Ten years of Working Out Loud: What changed. What remains. What’s next.

Sep 8

It’s hard to believe it’s been this long.

A short history:
2014: The first WOL Circle forms.
2015: I self-publish the book while still working at Deutsche Bank.
2016: I get laid off, and set up Ikigai, LLC to work on WOL full-time.

Ten years ago I took a leap that changed my life. That’s when I started counting the years.

What changed?

In the beginning, WOL was all about networking and visibility. My first post was about “your personal content strategy,” and there was a lot of emphasis on social media.

I kept noticing a kind of magic happening in WOL Circles. But it took me years to understand why. It wasn’t because people were becoming more “visible” in a public forum. It was because of the deeply human exchanges inside their Circles.

It was the combination of self-determination and connection. That’s what helped people feel more confident and hopeful, even happier. I realized WOL didn’t have to be about networking. It could be about any goal that matters to you.

Now there are eight different WOL methods. In all of them, you make progress toward an individual goal in a small group, sharing honestly (“out loud”), taking small steps, and supporting each other. You learn and grow, together.

What remains?

What initially attracted people to WOL, I think, was a sense of liberation. The idea that you could take more control over your career & life—not by waiting for someone to give you permission or an opportunity, but by taking small steps yourself.

And you didn't have to do it alone. A Circle could give you support, encouragement, and trust you might not find elsewhere. That combination of agency and connection is still at the heart of every WOL method.

What’s next?

There have been many ups and downs in the past ten years, for me personally and for WOL. My motivations and aspirations have changed too.

In an increasingly harsh, disconnected world, my aim now is to help people find fulfillment and belonging through social learning.

WOL is my way of doing that.

That means developing new methods (WOL for Students, WOL for AI Adoption) and making major updates to existing ones (v10 of the original method, WOL Career & Life, is available starting next week).

It also means a new ecosystem. There are now more than 40 WOL Coaches in our growing community, forming Circles and working with me on new methods. They are doing amazing work in a wide range of places.

Just this week, a Coach in Munich formed a Circle with participants from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Last week, Coaches in Iowa published a research paper on the effectiveness of WOL Resilience. Another Coach is partnering with Gallup to present WOL Strengths to their network of coaches.

And I will be forever thankful to the early pioneers in Germany, many of whom became dear friends and collaborators, and continue to shape what WOL will be.

Here’s to the next ten years. Together.