Calendly and the 2Buts Calendar

Issue #45 of The Two But Rule

It’s a new week, and a new month, friends! Below are a few exciting 2Buts updates for November.

And for subscribers, a special treat — a clip from the final draft of The Two But Rule, all about the journey of workflow management juggernaut, Calendly and its founder, Tope Awotona.

Note: The video short below was made with the Runway’s new Gen-2 model on the prompt, “Make a 4 second short appropriate to introduce a story about Calendly.”

2Buts Updates

1. The special offer for preorders of The Two But Rule has been updated. Here are the details. I’d be really grateful if you could pass the news on to your community. It helps support the book launch, and it supports the ongoing work of telling more 2Buts stories.

2. I’ve been writing and rehearsing a new innovation and problem solving “show” to launch with the book in January. It’s funny, interactive, and should be really helpful for teams trying to get unstuck and find better ways of working together. If you know organizations that need to embrace their buts, please point them to jwolpert.com, or introduce me. I’d be more than grateful. Way, way more! (Seriously, let’s talk.)

3. I’m working on two long-form pieces of brand new 2Buts content on the following topics, and if you know anything about either of these, I’d love to spend some time with you getting your insights. Here they are:

   1. Major Public Works Cost Overruns in America: We want to improve the country’s infrastructure, and yet somehow the price tag seems always to be massively bigger than initial estimates. Many make the argument that it’s all red tape that we can cut, but… (so many buts).

   2. Public Schools and Choice: For my whole life, pundits have argued that the public school system in the US is irreparably broken and that we should give vouchers to encourage competition, privatization and choice. But, there are a ton of issues with this that proponents tend to gloss over…BUT Wake County schools in North Carolina have come up with a pretty interesting 2But that I’m only now discovering.

Ok! Have a great week everyone. And enjoy this excerpt from the book. (And note — this was taken from the final manuscript before copy edits and typesetting at Wiley. So, hang onto it, and maybe we’ll arrange for some goodies for those who point out the differences between this version and the book when it hits bookstores in January.

Calendly and the Many Buts of Starting a Business

Tope Awotona Image Credit: OpenView

One of the most classic 2Buts problems is this: “You’re starting a company, but you’re broke.” That’s about where Tope Awotona was just before his company, Calendly, became the breakout success it is today.

If you don’t have access to the full story below — and trust me, it’s a really good one! — there are two easy ways to remedy that. Use this link to get a 2Buts subscription for literally next-to-nothing. Or you can preorder the book and follow the directions here to get a free 6-month subscription (and some other offers). OR top the leaderboard for referrals and get a free subscription that way.