Today’s a fun day — we’re launching one of our largest single product features we’ve ever built — Shoutouts!

For the last few months, our Alpaca team has been testing out Shoutouts each week when we do our own Alpaca Pulse survey. It’s a simple step at the end of our pulse survey to take one moment to recognize another member of our team. Just write your shout out, see it on our dashboard, and if you want, make a postcard to share.

The recognition is anonymous. There’s no reward attached, no leaderboard, no program. Just an open door to say something kind about someone you work with.

Pun intended: BIG huge shoutout to Maci and Alissa — this feature was part of their Hackday project back in October, and look what it has become!

So far this year, our small team sent 100 shoutouts to one another. So of course I did a little analysis (nerd alert!) on those shoutouts. I wanted to see what the nice things you said to each other could tell us about our year so far.

Here’s what I learned:

We talk about growth the way great teachers do.

When someone on our team is praised for being “open to feedback and willing to take coaching,” or for “pushing herself outside of her comfort zone,” the tone isn’t evaluative — it’s celebratory. Growth at Alpaca is spoken about the way great educators speak about a student’s breakthrough: with warmth, with pride, and with the understanding that the courage to stretch matters more than the outcome.

People here notice when a colleague refines their pitch or learns a new framework — because we’ve built the kind of safety where being a work-in-progress is something to celebrate, not hide.

We notice the work behind the work.

So many of these shoutouts celebrate the invisible labor that holds everything together. Keeping a software platform running 24/7. Coordinating conference logistics down to the last swag bag. Screening candidates with warmth.

Our culture doesn’t just value the big wins — the booked demos, the closed deals, the shipped features. It values the connective tissue: the person who makes the trip feel effortless, who keeps the data accurate, who makes a new candidate feel excited rather than anxious. I love this about us.

Care is the work, and the work is care.

It’s hard to know where our work stops and our relationships begin. Cooking a team dinner together appears alongside booking four meetings before noon. Airport pilates sits next to conference booth strategy. Someone is celebrated for “cutting the chicken for team dinner” in the same breath as “keeping us close to teachers and leaders in real time.”

The care we extend to each other — a ride home, a bit of encouragement, sticky notes left on a desk — is the same muscle we use when we build products and show up for school leaders at a conference.

Joy is a practice, not a byproduct.

Joy shows up constantly in these shoutouts, but not as something that just happens to this team. It’s something we build. March Madness brackets. Thank you note parties. Collaborative cooking. People aren’t credited for being joyful — they’re credited for creating conditions where joy can exist, even in the middle of a demanding week.

When we build products for educators whose top words include “fatigued” and “exhausted,” this instinct matters. If we know how to create genuine care inside our own team, we’re far more likely to build something that does the same for the people we serve.

Now — what’s missing.

I wouldn’t be doing this analysis justice if I only told you the pretty parts. We can also learn a lot by noticing what we didn’t recognize each other for. So here’s what I noticed in the gaps:

Let’s celebrate the impact, not just the effort

Our shoutouts are almost entirely about effort and presence — rarely about outcomes. We praise each other for working hard and showing up, but almost never for a specific result or a measurable difference made for a customer. Learning to celebrate impact alongside effort is an important edge for us.

More cross-department recognition

Most recognition stays within departments. There isn’t much flowing between, say, Engineering and Customer Success, or Marketing and Sales around shared wins. As we grow, those cross-team connections are the ones we need most.

Let’s say the hard stuff

In our shoutouts so far, nobody is praised for navigating something hard, failing, or recovering. We celebrate stretching — but not resilience through difficulty. No “we hit a wall and you helped us figure it out.” We have safety around learning, but we’re still building comfort around vulnerability in the face of actual failure.

Everyone is a leader

Our shoutouts so far don’t tell much about peer leadership. Shoutouts about leadership qualities cluster around our managers, with very little recognition of peers stepping up to lead a project or hold each other accountable. That distributed leadership muscle is going to matter a lot as we grow. Let’s look for it, recognize it, and encourage it.

Here’s what I know is true: recognizing each other makes a difference.

100 shoutouts so far is a tiny data set, and I cannot wait to see what a full year of shoutouts reveals about our company. But even in 100 little anonymous moments, the picture is vivid: this is a team that celebrates growth over perfection, notices the work that others miss, refuses to separate caring from doing, and treats joy as something worth building on purpose.

Congratulations to the WHOLE team for the launch of shoutouts — let’s keep building positivity together!

KB

Imagine yourself at 80 years old, reflecting on your career. Ask yourself: What in my work life gave me a sense of fulfillment and meaning?

If you’ve ever been a part of a performance review, I’m guessing this question wasn’t a part of the process? What gives you a sense of fulfillment and meaning? What does THAT have to do with how you’re doing at your job?

Your values have everything to do with your job performance, actually.

Because when our work gives us a sense of fulfillment and meaning, we inherently do better work. And performance reviews are about one thing: helping each of us do better work.

I discovered this question, and the Values Exercise, when I read Claire Hughes Johnson’s book Scaling People, and it’s arguably the best leadership book I’ve ever read. She adapted an exercise for the team at Stripe from Stan Slap, a leadership coach for companies all over the world.

The idea is fairly simple: to understand the best work each of us can be doing, we must first identify what our values are in our work.

Why? Because we spend a lot of time at work. And if you’re going to spend a huge amount of your time with Alpaca, you should find your personal values reflected in your day, every day.

Stan Slap says it better than I could:

“To not live your deepest personal values over half your life at work is a crime. Worse, it’s a preventable crime.”

— Stan Slap

If your personal values are around achievement, courage, and mastery, I want your time at work to be spent taking some big risks, learning new skills that support the company’s goals, and winning. If your personal values are around listening, connection, and integrity, I want you to apply your precious hours with Alpaca finding new ways to listen to and connect with educators while creating authentic and genuine experiences and connections.

This week, we’re going to engage in a different kind of “performance review.” Rather than starting with “are you doing a good job at your job as defined by your job description?”, we’re going to engage in an exercise that helps us understand three things:

1. What in your work life gives you a sense of fulfillment and meaning?

2. What are the top core values that are represented in your imagining of your fulfilled life (e.g., excellence, joy, balance, community, impact, learning).

3. What do you need to be doing at work to ensure you’re both supporting the needs of the company while living your deepest personal values at work?

The coolest part? Understanding your values helps your manager support you to be super successful in your role. Many (probably most) of our roles at Alpaca can be accomplished successfully in different ways. In a way, understanding your own values makes every role here completely unique. Think of it this way:

Your personal values + Alpaca’s company goals = Your job description

Finding your way of working that a) accomplishes our company goals and b) honors your values — that’s the work you and your manager have in front of you, and it’s the purpose of this exercise.

It’s not a one way street, either. You’re going to learn a lot about your values (of course), but you’re also going to learn what your manager and what our leadership team values too.

I encourage you to get curious about that question, and understand the values your leader holds most dear. Together, you can work toward the work that helps you both live your values every day at Alpaca. Again, Stan says it really well:

“You cannot live your values without the support of your people.”

— Stan Slap

Alpaca, I can’t wait to learn more about what makes you tick, what gets you out of bed in the morning, and what Future You looks like when you’re living your values while achieving our goals together.

Let’s keep going — it’s going to be a big, fun week!

With Gratitude,

KB

PS: Want to dig in more? Here are some extraordinary talks, books, and resources. Remember, Alpaca will buy you any book that helps you do your job better. Just ask - it’ll show up on your desk in a day or two.

Books:

• Scaling People by Claire Hughes Johnson: Like I said - this is one of the best leadership books I’ve ever read, and it’s a reference guide on my shelf. If you’re interested in leading people, get this book.

• Bury My Heart at Conference Room B by Stan Slap:

Talks & Sites:

• Learning Omnivores: How the Values Exercise is used with school principals

• Stan Slap talks at Google (17:25 is where he talks about this type of values exercise):

PPS: If you’re applying for a job with Alpaca right now, you’ll find the full exercise we’re doing at this link. Feel free to send us your top three values at careers@getalpaca.com.

The first day that I met Jessica Johnston-Myers, I knew there was something about her work that would become essential to our work at Alpaca.

It was in the very early days at Alpaca when I was invited to visit Apptegy, a company we all know is an aspirational leader in the education space. I was hosted by their Marketing leader (another of Alpaca’s great mentors!) and Outbound Sales leader — Jessica Johnston-Myers.

I am not exaggerating when I say I filled a notebook with learning about how she approached district level sales, events, and outbound sales — their approach was focused on both the relentless pursuit of growth, and extraordinary hospitality.

I wrote all about it in a Team Letter more than 3 years ago — you can check it out here if you haven’t read that one:

In many ways, Jessica was “working” at Alpaca long before she was working with Alpaca.

Last year, when we got the opportunity to work with Jessica as a consultant to help us build our sales team, I didn’t hesitate. I asked her to design and hire the first official sales team, set the expectations for how we do work, and question everything about how we’ve done things to date.

Well, she did. And on some days, it was terrifying.

She handed me hiring plans I couldn’t even imagine being able to accomplish. She gave us new scripts and strategies for our booth at conferences that we were scared to try. And she set expectations for sales activity that we’d never once come close to hitting before. And when I told her I was nervous about those plans, she asked me one question:

“Do you want to win, or don’t you?”

Well, after that, we did what she said. And we started winning. As a leader of a start-up, it’s both the most terrifying thing in the world and the greatest gift to have a leader who is much better than you at something step in and show you how it’s done.

