Welcome #

Whether you're officially building community for work, launching your next venture, or have simply realized that community is the path forward for your career, project, or cause, you should know this.

You've chosen a path that matters more than ever.

Being a community builder is, by definition, a journey of ups and downs.

And whatever ups and downs you're imagining right now, multiply them. Make the ups higher and the downs lower.

Building something that depends on other people has always been challenging. Arguably, it's never been more complex than in today's distracted and divisive digital landscape.

As I write this in December 2024, the internet has never felt more fractured. Yet there's never been a greater opportunity for meaningful connection.

This paradox is at the heart of our challenge as community builders.

Every success and every failure carries a lesson. Every triumph and every setback offers a chance to adapt, to learn, to grow.

By choosing to build community, you're accepting a unique challenge.

Community means you often can't choose your team, your direction, your speed, or even your tools. But you still have objectives to meet.

Your only solution is to put flexibility, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to learning and staying connected at the core of your work.

Whether this is your first community or your hundredth, I want to congratulate you on taking this step.

The world desperately needs more people like you. People willing to work alongside others. Learn from diverse perspectives. Celebrate shared achievements. Create paths to progress. Help build better outcomes based on what people truly need.

Today corporations attempt to quantify connection through likes, shares, and sentiment scoring. We live in a world where algorithms try to manufacture serendipity through shuffling ones and zeros.

If you focus on people, the numbers will fall where they should.

This book may be unlike anything you've read about community before. This is intentional.

I hope that it serves you well.

This book is an invitation to join a larger conversation. Not just with the people you serve and connect, but in the digital community companion for people like you.

There's a vibrant community component waiting for you, where we can connect, share experiences, and grow together.

Thank you for choosing to build with people.

I look forward to connecting with you.