What kind of experience do you want?

I bought the tickets in April.

Story Feast was last Saturday in Minneapolis (an amazing annual event you should consider attending). Six months out, it was already on my calendar. A beautiful space, a delicious meal, date night with friends. It felt like a must-experience event from the beginning.

So on Saturday, 150 of us sat down together at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis. It was a perfect summer/fall night, seating was open community tables, local potters created beautiful place settings, and the room was filled with artwork and amazing food served family-style. It was loud and festive and buzzing with positive energy. At our table, each of us had a different connection to the chefs – the amazing Mateo and Erin Mackbee from Krewe and Flour and Flower - and we were quickly sharing life stories.

I realized I’d been on a solid joy streak. What I was experiencing Saturday night was the exact thing I had felt two days earlier.

The room I led on Thursday

The 2027 Revenue Game Plan Workshop was an intimate group of founders in different industries, held in the creative space of Mahjong Montage studio filled with color, tiles and happy vibes.

The workshop was created from conversations with founders who kept sharing how hard it is to take the time to zoom out and really look at their business. I love planning, so I built something for them. Each founder walked out looking at some aspect of their business differently. Yes, there were activities that lead to those discoveries. But it was also the willingness to step into a room and let themselves consider different possibilities.

What the sharing opened up was support for one another and that was the real magic of the afternoon. Again and again, a founder would turn to another founder and say, "I heard you say this earlier. What if you did this?" Possibility was seen in each other as much as in their own businesses.

One founder said everybody needs to experience what they’d just gone through. Another said, "I facilitate for others all the time, but I don't get to be facilitated in my own business." They got to show up and be guided. The outcome was up to them.

What I caught in myself

I've been profoundly joyful all week. I got curious as to what was going on so I could keep the streak going. A couple of things were present that felt different from other parts of this year:

Part of it was space. I gave myself enough time to prepare for and set up the workshop, and to process it afterward to make improvements for the next one. The weekend was full of activities and gatherings, and yet nothing felt rushed, nothing was driven by obligation.

Part of it is harder to fully describe. I've spent this year asking what in my business needs to change and what inside me needs to change. One area I pinpointed is I haven't been showing up in the rooms. For several years I've been traveling and doing business in other markets, and I haven't made time to show up in my own local community rooms. It can be easy to fall into a rut, to stay put and work instead of going out and engaging with others, to just hammer it out and figure things out ourselves instead of seeking out different perspectives and expertise.

I also noticed something about the workshop itself. It’s best in person. It’s one afternoon and it forces you to get out of your everyday environment. I originally planned a virtual option so founders in different cities could participate, but for now, in-person with the opportunity to play Mahjong afterward is the experience I want to create.

The question I'm taking into every room

Sometimes we walk into an event with a desired outcome: meet five new people, gain one key takeaway, talk with specific person, practice “what you do and who you help”. As a facilitator, I start from “what kind of experience do I want to create for this group?”

What I see now that approach can work anywhere. You can walk into any meeting, a coffee-shop chat, a gathering or a large group event, and determine what kind of experience you want to have. Then watch how it shapes the outcome.

Maybe, just maybe, if we asked ourselves what kind of experiences do we want to be having regularly, our calendars would start to look different. I realize sometimes the heads-down, figure-it-out-yourself week is exactly right. But if that's the only kind of week you've had in months, it may be a rut you’re digging and it’s time to shake up the routine.

One move today

Look at your calendar for the next 30 days. Pick one room: a meeting, a coffee, an event.

Before you walk in, finish this sentence: "The experience I want to have is ___."

Then go be that person in the room. And if nothing is on your calendar, put something there. I bought my tickets six months ago.

Think about it: what's the last room you showed up in because you were excited to be there and how did it shape your experience?

► Want to experience it for yourself?

The 2027 Revenue Game Plan Workshop is a three-hour live working session where we flip the usual order: first we reset the mind, then we set the goals. You'll decide what winning 2027 means to you, run your real numbers, and name the one play that will carry you. And you'll do it in a room that's colorful, creative, and a long way from your day-to-day.

📅 In Person, Minneapolis: Thursday, November 19, [1:00–4:00pm CT] at Mahjong Montage Studio, with a Mahjong happy hour after [4:00–5:00pm CT], where you'll learn a very social game that's taking the U.S. by storm.

You'll walk out with your definition of a winning 2027, the numbers it requires, your 42 Dive that sparks growth, and a one-page Game Plan with your first 90 days of commitments.

Save my seat

Win Your Way,

Michael

P.S. If you've been telling yourself you'll figure out 2027 on your own, that might just be the rut talking. Come sit in the room