That’s why I am so excited to welcome Jessica to the Alpaca team full time today, as our first Chief Sales Officer. Jessica will lead the sales effort at Alpaca, working closely alongside our VP of Marketing and myself, and together, we have BIG dreams ahead for the future of growth at Alpaca. (oh, and we’re hiring!)

It’s because of watching joyful SDRs make videos for superintendents that I knew that with Jessica, we could bring our silliest, craziest ideas to the world of school district sales.

It’s because of watching Jessica’s high expectations of the professionals who work on her teams that I knew our ambitions would match up. (And that Jessica could level ME up too!)

And it’s because of the effusive praise I heard from the members of her team (who did not know that I knew her) that I found confidence that Jessica would be a sales leader I would trust with this company’s most prized asset — our team.

Please help me welcome Jessica to the team full time — let’s go WIN TOGETHER!

KB

Do you remember our Post-Day 1 conversation in Nashville? Of course you do — it was a big moment of honesty and trust about work that was going better, but still wasn’t going quite the way we wanted. We listened, we offered ideas, and then we went out and made Day 2 amazing.

In a way, what you experienced there was a very informal, but high trust, project retrospective. And that’s what we’re talking about today — Project Retrospectives!

Going forward, we’re going to build a regular practice of Project Retrospectives at Alpaca — simple, brief conversations where the team that worked on something comes together to talk about what happened, what we learned, and what we want to do differently next time.

We’ll be starting with Event Retros this week, and Kimberly will be showing you a simple template for these at this week’s All Hands meeting. So before we jump into that today, let’s get everyone on the same page about what these are, and why we do them!

What is a project retrospective?

A project retrospective (retro!) is a regularly occurring meeting that happens at the completion of a project or event. The attendees should include all active project participants and all project stakeholders and decision-makers.

A retro should occur as quickly after the completion of a project as possible, so as to maximize learning while it’s fresh.

Why do a project retro?

The goal of a project retrospective is to get the participants of a project together to build a common understanding of the successes and challenges of that work, so that everyone can learn and improve upon the next one.

To be succinct: the goals of project retros are twofold:

1. Shared ownership of a project’s result and

2. Shared understanding of how to improve future performance.

A good retro is a high trust engagement

To accomplish these two primary goals, retros need to be high-trust engagements.

Everyone in the room should feel able to talk candidly about what went well, and tell the truth about what happened. And everyone means everyone.

That means:

• No blame games.

• No defensiveness.

• No pretending everything went perfectly.

At the same time, this doesn’t mean retros are soft or vague. They should be honest, thoughtful conversations about real work.

There should be room for celebration. There should also be room for accountability. Trust is what allows both to exist at the same time.

Guidelines for a high trust retro

Creating an atmosphere of high trust isn’t about holding hands and doing trust falls.

A “high trust” retro should be a rigorous review of the project, with participants taking clear ownership for execution that needed improvement, and with stakeholders taking clear ownership for changes to scope or expectations. There should be room for celebration, as well as accountability; learning, as well as clear planning for future success.

Here are a few things that will help everyone take the best next step.

#1: Always do them, and use the same exact format every time.

One of the best ways to create trust is to ensure that everyone knows what they’re getting into every time they walk into a retro. So, starting this week, we will do a retro for every event we attend and use the exact same format every time (you’ll find our event retro format on Alpaca Notion in the link).

It’s important to not just do retros when the result is less-than-ideal. Doing retros only if we missed a goal would have two results:

1. People will be afraid when a retro is called; and

2. Successful projects will not get proper celebration and learning, which is demotivating for everyone.

When it comes to asking the same questions every time, some of those questions will feel difficult at your first retro. But if you set it up as “hey, so some of these are hard questions, but they’ll get easier every time!”, you’ll see trust in the process.

#2: Say what you said!

In a retro, make sure there’s no revisionist history — like “we said we’d launch these 3 features, not all 5 of them — those other two were nice-to-haves.”

Clearly say what you said you’d do, and on what timeline, and how you objectively performed against those commitments. Try these three discussion questions:

1. What exactly did we say we would do?

2. What are our results against those commitments and timelines?

3. Did we accomplish anything NOT on our list of commitments?

#3: We’ll celebrate and improve at the same time

A retro shouldn’t be divided into a “celebration section” and a “problem section.”

The real story of any project is always mixed.

Great teamwork might exist alongside a confusing timeline.
A strong launch might happen despite some messy coordination.

So instead of separating those things, we’ll talk about them together.

We want to notice:

• Who helped make something difficult easier

• What we’re proud of

• What we’d approach differently next time

#4: Retros are about the work - not individual performance

Retrospectives focus on how the project unfolded, not on evaluating someone’s job performance.

If someone on the team needs a performance conversation, that should happen privately and directly — not in a group retro.

The retro is about understanding the system around the work:

• priorities

• communication

• timelines

• expectations

• resources

When we improve those things, everyone does better work.

#5: Listening matters as much as talking

People who were deeply involved in the project will naturally have more context to share.

People who were less directly involved may have a different role — often to listen, ask thoughtful questions, and help the team reflect.

One way to think about it is a talk-to-listen ratio.

If you were close to the work, you’ll probably share more.
If you were more removed, listening is often the most valuable contribution.

Ready to try it yourself? Here’s how.

I encourage you to try out a retro for an event, product release, Alpaca resource set, a team event, or sales campaign soon. You don’t need permission - just give it a try. To get started on building a retro for a project you own, here are some frameworks and questions you can try:

Five Great Retro Frameworks

• Start, Stop, Continue: A straightforward method asking what actions to begin, cease, or maintain.

• 4 Ls (Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For): Promotes nuance by exploring what team members enjoyed, discovered, missed, or desired.

• Sailboat (Speedboat): Uses a metaphor to identify what propelled the team (wind), what slowed them down (anchors), and risks ahead (rocks/pirates).

• Glad, Sad, Mad: Encourages emotional reflection by categorized feedback into what made the team happy, disappointed, or frustrated.

• ORID (Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional): A structured approach for facilitators to guide the team from facts to decisions.

8 Questions for Retros

1. What problem were we trying to solve with this project?

2. Do you think we set the right goals with this project, why or why not?

3. What are you most proud of in this project?

4. What is one thing you wish you’d known before this project started?

5. Who is someone who helped you during a challenging part of this project?

6. What is one thing you’ll ALWAYS do on future projects, and one thing you’ll NEVER do on future projects?

7. What is a resource you wish we had to help our projects work better?

8. Active project participants, what do you need from stakeholders? Stakeholders, what do you need from project participants?

One last thing

Occasionally, we’ll want to step back and retro the retros. So if you’re participating in some over the coming weeks, think about these questions:

• Are they helpful?

• Are the questions useful?

• Is the format working for the team?

If something could make them better, say so and let’s adjust!

Like everything else we build at Alpaca, the goal is steady improvement.

Every project is a chance to create something valuable, but it’s also a chance to learn together. Retrospectives are simply our way of making sure we don’t leave that learning on the table.

Let’s get out there this week, Alpaca! 🦙

KB

And when you’re planning a retrospective for a project, an initiative, an event, or a campaign, it can be helpful to use the same format each time, so that people understand what to expect and feel safe sharing it. I’m a big fan of Miro — they create collaborative software for teams. Their blog focuses on great strategies to create more shared decision making and collaboration among teams. Their article on retrospectives is a fantastic read with great retro frameworks. Here are five that I think would work well for our team (and so many others!)

Top Retrospective Frameworks

• Start, Stop, Continue: A straightforward method asking what actions to begin, cease, or maintain.

• 4 Ls (Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For): Promotes nuance by exploring what team members enjoyed, discovered, missed, or desired.

• Sailboat (Speedboat): Uses a metaphor to identify what propelled the team (wind), what slowed them down (anchors), and risks ahead (rocks/pirates).

• Glad, Sad, Mad: Encourages emotional reflection by categorized feedback into what made the team happy, disappointed, or frustrated.

• ORID (Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional): A structured approach for facilitators to guide the team from facts to decisions.

As you may know, we’re working right now on the Alpaca School Culture Report, a deep dive into the state of school culture, according to the leaders and educators experiencing and building culture today.

As part of that work this weekend, I revisited my favorite learning on culture — the HubSpot Culture Code.

I love learning about how great companies build their cultures. A few years ago, I heard Dharmesh Shah, cofounder of HubSpot, talk about the hundreds of hours he has spent on an internal project — and product — called the HubSpot Culture Code.

Why would HubSpot’s Chief Technology Officer put such a huge focus on company culture, something usually owned by People Operations or “HR?” Because it’s that important, and Dharmesh makes a point of spending his time on the most important work of the company.

The result — The HubSpot Culture Code — is not just a manifesto or handbook — it’s a product, built for HubSpot’s employees. They’ve published the entire thing online, they’ve revised it 41 times (seriously!), and it’s worth reading once a year.

They call it the “operating system powering Hubspot” and I love that concept — that culture is the operating system that powers our organizations and teams.

Here are my favorite takeaways:

• “We’re building two products: one for our customers, and one for our employees. Culture is the product we build for ourselves.” YES, and this is true for schools, too. What is the culture product that teachers and principals are building for themselves? This has my brain going!

• “Culture exists whether it’s intentional or not.” Every company has a culture. Whether you’re intentional about designing the one you love is up to you.

• SFTC: “Solve for the Customer.” I love that the first tenet of an internal culture document is all about a relentless focus on the customer.

• Courage over comfort. Boldness over hesitation. Simply put, and a clear directive — HubSpot does such a service to its employees by being so clear with expectations of how to approach problem solving.

