded of the upcoming ship list, and how I don’t want it to be short simply because I chickened out. So without any further ado, Actionable’s (and mine, in italics) 2014 Ship List:
What I like about this list, looking at it compared to previous years, is that it’s shorter and deeper. We’re getting more focused. The business is growing as a result, and the people involved are achieving more. Clarity is good.
Of course, the bullet-point lists never tell the full story so, in case you’re interested I’ve provided a more detailed play-by-play of how the year unfolded for us (below).
Even with a detailed account, nothing can fully encapsulate a year in a few lines of text, of course. It truly has been a whirlwind. Looking back on the year, I believe 2014 will be one of those pivotal points for the company. We’re heading into 2015 stronger than ever and with some exciting new initiatives on the horizon.
I hope the site continues to provide you with value, through all our twists and turns. Wherever your path takes you, I’m delighted you chose to spend some time with us here, and I wish you all the best in the coming years.
To your continued success,
Chris Taylor | Founder
Here’s the more detailed version of how our year flowed…
January
January kicked off with a bang. Our largest Actionable Consultant Program (ACP) Training class to date – 8 top tier consultants join the community, and fully establish the Actionable Consultant Program as our flagship focus in 2014. In a classic example of Collins’s “Hubris Born of Success” (How the Mighty Fall), we didn’t stop to ask the appropriate questions – “What led to this success? And how can we ensure we duplicate it in the future? And what is really beyond our control?”
February
Rapid global expansion of the ACP via a virtual training class, increasing our presence to Australia, Vietnam, Qatar and India. Again, solid group and exciting prospects. We were starting to get a little cocky at this point…
April
Marketing Co-ordinator, Andie Doan joins the team in a summer placement. and she’s awesome.
The Actionable Workshops pricing model moves from “licensing” to “credits”, and we immediately see an increase in new clients signing on. This was a big move for us and one that I believe will be foundational in future growth. Clients love the idea of buying credits that never expire, and it’s helping them gain enough confidence to try us out. Which is all we needed, as we have an 80%+ second-purchase rate amongst our clients. What’s interesting though is that the experts in the space are encouraging subscription billing whenever possible; the exact opposite move from what we just did. It makes sense to us and our clients so far, but it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
May
On a high from our fabulous January & February consultant training cohorts, we bite off more than we can chew with our inaugural west coast (ACP) training class (Seattle). The consultants who joined are top tier; that wasn’t our mistake. Our mistake was in thinking we were big enough to support 3 separate physical hubs so early on in the game. (We were actually gearing up for 6 if you can believe it). We learned quickly that the infrastructure and critical mass weren’t in place to support a third region, and we soon rolled “Western North America” and “Eastern North America” into one large region… for now.
It was late May that we also announced the launch of a 6-month Actionable Book Club (ABC) Program. It seems a 6-month commitment is something a lot of people could get behind and the program launched as smoothly and with as high calibre a group as we could have asked for. Our ABC members are now producing in the ball-park of 200 new summaries per year, and the writing quality is truly fabulous. Better still, a solid 60% renew for future programs after they wrap their first commitment. This program, to me, is the very definition of a win-win. We get to share top quality content on ActionableBooks.com, and the writers get accountability, a peer-group and exposure to a wider audience.
June
In addition to marking the end of a 10-month overhaul of our entire Workshops catalog ~ new videos, updated aesthetics & tighter exercise focus (nice work Alyssa and Amy!), June also kicked off our inaugural Business Builder Bootcamp – a program for solo-consultants to grow beyond the Consultant Paradox. We launched with 18 participants. I was delighted to learn recently that 4 of them have taken it upon themselves to organize a weekend retreat for January ’15 to discuss their progress with the application of the program’s concepts and hold each other accountable.
The Bootcamp was born out of the realization that the majority of consultants who apply for the Actionable Consultant Programs are not an ideal fit. They’re great people, mind you, but as we get clearer and more focused on who can best leverage ACP, we decided to create an additional program that had wider application. The Bootcamp is that program, and it’s one of our biggest hits of the year, right out of the gate. We have 2 more bootcamp cohorts slated for 2015 – June and November keep an eye out for more info if you’re interested in being notified when we announce the next one.
Also in June, ACPer Louise Davis steps into the newly minted role of Regional Director of Consultant Engagement, Australasia; cementing our commitment to growing our Australian team. Lou’s fabulous, and an anchor for the quickly growing Aussie team.
And last but not least, June was the month we announced and crowd-funded Beyond the Picket Fence; my first book. (due for release March 31st, 2015… and about time, right??)
July
July 10th marks the 6-year anniversary of our first summary – The One Minute Millionaire. (Check it out – we didn’t even have summay Insights back then!)
Emily Koolen is promoted to Regional Director of Consultant Engagement, North America, and Lora Crestan is brought on to provide global support to the Actionable Consultant Community. With Emily, Lora and Louise, we have an extremely strong team in place to support ACP growth in 2015 and beyond.
August
Our First Australian ACP Training Class (and my first trip Down Under). I caught a bug during the 51 hours of travel from Tortosa, Spain to Melbourne, but it was totally worth it. Australia now boasts a small but mighty group of seasoned consultants whom I’m delighted to be working with. Big things coming from this team in 2015.
August 29th: Our 600th Actionable Summary – The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution – goes live. (Summary written by Amy Bontrager)
September
Lots of firsts, this year – September showecased our first “author endorsed” launch of an Actionable Workshop, with Lewis Schiff. His book, Business Brilliant inspires the workshop Fail Like a Millionaire, created by Rob Luke & Jessalyn Hanna.
October
After months of hard work, we officially launch of The 21st Century Workplace Podcast. Hits #4 in Business Podcasts in it’s first week. Awesome job to Andy, Andie and Kira for pulling this together; it’s a show to be proud of.
And on a personal note, Amy and I finish liquidating our worldly possessions, pack 2 suitcases and a backpack and move to Panama for the winter.
November
After a fairly financially stressful year, November ushers in 6 new clients, 1 new investor and a new revenue structure for the Consultants that has everyone excited. The rollercoaster continues, but even with the occasional stomach lurching drop, we’re still moving ever upwards.
It’s a hell of a ride, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. Thanks for being here.
