Become Useful on Purpose

THE AGENCY CAPSTONE CYCLE SHOW UP Create a consistent schedule. LEARN Identify what you do not know. PRACTICE Deliberately train the skill. IMPROVE Seek feedback. DELIVER Complete real work. TAKE OWNERSHIP Fix something without waiting to be rescued. LEAD Coordinate at least one meaningful effort where appropriate. TEACH Transfer something you learned to another person. BUILD Create a reusable asset, system, product, portfolio, or body of work. LEAVE VALUE At the end of the capstone, someone besides you should be able to point to something that exists because you did the work. That is the measurement. Not: Did I feel motivated? Not: Did everybody notice? Not: Did I become successful? Ask: What can I do now that I could not reliably do before? What exists now because I showed up? Who benefited? What can continue without me? What do I know now that I did not know before? What would I do differently if I repeated the experiment?