  

• “It’s not an open door policy. It’s a no door policy.” The idea that every employee has access to every other; that “debates should be won by better insights, not bigger job titles;” and that “transparency ≠ democracy” hits all the things employees desire in transparency, while addressing all of the things that create concern for company leaders.

• Use Good Judgment. This three word policy replaces most policies in the company. If you’re wondering where I get my opinions about having a lot of “policies,” it’s here.

• Customer > Company > Individual: HubSpot calls this the “cheat sheet on good judgment.” Don’t solve for your personal interests over that of the team, and when in doubt, solve for the best interests of the customer. If you remember one thing from the Culture Code, make it this.

• “Humility isn’t about thinking less of yourself. It’s about thinking of yourself less.” That’s the best definition of humility that I’ve heard.

• “We like learn-it-alls, not know-it-alls.” Stealing this.

• Free Books Program. “Request a book, it magically shows up in your inbox. No expense reports required.” What better way to encourage learning than that. Again, now you know where I got this practice!

Overall, one of my favorite things about this product is its simplicity: it’s an openly published slide deck, with a total of 58 slides, many of which have fewer than 10 words on the slide. That’s intentional too — because nobody has time for a 100 page manifesto, and if they did have time to read it, they wouldn’t remember it.

And culture is only as strong as the choices and values you remember and repeat.

Need a fun challenge this week? Spend a little time thinking about what values or choices YOU would put in a Culture Code product for Alpaca. If you do, let me know so we can grab a coffee so you can tell me about it!

On the flight home from our time together at the National Conference on Education in Nashville on Saturday, I had to take a minute to write down what we learned and did together this week. It’s why I write Team Letter — to not forget the little moments of the company that I feel we’ll look back on one day and say “that was a turning point.”

Last Friday was one of those turning point days.

I try not to lean into hyperbole, so you know it’s genuine when I say — I feel like the ground shifted underneath this company last week, in the best possible way.

I have always believed that our product has important work to do for schools and districts. And I have always believed in our brand, our mission, our values, and the opportunity ahead of us. But this week, I watched something new emerge in the company:

I watched our team go from being a group of people who work together to a true team of owners.

I will say, it didn’t happen in a glamorous way. It actually happened because we struggled and sweated through some things. Early in the week, we struggled to get our presence set up at the conference — it took us hours longer than we expected, and included a trip to a production studio, several emergency Amazon orders, splitting up the team for dinner, and making some last minute changes to make everything work. Thank goodness for portable steamers.

We struggled, too, the first day of the conference. We watched the companies whose success we aspire to fill up their booths with conversations and connections and booked meetings, while ours floundered a bit. We took a stutter step. We didn’t engage. We got scared out there and then we got in our own way.

Worst of all, we attempted to rewrite the narrative. We briefly decided that because our results were “better than last year,” that meant that we were winning, even though we were clearly short of our goal. So when we talked about it, we were proud of our day, and proud of the improvement over last year.

But we all knew it…we weren’t winning.

It took until the last moment of our first conference day for someone to say it. But then, thankfully, someone said it: “I’m really disappointed about where we are against our goal right now.”

And little by little, the truth came out — “there’s a part of our product that isn’t resonating with this audience.” “I don’t have a way to show someone what we actually do.” “I’m afraid to strike up a conversation.” “I got discouraged, and then I ran away.”

And right then, sitting around and feeling realllllly tired in our VRBO after a big day of conference (and before an even bigger one), I watched something in our company change. I watched us listen to the hard truth that we weren’t on track to hit our goal, and then I watched us mobilize, re-organize, and make a new plan.

I watched us give and receive feedback — and nobody died or threw up.

I watched us ask “What’s my exact number for tomorrow? I’m ready.”

I watched us say “Let’s go earlier than we said tomorrow, to give ourselves the best chance.”

It was so cool to see it. I had goosebumps. And on Friday, it all clicked.

I watched you wake up and get in front of our customers 5 hours before everyone else, in the most creative, hospitable, totally-us-kinda-way. It was so fun.

I watched you get brave and help each other get brave, too. You helped me!

I watched you teach each other things, and teach me things. Thank you for that.

I watched you make great use of our company’s resources, and then I watched you take risks when you believed there was an outsized reward available to us. (I’ve never purchased more lattes in my life!)

I watched you never take a single moment of the day for granted. THANK YOU.

Your hospitality for our customer was genuine and perfect. Your focus on asking people for the opportunity to work together was hard work, and you did an extraordinary job of getting comfortable and going for it.

And yet — none of that is the transformational part. The thing that was different — that IS different about our company now is that you didn’t do any of this because someone asked you to or said you had to.

Nobody got in the minivan at 5:45 am because it was in your job description. Nobody on our software team booked sales meetings because you were told to. You did it because you figured out what it would take for the company to win, and what part of that you could play, and then you did that thing.

And we won — we started Friday 35% to our goal, and ended the day 102% to goal. We were talking to customers before 7 am, and we were the absolute last team on the floor to shut down the booth, and it paid off. Our calendars are full from start to finish for the foreseeable future. We added more pipeline, booked more demos, and had more meaningful conversations than we ever have in a single day in the company.

At a start-up company where teams are small and resources are limited, taking ownership matters. A team of owners has 10x the impact over a team of employees, no matter the size of the team.

The reward for taking ownership is more time with customers. Because we decided to own our luck and win the day, we got the opportunity for more conversations, with more current and future customers, than ever would have been possible. We owe them our gratitude for that opportunity, and I know we will all show that in the weeks to come.

I cannot wait to see what each of us will own and transform in the weeks to come. I hope you’ll look back on our week and see the kind of impact we have when we say the hard thing, take ownership, and own our future together. I’ve truly, actually, never been more proud of our company — and that’s really saying something.

Gratitude x A Million,

KB

Happy Q1 Retreat Week! Happy NCE Week! WOW this is a big week!

I figured you might want some airplane reading/thinking topics today as we travel, so I wanted to introduce a concept that we’ll be talking about as part of retreat. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about how we’re going to grow as a company this year, and central to that conversation is leadership.

One of my favorite leadership tools I’ve ever learned about is the Leader ReadMe. It’s a simple way to start speaking the same language with leaders in your company, understand the best way to communicate with your manager, and build expectations for your teams.

So what IS a Leader ReadMe? Well, thank you for asking.

First, a History Lesson.

A long long time ago when personal computers were rather new to most of us, many pieces of software were purchased in an actual store (yes and software came in an actual box) which you then installed on your computer. Once installed, you would very often find a simple text file in the software named “README.”

That file contained the operating instructions for the software. How to use it, which commands you’d need, the rules of play for a game. So whether it was business software like Microsoft Excel or a game (Oregon Trail? Anyone?), you’d have a simple way to know how to use the software as soon as you’d installed it.

I promise I’m going somewhere with this, and now you all know JUST how truly old I am.

Years ago, I learned about a leadership practice called the “Leader ReadMe.” The practice originated in the tech industry and was made particularly popular by the then leader of Netflix, back when Netflix still shipped DVDs to people in the actual mail. (Yes, I was around for that too).

Leader ReadMe: An operating guide for working together

The idea of a Leader ReadMe follows the same principle as a software “ReadMe” file, but for leaders and managers. Essentially, it’s a guide to how to work with a leader, setting up expectations and norms from the very beginning. A leader’s ReadMe can evolve and change, and can adapt to the company or team.

A ReadMe It isn’t a sales pitch or a resume but rather a simple set of things to know about working with someone as a leader. What they expects, what they care about, how they works, when they works, and how they help each team member be successful in their role.

At my former company, our Director of Engineering led off his very first day of work by sharing his Leader ReadMe — an operating guide to working for him — with every one of his direct reports. Right from the start, they knew how best to work with him. After reading his, I immediately wrote mine.

Every company and team is different, and my own leadership style has changed with time, so last week while I had the gift of a bit more time on my hands, I took a moment to write a new ReadMe. I now primarily lead other leaders, so mine is oriented in that way, but you can write a Leader ReadMe for any type of team.

You’ll find my Leader ReadMe here in a new space for them on Notion. (If you’re reading this and you aren’t on the Alpaca team, but you want to read my README, email me at karen at getalpaca.com and I’ll happily share it with you).

Why to write a Leader ReadMe

The simple answer is: clear is kind. To spend the time thinking about and writing about how you work, and sharing that with your coworkers is to give your coworkers a gift. It’s also a gift to you as the leader.

If you manage a team and they don’t know that you work best early in the morning or that you live and die by your google calendar, you risk misunderstandings, miscommunication, and a lack of alignment in expectations. But when everyone is on the same page (and it’s literally written down on the page), you can operate with the same understanding, even if you don’t work in exactly the same way.

We are all leaders here. Yes, you!

If you’re wondering how this applies to you if you don’t lead a team at Alpaca, worry not. You can also write a Leader ReadMe about the kind of manager or leader you WANT to become — it may help you identify the skill sets that you need to build or refine in order to earn a leadership role.

Also, don’t forget that there are more ways to be a leader than managing a team. If you lead a product, an office, a team, a key effort, or our culture, you’re a leader. So in a company of our size, we need everyone to be a leader, actually.

As part of our time together as a team this week, we’re going to talk about leadership and how we’ll grow as a team in 2026, and as part of that, we’ll help each person on the team develop the beginnings of your own “ReadMe.” Start thinking about what might go into yours, and do some exercises to help us each write our own this week.

Everyone buckle up — this is going to be a GREAT week together! See you in Nashville!

KB

Here’s my favorite question of the season: “Do you have any New Years Resolutions?”

Thank you for asking! Of course I do.

If you’ve worked with me for more than a week, you know that goals are my love language.

