Yesterday, I invited 15 journalists to sleepy downtown Lake Worth, where they talked about how to survive these crappy times. They spent four hours making lists, meditating, and doing some creative writing. And they all said they loved it.It was called Project Invictus, and it was co-sponsored by SPJ South Florida and the Dart Society. But it took some powerful persuasion to raise the money and get the guests to show up. Here's why...
1. The SPJ South Florida board at first refused to kick in $200 to match the donation from the Dart Society. The reason was simple: It's hard as hell to explain what Project Invictus is. I'm not even going to try to do it in this sentence. (Click the italic link above to learn more.)
2. By design, we didn't tell the guests too much about the agenda. So when you ask working journalists to give up four hours on a Saturday afternoon, they're going to be skeptical — even if you feed them a free, tasty lunch.
But it worked perfectly. Even the event planning went smoothly, because SPJ and Dart divided the labor. I booked the venue, ordered the food, and invited the guests. (This is an invite-only affair, because it's important the attendees be talkative, analytical folks.)
Marketplace correspondent Dan Grech (representing Dart) drew up the agenda, made the handouts, and moderated the afternoon. Grech is coming to the national convention with some Dart folks, and among other things, he wants to chat up SPJers who may be interested in duplicating a Project Invictus where they are.
If you want to know more, email me. In the meantime, here are some of quotes I jotted down from the participants...
• "I met people who are inspiring and excited about their future — and passionate enough to give up a Saturday afternoon."
• "I just accepted that working harder is required to maintain our values."
• "I realized I don’t have a mentor. So I’m going to find a mentor. And I’m going to be a mentor."
• "You feel like you have no control, but after talking to everyone, I realize it’s possible to make my job more fulfilling."
• "I got a renewed sense that you can create your job. These times are also an opportunity to grab power and knowledge for my job that I might not have been able to acquire in the old days."
• "I learned that working five minutes a day on a new project could lead to a new job description."
• "Aside from conventions, journalists don’t get to talk about what we do. I learned I’m not alone."
