Meeting Dan Martell's content team made me feel fairly small. They were operating at a scale of content we weren't close to, and I wasn't sure what I could add to the conversation.
We were still learning how to make content. They had years of production and systems behind them, and the numbers they talked about were far beyond ours.
It was useful to hear how they worked. Some of what we'd learned about volume, time and improving through repetition still applied. But I also felt out of my depth for part of the session.
Then the conversation turned to systems and processes. That was somewhere I could contribute.
We hadn't built as much content, but we'd built and run a substantial business. We understood operations and the work of keeping people moving together. Talking about that gave me a way into the discussion.
I liked that moment because it changed how I saw the meeting. I didn't need to pretend I knew as much about their content production. I could listen to the parts they understood and contribute from the work I actually knew.
That is a useful distinction when you're spending time with people who are ahead of you in a particular area. Their experience gives you something to learn from. It doesn't make your own experience disappear.
I'd much rather have that kind of exchange than try to present myself as an expert in everything. We left with things to think about. I'd found somewhere I could contribute from our own experience.