To be precise: setting out to achieve big things with a team of people I care about and respect is my love language. It’s why I run marathons with The Beeps. It’s why I travel to new places with my family. And it’s why I love coming to work with each of you every day.

But New Years Resolutions run the risk of being contrite, or worse, of being over and dead by January 19th. And if we’re going to set the goals, let’s also set ourselves up for success, yes? Yes.

Last week, we spent a great afternoon on our OKRs and goals for the year. So you already know it:

Alpaca’s word of the year is MOMENTUM.

This year is all about taking the big strides we made in 2025, building upon them, and putting that “mass in motion” to achieve the milestones that transform our business.

Alpaca’s milestones have never been more audacious, AND we know they’re within reach. So, how do we do achieve that momentum?

Friends, we achieve it with unglamorous, one-foot-after-the-next, highly-focused, highly intentional EFFORT.

I know. I know. You’re positively brimming with inspiration at the idea that we are going to achieve our goals this year with “highly focused very hard work.” But it is how we’re going to do this.

And we’re going to make it pure joy, because we’re going to do it together.

Coming into the year, I wanted my own personal goals to align to our company goals, since a lot of my hours and days and weeks are centered on Alpaca (as they should be!). So I built myself a little program to make that consistent effort fun, and to celebrate some Little Wins.

I’m sharing here my plan for 2026 — anyone want to join me!?

KB’s 2026 Goal: 💯 Little Wins

My goal is to build greater consistency and mastery across my life by prioritizing repetition of the practices that serve me best. To do that, I’ll accomplish and celebrate things in 100s — because 100 of any good practice (like running or talking to customers or being awake for the sunrise) is enough to either make it a habit or decide it’s not serving me best and let go of it.

How it works

My intention is to design the day and week to accomplish some activities in Work, Wellbeing, and Personal categories, and then celebrate (just a little!) when I hit 100 of one of them!

Will I make it to 100 of all of these things!? No way!

Will I do some of them 200 or 300 times? Yes.

It’s less about how many get done, and more about what I can learn and build from consistent work toward practices that are good for me. The effort toward them will show me which ones are more important, which ones I can achieve, and which ones it’s time to leave behind.

Here are the efforts I’m focusing on to start:

WORK

Goal: Grow customers, revenue, and team by 100% in 2026.

• 100 meetings with education leaders

• 100 handwritten thank you notes

• 100 new customers

• 100 returning customers

• 100 published posts/articles

• 100 investor conversations (current or future)

• 100 team 1:1s

WELLBEING

Goal: Be consistently ready to run a half marathon (healthy, strong, nourished) and run four good ones.

• Hit a 100 day running streak

• Run 100 miles in a month

• 100 days with 100g protein

• 100 breakfasts

• 100 strength workouts

• 100 pre-10 pm bedtimes

PERSONAL

Goal: Enjoy excellent relationships with every member of my family and take care of myself.

• 100 family meals

• 100 sunrises 🌅

• 100 pieces of art made (any size!)

• 100 family individual check-in texts

• 100 books read (Yikes, honestly?)

• 100 NYT crosswords completed

The Rules

A few things I’m doing to help me keep track and stay on track!

• I’ll keep track to see what I can accomplish during the year. When I hit a 100 Milestone, I’ll celebrate it as a “little win.” (Stickers and a bingo card might be part of this equation).

• Any item can be repeated as many times as time allows (for instance, if I ran 100 miles per month in 3 different months, that would count as 3 wins).

• Habits can be added throughout the year if something makes sense. But only add habits that contribute to overall goals and intentions — no vanity metrics here (aka no one is impressed by making 100 spreadsheets unless they help us reach the actual goal).

Early Results

Alright, it’s early, but here are a few things I’ve prioritized in the first 12 days of the year, and how those things are going:

WORK:

• New Customers: 3

• Returning Customers: 2

• Handwritten Thank You Notes: 10

• Investor Conversations: 4

• Team 1:1s: 2

HEALTH:

• Days Run: 12

• Current Running Streak: 42 Days (started in December)

• Breakfasts: Like 2 (it’s so bad!)

• Pre-10pm-Bedtimes: 7

PERSONAL:

• New York Times Crosswords: 8

• Books Read: 3.5

• Sunrises: 8

So, it’s going. It’ll have ups and downs, I know. And I realize that this little system/program/thing I made is a wee bit complex.

But in a way, the system is complex but the goal is not. The goal is not some mountain-top achievement that happens on one day. The goal is to consistently put one foot after the next.

The goal is reps. At bats. And other sports analogies.

In all its unglamorous glory, the goal is simply to stay focused on the work it takes to achieve big things. Because every marathon is accomplished by 100 training runs (right, Mark!?) — it literally has almost nothing to do with race day.

Now Is When I Ask You to Join Me 😬

So Alpaca…what will you do 100 times this year? Want to pick one thing? If you do, I want to hear about it and I want to encourage you along the way and I want to celebrate that win for you when you hit 100.

Because doing something 100 times is worth celebrating, and it’ll be a lot more fun if we celebrate together. Let’s GO, Alpaca — the momentum is building and the wins are ours to earn.

❤️ x 💯,

KB

Before we jump into our BIG new 2026 on Monday, I wanted to take a moment to look back on what made 2025 great, and what we’ve learned.

I think my favorite moment of our entire 2025 was when got on the phone with our customer Eric Filardi after their school signed the contract that took us over our long-held growth goal (you know what it is!). When I talked to Eric, he said this:

“I’m so excited to be part of your growth story. Teaching me how to better listen to my team has been a game changer for my work as an educator and a a leader.”

Meeting big goals is incredible. But meeting them alongside customers, investors, team members, and friends who see what we’re doing and where we’re going? That’s next level good.

2025 was Next Level Good.

So, what changed in 2025? I think this is the year we learned to listen better.

This year at Alpaca, listening showed up in new software, in new ideas for teacher recognition, in thousands of handwritten notes, in stories shared, and in the stories big and small that educators trusted us enough to tell.

I can’t believe how much we’ve learned from listening this year. Shall we take a look? Here are my highlights.

1. The new Alpaca Pulse helped us listen at scale.

This year, educators completed over 30,000 Pulse check-ins, selecting more than 85,000 sentiments to describe how they feel at work.

The two most common feelings they shared? Exhausted — and Committed.

That pairing says everything about the moment education is in — and why tools to both listen and support is the work we’re focused on delivering.

We also launched the Positivity Pulse, a measure of total positivity in a school building at any moment in time. In our first year with that tool, educators showed an average positivity score of 71% — and we’ll keep learning from that measure over time.

2. We asked one new question that helps leaders celebrate in new ways.

Listening to those sentiments has always been key to our work, but this year, we also started asking a simple but key question:

“What’s going well right now?”

We wanted to find the bright spots so leaders could celebrate them better. So far, we’ve collected 31,000+ Bright Spots, and here’s what educators told us what’s keeping them grounded:

• Feeling anchored to purpose

• Leaders who follow through

• Trust to make decisions

• Feedback that leads to real change

• Communities that show up for one another

3. We got better at delivering on what teachers need.

We’ve always asked “What helps the most right now?” but this year, we built better ways to connect those needs to real action. This year, educators told us 28,000+ things they need, so their leaders could understand what support looks like right now. Then, we connected those needs to more than 250 actionable resources, available right in our dashboard.

Here are the top things they said:

• Recognition in staff meetings

• Opportunities to grow and share strategies

• Small, weekly feel-good moments

• Check-ins around impact and goals

• Surprise treats that simply say, “We see you”

4. We had real, in-depth conversations with more than 1,000 school leaders.

This year, we launched the Little Wins Podcast, introducing us to some incredible school leaders doing extraordinary things to build school culture, little by little. I can’t tell you how many times I took my headphones off after a recording and said “You guys have to hear what this principal is doing.”

That happened everywhere — in the Podcast of course, but also at conferences, in sales and partnership conversations, and in the conversations we’ve had with our customers about how they’re using Alpaca and how they’re building culture in real time.

5. We fell in love with 23 educators when we hosted a summer camp for school culture.

You know how I felt about Camp Alpaca!

Our first ever conference/workshop for educators and culture leaders was a BIG experiment, it was so much work for our teams, and it was my favorite two weeks in the company’s history. Not just because of what our educators built (30+ school culture resources!? YES holy moly). Not just because we gained so much insight and feedback into our product, making it an even better launch for the fall. But above all, because listening to what teachers are looking for at work, and watching them take charge and build those creative ideas out to support their fellow teachers everywhere showed us all the genius of the profession.

6. Care You Can Hold: Packs

We cannot NOT mention the celebrations! Through Alpaca’s unique teacher celebration and recognition care packages, we delivered 27,000 Alpaca Packs into schools across the country.

Each one included:

• One of our 23 custom products, designed and built just for educators, BY educators.

• A handwritten thank-you note — 27,000 of them, written and delivered by educators, retired educators, community members, and friends all over.

Packs are simple by design, but powerful in practice. They turn appreciation into something tangible, timely, and human.

Alpaca’s care packages add a moment of celebration to the hard work of teaching, and a little bit of surprise to a school building each month. I love them, because they remind us to have a little fun, while listening to our teams.

7. Greater impact through listening

By year’s end, Alpaca supported more than 14,000 teachers and school staff members, across 120 district partners and 300 schools, 35 states and two countries, all with one simple idea: that when you listen to teachers, the world can change. That happened because of each of your hard work and support.

Thank You

WOW, y’all — we have a lot to be grateful for. Thank you, Alpaca team, for building with care, curiosity, and integrity — even when the work was complex and the path wasn’t obvious (and I was asking for just ONE MORE THING but on the same deadline).

Partners and investors, thank you for believing in Alpaca’s evolution, and for backing a long-term vision rooted in trust and impact.

And to the educators who invite us into their schools, stories, and signals every day: we’re grateful beyond words, but we’re going to keep telling you, in every way we can.

We’re ending the year more clear, more focused, and more committed than ever to helping schools become places where people feel seen, supported, and celebrated.

Onward — and thank you for being part of this journey.

With gratitude,
KB

Have you ever woken up on Thanksgiving Day and realized your work is your dream job?

That’s an extraordinary feeling. I’ve been thinking a lot about the community of people that surrounds our mission and work and how it’s grown this year. Without fail, every single person who touches this company does so with great care for educators and for our work. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge a few who have become a big part of Alpaca this year.

I’m grateful for our educator team. You build and create such beautiful, fun, and helpful resources for our customers and educators everywhere, and you do it with such joy.

I’m grateful for our investors. I am beyond grateful that you believe in our team, our mission, and our company. Thanks for all of the encouraging notes, all of the good questions, and all of the offers to help us. We couldn’t be doing this without you.

I’m grateful for our Little Wins Leaders community. I have learned so much from school and districts leaders in every single podcast interview. Sharing even one hour with us has helped me build a new understanding of how to grow our company. Your little wins, culture moments, and practices you bring to your schools and district are inspiring. Thanks for helping us learn every day.

I’m grateful for our customers. Every school and district leader that trusts us to help them listen to, support, and celebrate their educators is at the top of my gratitude list. Our customers give us amazing feedback and ideas. You share the impact that Alpaca is making at your schools. And you are simply some of the most thoughtful and delightful humans I know.

I’m grateful for every member of the Alpaca team. It is not lost on me that you are investing your time, talent, and career growth with this little start-up. You roll with the punches when the unexpected shows up (and it always does!). You take extraordinary care of one another, personally and professionally. You are the world’s best hype squad. You’re hilarious. And beyond all of that, you are working your tails off, running through brick walls to see Alpaca succeed. I’m grateful for you every time I walk in the door of our office and see a workplace filled with hard work, creativity, laughter, and true friends.

Our little idea has shifted and grown. It has felt like the wheels are falling off at times, and it has felt like we’re on a rocket ship at others. (I prefer the rocket ship, thank you!) We are only just getting started, and our company has so much to learn, so much to do, and far to go.

But the community of educators, leaders, customers, investors, and team members that surrounds our company is how I know we’re going the right direction. I love it here, because of you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me my dream job.

KB

I knew I was going to like Molly Cormier the first time she bounced into a fulfillment day at the office and took over the music playlist. Energetic, audacious, and deeply joyful, Molly immediately found her place on the team, and played Broadway soundtracks from day one.

That first day, the Hamilton Original Broadway cast album was her pick. If you know me, you know that Hamilton is my favorite musical. What you might not know is that it’s because that musical changed my life 9 years ago. (Molly, I promise this is a story about you. Roll with me a moment.)

In 2016, I went for a run one morning up in Minnesota. We were there on vacation and I was glad that day to not be at work, because honestly, I was in a job I didn’t love. Nothing wrong with the company or the work — it just wasn’t the right level of challenge or the day-to-day experience I was seeking.

I was looking for a playlist for the run and my brother said “you have to listen to this new Broadway musical. It’s about the life of Alexander Hamilton.” My eyes rolled. This felt like it could only go the direction of a cool-history-lesson-Schoolhouse-Rock type of show and I wasn’t into it. Charlie said “trust me, it’s different.”

So I set off running to the opening song of the show. And about 5 minutes later, I stopped dead in my tracks to figure out what in the heck I was hearing.

Lin Manuel Miranda’s work blew my mind. It was more words than I’d ever heard crammed into a musical. It was energetic and audacious, and deeply joyful. I stood still in the middle of County Road 11, marveling at this thing that an extraordinary team of talented individuals created together.

And that’s when I knew I had to quit my job.

Hamilton made me realize that I wasn’t doing the work that I longed to do. I remember thinking “I only have this one career and life. I need to work with a great team and build something I’m proud of, something that makes impact, something to marvel at.”

So I made a plan, I quit my job 3 months later, and on the day I left, I took my brother to Chicago to see Hamilton on the stage. (We marveled at it.) When I got back, I set out to find the teams that made impact, that created extraordinary work together, and that made us proud.

I’ve ‘been lucky enough to get to do that kind of work every day since then, whether it’s with the companies I joined, the organizations I’m a part of, or Alpaca — the company we’re creating together.

Which is why I knew what to do when, exactly one year ago, a spitfire redhead part-time packout assistant with a penchant for Broadway said to me “I think it’s time for me to stop waitressing at the Cracker Barrel, and I’d like you to take a chance on me in a full time sales role.”

Molly was ready to create something to marvel at.

Molly has never worked in sales, but she was willing to pick up the phone and call 100 strangers every day. She’s the first one in the office every morning, so that she can call the East coast before school starts.

Molly has never been part of a start-up, but she jumped in, and now asks amazing questions and comes up with ideas that continue to shape our work each day. She’s unafraid of feedback and she improves every day because of it.

In just her first year, Molly has instilled our company with energy, audacity, and deep joy, and we’ve watched her grow a lot in the process. She also has a strange magnetism for birds and other wildlife, which is entertaining for all of us.

What I see in Molly is pure potential. Because when you’re willing to raise your hand and ask someone to take a chance on you, and then you’re willing to follow it up with BIG work, big opportunities have a way of showing up.

A team with people like Molly, building something extraordinary together, is exactly the thing I knew was missing from my life the first time I listened to Hamilton 9 years ago. So it’s even more amazing that last weekend, by a stroke of pure serendipity, Molly and I got to see Hamilton in the very same New York theater, on the very same day. And we marveled at it.

Happy FIRST Alpaca anniversary, Molly. Now let’s GO — gotta go, gotta get the job done!

KB

Something crazy happens every time I take a road trip with Kaitlynn Kool.

On a drive delivering packs back in 2022, I learned that Kaitlynn was an accomplished graphic designer. On our drive home from Wisconsin for Fall Retreat, we came up with an idea for Alpaca that led to today’s resource library. And on a very snowy drive through the state of Michigan last year, we built a roadmap for Kaitlynn in sales at Alpaca. It’s a kind of alchemy, the way hunches become ideas and those ideas transform into clear plans and goals.

That drive in Michigan is the one prominent in my mind today, on Kaitlynn’s THIRD anniversary with Alpaca.

It was a drive that required a pickup truck and great focus, owing to the snowstorm that hit us halfway through, and the flight out that evening that required us to get there as quickly as we could.

On that drive, we talked about Kaitlynn’s future at Alpaca. She had just begun trying out sales, and finding some success. But she also had some ideas about email marketing and about social media. And maybe some design.

So, she came to me with an idea for a hybrid role that dabbled in a bit of everything. And I said no.

Perhaps it was the white-knuckled focus required to drive through that snowstorm, but our conversation turned to the topic of focus; of getting really good at the thing you’re doing, and staying relentlessly focused on building mastery in that thing. I asked Kaitlynn to consider going “all in” on learning the craft and practice of sales. To become a student of it, to practice it relentlessly, and to build an early career in it. And you all know what happened next — Kaitlynn didn’t just rise to the occasion, she raised the bar.

In the past year, Kaitlynn has grown into our sales QUEEN. Since she started in sales, Kaitlynn has closed 136 deals, resulting in more than 100 new customers for our company. Her work accounts for more than a third of the total revenue for our company. She has been doing this for ONE year, folks.

Her colleagues describe her this way:

“Kaitlynn takes our customers from being interested in getting to know Alpaca to wanting to be on their school culture journey with Alpaca. She is always up to take on a big challenge and makes it look easy.”

And this, which I couldn’t say any better if I tried:

“Kaitlynn sharpens everything she touches. She listens closely, spots what matters, and is relatable every step of the way. She gives customers a sense of trust and gives our team an incredible image of work ethic and growth mindset.”

I’ve never seen anything like this woman on a mission to be the most extraordinary version of herself. Thanks for building your career here, Kaitlynn — to be a part of your rise makes every one of us better, myself included. I cannot wait to see what we’ll do together in the year ahead.

♥️,

KB

PS: To Kaitlynn’s mom, if you’re reading this: you raised a superstar. Thank you for sending her our way.

“A novice is easily spotted because they do too much. Too many ingredients, too many movements, too much explanation. A master uses the fewest motions required to fulfill their intention.”

— Jiro Ono

I love it when you all bring me little bits of truth and wisdom from the books you’re reading, the podcasts you’re learning from, and the work you’re doing. Last week, a team member dropped this quote into my life after hearing it on The Founders podcast (by the way, this episode is great), and I can’t stop thinking about it. So of course, I went ahead and did a little research.

The quote itself comes from master chef Jiro Ono, and if you haven’t watched the documentary Jiro, Dreams of Sushi, add it to your list. Master chef Jiro Ono’s story of how he has dedicated his life to the craft of sushi making, in a tiny nondescript restaurant in Japan is an absolutely beautiful depiction of the creation of a business, a tradition, and legacy. I didn’t know I could love an entire documentary about sushi, but I did. Because it’s not about sushi — it’s about craftsmanship.

Upon a little further research, I learned that the dedication to simplicity and mastery embodied in the movie, and certainly in that quote, is part of a Japanese concept called shokunin (職人), which literally translates to “a person of their craft.” Shokunin are people who have dedicated their life to their craft, from agriculture to utilitarian folk craft to sushi.1 The practice of this is referred to as shokunin kishitsu (職人気質) or “a craftsman spirit.”

Something here felt so resonant to our work — to the craft of teaching and to profession of education overall. So I kept reading. And what I found is that shokunin kishitsu is built of a few core tenets. I’ve seen these listed different ways, so I’m doing my best here. If you have a great source for this, please let me know! Here they are:

1. Perfection through repetition. Any craft is perfected through doing it over and over and over, sometimes for generations.

2. Moral obligation to the community. That because the craft contributes positively to society, it must be practiced with the utmost respect and integrity.

3. Self-effacement. That the work itself is greater than the person doing it. Operate with humility, in recognition of the work itself.

4. Continuous improvement. There is no finish line, only refinement. The moment someone stops working on their craft is the moment they stop being shokunin.

(OMG I love learning new things so much!) While I was reading — all the work and education parts of my brain lit up with the resonance of our mission and work ahead, and why I believe teaching is such an important profession.

Part of why I have so much respect for the craft of teaching is that to be a teacher is to commit to this craftsman’s spirit. Let’s look at the role of educator against those four tenets:

1. Perfection through repetition? Yes. Educators show up every single morning, often arriving at work in the dark, to start their day. They greet those kids every single morning. They create and refine their work spaces month over month and year over year. They often refine their lessons on the same book or concept or lesson year after year. That consistent repetition makes their students feel safe while continually improving the craft.

2. Community mindset? Of course. It’s why the role never stops at the bell and why educators often fill so many roles — educator, mentor, counselor, advocate, coach, wrangler-of-winter-clothes. Teachers know their craft matters to the collective health of our communities.

3. Self-effacement? Oh buddy! No one knows humility in work more than educators. It’s all I can do to convince some school leaders to come talk about their leadership strategies on the Little Wins podcast, because they insist they’re “not doing anything special.” (Truly, I bet 50% of guests say this to me. Then we find out they're actually school culture geniuses.) Educators are the first to keep the focus on the work, the kids, and their team.

4. Continuous Improvement? Oh yes. “Every day, a little better” is a refrain I hear often with school leaders. And it’s why our veteran teachers (long-standing educators) are so key to school culture — they’ve been refining and practicing their craft with repetition for years, and their work is wiser and more refined because of it.

We have the joy and opportunity to support a profession that defines craftsmanship, and I was so happy to be reminded of that with Jiro Ono’s quote and my little deep dive into this topic.

As you know, I often ask our team to “think like an educator” in our approach to work, and my ask of you this week is to consider the lessons we can learn from this commitment to craftsmanship.

As you’re getting a coffee or preparing for the day, ask yourself these questions:

1. How might I accomplish my work this week with the fewest movements and the simplest path?

2. How might I stay focused on getting better and better and better, not seeking something new, but refining the work in front of me now?

3. How might we lift up the work itself and the celebrate the impact it has on our communities?

If you use these questions, or make a tiny little change in your work this week in this direction, I’d love to hear about it! And if you know more about this topic in general, I’d love for you to share it with me.

It’s the last week of the month,
In an extraordinary year,
With nothing but opportunity ahead of us.

Let’s go, Alpaca!
KB

WOW — what a fun milestone today — our 20th Little Wins Podcast episode is live!

We started this podcast as an experiment, with a goal of connecting to more school and district leaders across the country, building a community of culture-focused educators, and getting the positive narrative of education out into the world. I’m going to be honest here — I wasn’t sure if it would work, if we’d be good at it, or if it was the right move for us as a company. After all, I thought, “it’s not our core business.”

Well, as it turns out — listening to teachers IS our core business.

From Alpaca Pulse to our resource library, to the celebrations we design for schools, it all starts with listening to educators to understand how they’re doing, what’s going well, and what they need.

What I’ve found from every single interview for the podcast is that I learn something new, build new datapoints, understand the role of principal or superintendent more closely, and see new ways to connect the dots.

So! I put together a list of my top lessons from the first 20 episodes. Ready!? Here we go:

Here are twenty lessons these incredible leaders have reminded me.

1. Culture is every choice.

“In a small school, culture isn’t a side project—it’s part of how we do everything.”
— Sarah Harless: Joy is Contagious

Culture isn’t something we manage on Fridays or as part of the Sunshine Committee—it’s woven into every hallway conversation, every smile, every morning greeting.

2. Relationships are the real work

“Our school is a place where people want to be.”
— Jeff Dock, The Win is in the Relationship

Ah! I love this. Imagine what happens when students, staff, and families want to be in your building each and every day. Belonging isn’t a by-product; it’s the heartbeat of a healthy school.

3. Lead with purpose, not position

“So long as I am working in service to other people, I am exactly where I need to be.”
— Gus Carter: Culture isn’t a poster on the wall

The best leaders don’t chase titles—they center themselves in service. I love Gus’s focus on working in service to his teams. It came through in absolutely every part of the interview.

4. Every day is a chance to win with kids

“I look to win the day with kids. It’s more of a mindset than a checklist.”
— Evan Hecker: “Passion shapes the team”

Little celebrations compound. Joy is the most renewable energy source in education.

5. Build trust before systems

“We started what we called Wing Pals… that’s how we built connection again.”
— Alison Canter: Culture that outlasts the leader

People commit to each other before they commit to initiatives. I loved Alison’s example of how she used a simple program to build connection among her staff.

6. Invite families into the story

“We want parents to feel like they can come in and have real conversations with us.”
— Jennifer Rosenbloom: Leading with Purpose and Positivity

Families don’t just visit strong schools—they help build them. Jennifer’s approach to building her new school involves families every step of the way. I can’t wait to see how her school emerges.

7. Recognition rituals fuel joy

“We have a crystal apple the staff selects weekly. It’s our way of saying, ‘We see you.’”
— Samantha Sebestik: Little things make a big difference

A few heartfelt words of recognition can move a whole team forward, and a little ritual goes a long way! I love to hear each of the rituals and traditions our guests have in their buildings.

8. Wellbeing starts with honesty

“We don’t realize how much emotional labor we’re carrying until we stop long enough to breathe.”
— Dr. Luke Beall: Give Teams the Opportunity to Flourish

Sometimes, guests will say things that just floor me! Naming the hard things gives educators permission to rest, reset, and utlimately… stay.

9. Community connection multiplies impact

“The doors are open. We love coming to school—and that makes parents love coming too.”
— Alison Canter: Culture that outlasts the leader

When schools feel like homes, families become partners in culture.

10. Never lose sight of what it means to be a learner.

“I took the Africa geography quiz with students. I went to class, I learned the material, and I took it seriously.”
— Troy Hopkins: “Is there a better way?”

When purpose is clear, the noise quiets.

11. Positivity is contagious

“We have a lot of positive people. It’s kind of contagious.”
— Sheila Taylor: “We Built a Family, Not Just a School”

Positivity isn’t naïve—it’s strategic. Gratitude multiplies the momentum of that positivity!

12. Student voice matters

“Phones away, bell to bell. Once we embraced it, our students started embracing it. Now, we’re seeing the benefits as a school community.”
— Dr. Jessica Sonntag: “Calm, Safe, Enthusiastic.”

I have LOVED hearing the ways that schools and districts engage their students in the work of building their culture. Countless examples — and each of them a repeatable little win. When students help create the environment, they protect it fiercely.

13. Stay connected to why you lead

“I’m coming back to teaching [from being a principal] because I truly believe in what we’re building here. I moved across the country for it.”
— Lindsay Pietrzak: Joy is the strategy

Sustaining culture takes belief—not just in students, but in the mission and the leader. Hearing Lindsay’s story about returning to the classroom was one of my favorite days — and when I got to meet Lindsay’s new principal a couple of weeks later, I GOT IT — great leaders and great cultures can make all the difference.

14. Go to the teams you don’t know!

“My tendency is to hang out with the science department because I love them—but leadership means showing up for everyone.”
— Jeff Dock, The Win is in the Relationship

Jeff illuminated for me a great lesson in going beyond your comfort zone to know and meet the people on your team that you might not have as much in common with.

15. Clear is Kind

“I think Brene Brown said it best: Clear is Kind.”
— Dr. Jeffrey Collier: “We call it Saginawesome.”

Clarity is everything when it comes to feedback, culture, and team dynamics. Jeffrey reminded me how much I love this concept, and SO many other leaders echoed their favorite leadership tips from their favorite books, podcast, and mentors. I have a running list of the books they’re reading, and I’m working my way through it.

16. Communities of leaders creates strength in numbers

“Principals need circles too. You can’t hold all that weight alone—it will crush you.”
— Amber Henderson: You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup

We all need the communities and circles that build us up. Amber’s lessons on taking care of your self and each other resonated with me deeply.

17. Anchor culture in inclusion

“In our first year, we tried to embed multicultural books in every classroom.”
— Samantha Sebestik: Little things make a big difference

Simple ideas to change culture — it’s what this thing is all about. Representation tells every student, you belong here.

18. Leadership takes curiosity

“One of the things you learn as a building leader is to ask more questions than you answer.”
— Jordan Stuhan: Connection is the Curriculum

YES!! Curiosity opens doors that authority alone never could.

19. Mindset > Checklists

“I look to win the day with kids. It’s more of a mindset than a checklist.”
— Evan Hecker: “Passion shapes the team”

I love the way our guests think less about WHAT they should do and more about HOW they should work. Mindsets over checklists, every day.

20. Love you all.

“I end every email, every announcement, and every chance I get to speak to our school with three words: Love you all. I used to get a lot of pushback for it. But it’s how I feel and I think that matters.”
— Gus Carter: Culture isn’t a poster on the wall

This was the first (and not last) moment in a Little Wins interview when I cried! I loved this story so much, and I think about it every day.

That’s the full list! Please take an opportunity to listen to these amazing leaders — I promise you will learn so much.

I went in to this podcast experiment hoping to better understand our customers. The unexpected result is that I think it’s changing me — in ALL the best ways — as a leader.

LET’S KEEP GOING!

Happy Retreat Time, Alpaca!'

Next week, we’ll spend a couple of days together thinking BIG about Alpaca and our future. Since a few of us are new (or recently returned!), I thought I’d offer a sneak peek of what we’ll be talking about, how to prepare, and how to build a GREAT experience for yourself. (And if you aren’t coming but you read team letter and you’re an investor/ friend/ supporter — hey! Here’s what we’re thinking about as a company right now!)

First, THANK YOU for your input. In my 1:1s with each one of you last week, I heard so much about what you want to learn, talk about, and understand better at retreat. It’s a tall order, because we have a short time! Here’s the game plan:

What We’ll Be Working On: Alpaca’s Next Chapter

My goal in Q4 is to end the year strong and clear, with cadence and focus. For me, that means:

1. We achieve our 2025 revenue goal

2. We have happy, engaged customers

3. We know what the next chapter looks like for Alpaca, and have 2026 goals set

4. We have put into place the practices, work experiences, and team to achieve those goals

That’s how I want to end the year, so that we can hit the ground running on January 1 with some new goals in place! But in order to do that, we’ll need to spend Q4 doing two things: staying incredibly focused on ending the year with great success, and putting time, thought, and work into defining our next chapter. And it starts at retreat!

We’ll be focusing some discussion, ideation, and strategy sessions on how we build a company that’s bigger and more successful than we could imagine, focusing primarily on what’s possible with our software product and how we’ll position and sell that product.

But in addition to envisioning Alpaca’s next chapter, we’ll also focus some time and discussion on how we can each build habits and practices that make our success scalable, reliable, and repeatable. What are the practices that you would like to be habits in our company? Give it a little thought or use it as a topic for your car ride down!

How to Make Retreat GREAT

We each have a role to play in making retreat a great experience for everyone! Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Ideas over Roles: In these conversations, you are not constrained by the work you do today, but are asked to think about our company as one effort forward. Bring your BEST ideas, feedback, dreams, and willingness to do work for any part of the company — that’s how we build something extraordinary.

2. Bring your “we” mindset: We’re building this company together. Yes, I personally will come with updates, plans, vision, and strategies. But we need each person to bring your best ideas, feedback, and thoughts to this table. If any of us come into retreat with thoughts like “you all in sales should consider doing _____” or “you all building the product could evolve to accomplish ____”, we miss an opportunity to be us. Everything you suggest or comment on or commit to is something we each own a little bit — bring a one-team mindset, and our discussions will go far!

3. Build experiences together: I will NEVER forget cheering Kaitlynn on to get her first bullseye with a bow and arrow in Wisconsin two years ago. I would never have chosen that activity, but she invited me and now, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Retreat is a GREAT moment to get to know someone a little better. Say yes to trying something new, going for a walk, getting a bit uncomfortable, having a new conversation, connecting with anyone/everyone on the team. When we’re connected we can create great things. Shared experiences are the #1 reason we do retreats!

4. Practice gratitude! We are so lucky to get to spend a day or two together. I’m grateful for your families, your willingness to give up an evening, your excitement and thoughtfulness, all of it. Let’s remember to write thank you notes, show gratitude for our customers, and consider where we can build moments of gratitude and joy around us. It’s our top value and what we’re here to do, and I can’t wait to see how we bring that gratitude forward next week.

Oh and one more thing…

Lightning Talks Are Back!

(Read this one — there’s homework!)

“Do I need to prepare anything?” Thank you for asking!

On Monday night, we will be having our second annual Lightning Talks Happy Hour. The goal here is to simply to get to know each other a little bit, have some fun, and kick off our time together.

So...please prepare a 3 minute talk on the topic of your choosing. Yes, any topic!

Here are the rules:

1. It can be any topic, professional or personal.

2. You may use slides but they are not required.

3. The 3 minute rule will be strictly enforced (but with a cute bell or something!)

4. You may involve the audience in any way you wish but again, 3 minutes.

5. DO NOT overthink this. (In fact last year, everyone had less than 24 hours to prepare!)

Questions? Thoughts? Ideas? Requests? Hit me up! I will be in Alaska at the Principals Conference Friday and Saturday, traveling home on Sunday with LOTS of airplane time. I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s go, Alpaca — see you at retreat!

KB

As you know, I’m a huge reader — and there is nothing I love more than a great recommendation from someone whose perspective or experiences I learn from. It’s why I’ve started always asking our guests on the Little Wins Podcast about what books guide their leadership the most. The full list is long (ask me for it!) but here are the five books that I’ve heard leaders talk about returning to year after year:

Good to Great by Jim Collins

One of my favorite early episodes of the podcast was Lindsay Pietrzak, a principal who this year returned to the classroom this year in part because of the compelling leadership philosophy of her new principal at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy. In fact, she moved across the country to return to the classroom this year.

So I had to meet this leader! Principal Bradley Tarrance had so many extraordinary takes on educational leadership, and points to Good to Great as his go-to. It makes sense — this team focuses on putting together a best-in-class team, facing challenges with both humility and faith in eventual victory, and a steadfast focus on the passion and work that drives this school.

You should hear Lindsay’s episode here, and then check out what Bradley, Lindsay, and the team are building at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy. You’ll be so impressed.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

This book has come up over and over in my conversations with both principals and superintendents, in part because the question of removing smart technology from our classrooms and schools is a hot topic right now. The book focuses on the impact of smart phones on kids in their social interactions, academic learning, and mental health. I read it at the beginning of the year and it is a doozy.

Jennifer Rosenbloom talks about this book as part of the basis for her nature-based learning focus for her new school, The Academy at Blanchard. And Jessica Sonntag’s upcoming episode will have you thinking for days about how she rallied her families and students around the idea of removing all smart technology from her school — and bringing back board games to lunch.

Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg

Evan Hecker’s episode of Little Wins was when I started making this list, because we dorked out about leadership books, and about one in particular — Supercommunicators. I couldn’t stop talking about this book when I first read it, and like me, Evan has sent it to friends and fellow leaders all over.

Duhigg, who also wrote The Power of Habit (another of my favorites) has a brilliant way of breaking down that talent some people seem to have to make everyone they talk to feel like they’re the most important person in the room. I loved it when I read it last year — but Evan brought it to life in a school setting for me. For Evan, it’s about visibility in the hallways, greetings in the morning, and true connection with his staff. If you haven’t listened to Evan’s episode, or read Supercommunicators, run don’t walk!

Zapp in Education by William C. Byham

Superintendent of North Stonington Public Schools Troy Hopkins’ non-traditional approach to school leadership was inspired in part by this quirky yet practical guide that focuses on empowerment, responsibility, creativity, and trust. The concept is simple — each of us has the opportunity to infuse energy and creativity into our organization, or take energy away. And by building a culture of bringing that energy into the group, we build opportunities for every student and staff member to thrive.

And bringing the energy is Troy’s speciality. I loved Troy’s commitment to leading right along students and staff, not in a role of “observer” or “supervisor,” but as a learner. He regularly participates in classes alongside students, takes the quizzes, and understands how his educators are motivated. You’ll see his episode go live on October 8th — don’t miss this one!

Atomic Habits by James Clear

This book has been one of my favorites since it came out so I was super excited when Andy Crozier, Superintendent at Central Lee Community School District named it as one of his top leadership books, because it’s one of mine too.

The premise is simple, and it’s the literal definition of “Little Wins.” The idea is that big change happens not from sweeping strategies and initiatives, but through starting, stacking, and sustaining small habits that add up. Andy embodies this by making simple gestures to build pride in his district, by celebrating their district’s distinction as a “best place to work” to making tiny changes to policies and school culture that make teachers feel welcome, valued, respected.

Andy’s episode will be on its way soon — but in the meantime, give Atomic Habits a read if you’re looking for some little wins in your own work.

We are so incredibly lucky to get to spend time with school and district leaders through the podcast each week - I know you hear me say it every time we record an episode, but I learn something from every single one. Let’s close out the quarter strong, Alpaca — and keep learning from these extraordinary leaders.

Onward!

KB

This weekend, I (along with Alpaca’s own fast and fantastic Kimberly Bailey) ran the Berlin marathon, one of 7 “marathon majors” around the world, alongside 55,000 other runners.

And since I had about 4 hours on my feet in a foreign city with nothing to do but run, I figured I’d think about Alpaca for awhile.

A common piece of advice for those silly enough to run a marathon is to break the race up into “three tens.” The distance of a marathon is 26.2 miles, and the Three Tens rule breaks up the race into the first ten miles, the middle ten miles, and then the last 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles.

That last segment is technically shorter in distance, but mentally and physically the most difficult stretch. By the time you hit that last 6.2, your legs are toast, your entire body is tired, you never want to see another cup of gatorade, and finishing strong requires a good plan and a lot of mental toughness.

For many runners, miles 20-26 is where people “hit the wall,” losing their mental fortitude alongside whatever physical challenges have settled into our feet, legs, guts, or emotions. (Honestly, why does anyone choose this sport?)

The key to 10-10-10 is to use each stage for a specific purpose. I think about it like this:

First 10: Figure it out.
In the first 10 miles, my job is to generally figure out what I’m doing. What’s happening with the weather? What’s this race course all about? How am I feeling today? How much sleep did I get last night? Most of us make several mistakes along this first phase, going out a little too fast or missing a key water stop, so this part is about making adjustments and little edits that make the race work better.

Second 10: Find momentum.
The second 10 is absolutely exhausting but really a lot of fun. This is where we find momentum. Everything is warmed up, there’s no turning back even if you wanted to, you’ve got a great sense of the vibe of the race, and if you’re lucky, the World’s Greatest Cheer Squad has found you a couple of times, boosting your confidence and sense of support. (Our squad is called The Beeps and they show up huge!)

It’s time to get out there and build on the momentum, don’t get lazy, and push a little harder if you can. It’s a perfect time to practice great form, to rely on your running partner and your team, and to make sure to celebrate the little wins along the way, while keeping your eye on that finish line.

And then comes Mile 20. This is where the race actually begins.

Last 10: Don’t stop moving.

In your brain, you’ll say “sweet, we got this — 6 miles? No sweat!” But the legs have different ideas. Your legs, it turns out, are absolutely over it. 6.2 miles might as well be 62 miles.

It doesn’t feel like winning, like ever. It often doesn’t happen on the timeline you want exactly, or in the way you want exactly. So the most important thing you can do at this phase is to simply put one foot after the next and keep going. And then do it again. Break it down into 1 mile increments or 5 minute increments or just count to 10, but do not stop moving forward.

And then, seemingly out of the blue, that finish line reliably shows up, every time, ready to make you feel proud and unstoppable and grateful all at the same time. And ready to take on the next big goal.

If you’re part of the Alpaca team, you know where this is team letter is going.

Because every single one of us at work knows that we have our eyes on a big growth milestone right now and that we are ALMOST there. Welcome to Mile 20.

We picked up a LOT of momentum in the last few months, and it took us some big figuring out to get to that stage! In that “First 10” stage, we adjusted our product, how we sell it, who we sell it to, and how we position ourselves in the marketplace. Lots of adjustments, lots of little edits. This was the “figuring out” phase of this particular milestone.

This spring and summer, we got to experience the fast-paced, fun “middle 10,” seeing momentum build in our product, seeing adoption grow, and hearing from our customers that they love what what we’re building. Truly, our customers are Alpaca’s world’s greatest cheer squad.

There is nothing more fun on this goal than feeling like we’re winning — fast, smart, and together as a team. And now —it’s Mile 20.

It’s time for the last 10. Sometimes, I look at that number and it feels enormous. In reality, it’s 9% of the total goal we have left to win, and sometimes it feels like 90%. But this is where the real race happens.

This is where we push ourselves past what is fun and easy, and find a little extra that we didn’t know was there. In running, this means activating new muscles to step up when our legs get tired — straightening your back for better posture or moving your arms for better propulsion forward.

At work, this is where we get smarter — finding a new way to solve a problem, win a new customer, or get the goal done, even if it means throwing out something that’s not working anymore. It’s time to strengthen other parts of our company, work smarter, and above all — keep putting one foot in front of the next.

And in case a day or two feels discouraging, don’t forget — it’s supposed to feel challenging right now! Just make a plan for what YOU can do to help reach this finish line (note: every single person can help!) and then put one foot in front of another, and do the work, every single day.

When we win it, we’ll win it as a team, and we’ll be stronger and smarter than when we started it. And that’s a good thing, because at the finish line of this particular goal, there’s another start line immediately ahead of it, and we’re going to need those smarter ways, those stronger muscles, that mental toughness to tackle the next one.

There’s no better team to achieve it than ours, and we’re going to do this together. I’ll see you out there today, Alpaca!

KB

We’ve always believed that listening to teachers is critical to teacher retention. But what we’ve learned over the past year is that without action, the listening isn’t quite enough.

The real challenge — and the real opportunity — is what happens next.

How do we help teachers share not only how they’re doing, but also what they need? And what action does a school leader take after a teacher shares feedback?

How quickly can a principal and their teams turn voice into change that builds trust, improves culture, and keeps great educators in the classroom?

This release set out to answer a couple of audacious questions:

1. How might the survey itself feel supportive to a teacher? Could a survey even do that? We think so. So we gave educators more context about the words they’re choosing, asked better questions about what would help them, and started asking what’s going well right now. We want teachers to come away from the survey feeling just a little bit lifted up.

2. Could every insight be tied to action? How might we help a principal or school leader never wonder what to do with the insights they gained from their teachers? So we connected our vast resource library to the words teachers use to describe work, giving leaders instant actionability.

When teachers say they need more recognition, leaders don’t just see a chart — they see a resource they can try tomorrow. When staff share a positive win, leaders don’t just smile — they get a celebration idea they can build into culture right away. Every data point comes with a path forward, and every teacher can know their voice matters.

What’s new in Pulse 2.0

With this release, educators have more voice, and leaders have more action. Check out the newest features:

✨ A Check-In that Teachers Love – the new interface is just. wow. Cleaner, simpler, and faster for teachers to share input all year long.

📊 Positivity Pulse – a simple snapshot of how positive school culture feels right now.

🔍 Theme Deep Dives – Alpaca’s dashboard breaks down feedback into 10 themes so that you can see where teachers need support the most.

💬 Smart Comments – Each comment is analyzed for sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral) and aligned with one of 10 themes of wellbeing.

🌟 Celebrations – We’re highlighting what’s working so leaders can double down on the good.

🚀 Instant Action Steps – Every data point is tied to a resource or idea leaders can try today. The “Try This” tab gathers them all in one game plan.

Built Collaboratively, Tested by Educators

So many different talents and voices went into the build of Pulse 2.0. We started early in the year with product workshops with the team at Workshop Ventures. We iterated on ideas for our “smart comments” feature with smarties like John Grange. We designed the new survey through our extraordinary experience with The Summer Studio. And then the queen herself Maci McWilliams, together with Alissa Christensen and our educator team, Nicholas Petersen of Less.Is, and Tyler Halstead, worked their magic, VERY quickly, to bring the entire thing to life ahead of the new school year. (There is no amount of thanks enough for this crew!)

Best of all, we got the opportunity to test Alpaca Pulse with educators at Camp Alpaca this summer, helping us make critical changes to the interface ahead of release, and strengthening the product even further.

What’s Next

Now, it’s time to take Alpaca Pulse out on the road! In the next 7 weeks we’ll be presenting and exhibiting at 7 conferences, where we’ll have the opportunity to see this product in action.

As you’re out on the road, I ask you this: keep listening to educators! Listen for the features that resonate. Write down the questions they ask about the product. Note where there might be some confusion, so we can continue to tweak and refine. Our work is strengthened by each insight an educator brings our way, and we will continue to iterate on Alpaca Pulse throughout the year.

I could not be more proud (do I say that every week? I feel it every week!) of this company and this team. Thank you for imagining and building something (that didn’t exist into the world!) to solve big problems and answer audacious questions.

Onward!

KB

A friend handed me the book Peace is Every Step after a conversation we had about the difficulty of finding moments of quiet in an incredibly noisy world and life.

The author, Thich Nhat Hanh, was, during his life, a peace activitist, teacher, and community leader, and his ideas center around finding connection and supporting one another right where we already are — at work, at home, running errands, wherever we find ourselves.

As I was reading about ways to create connection with the people around us in our lives, something felt oddly familiar. In a chapter around supporting and caring for others, he says: “you cannot resist caring for another person when you really understand him or her.” And then goes on to suggest asking the people you most want to care for and care about this question: “Do I understand you enough?” That question reminded me of a question we know well: “How are you doing at work?”

In so many ways, this question of understanding educators is the cornerstone of what we’re building in Alpaca Pulse, and how we ask what we ask. We start with the question “how are you doing at work?” very purposefully — to ask educators to help their leader understand exactly what they’re experiencing at work right now, using real words.

We use real words because we all know that not all positive or negative sentiment can be treated the same. An educator who feels “exhausted” needs something different from one who feels “frustrated.” Just as a staff member feeling “ambitious” may need different support from one who is feeling “on top of their game.”

Pulse now goes on to ask a little more, to understand even a little bit better. We ask “what would help the most right now” to help give a school leader the things that their team is truly seeking. And then we ask about what’s going well, “What should we celebrate right now?” which gives educators an opportunity to read back to their leaders the things that are happening at school that feel great, the help that is getting through, the wins that are making a difference in their days.

When we relaunched the product this fall, we did so with a goal of painting a more complete picture of how teams are doing, and I realize now — creating a higher level of understanding at a personal level. It’s also why we pair those questions of understanding with actionable ideas, questions, and resources to school leaders — so that they can take what they learned, and have simple and clear ways to show care and support.

When your school principal understands that their team LOVES the peer mentoring program they implemented, but that those same teachers really need more opportunities to socialize and connect with their peers, it gives that leader a clear path to providing the support that their team is seeking.

As you work this week — to meet new principals and district leaders, to tell Alpaca’s story, and to build the next features of our product, keep this question in mind: “Do I understand educators enough?”

The simple answer is — we don’t — not yet. And so there’s the work: to get into the conversations, the classrooms, the hallways, the district buildings that help you understand educators better. If you need help finding more ways to build your understanding, don’t hesitate to ask me or any educators on our team.

To understand is to show care. To show care is to support. To support is to lift up the profession and elevate every educator. Let’s go out there and do it, Alpaca.

KB

(Note: I love reading books and wisdom from every genre and philosphical background, and I like to share things I read and what I learn from them. None of it is meant to promote a specific philosophical or spiritual path for any person or for our company. I just like reading and thinking and people who are smart and have different perspectives. Have a book you love? I want to read it!)