Scheduling and debriefing your first three

A 1:1 you didn't schedule does not exist. A 1:1 you didn't debrief was wasted. This is the operational discipline.

Scheduling: reach out by text or call, not email, when you can. Be specific about purpose and time: 'I'm trying to learn how renters in the neighborhood are thinking about the eviction ordinance. Would you have 45 minutes next Tuesday for me to come listen?' Offer two times. Confirm 24 hours before. Show up early.

Where: their turf when possible. Their kitchen, their break room, their porch, their church basement. If you must meet at a coffee shop, you pay.

Debrief: within an hour of the conversation, write down four things — (1) the Story of Self in their own language; (2) the constituencies/relationships they could open up; (3) the capacities (time, skills, resources) they might bring; (4) the next concrete step, with a date.

Keep these debriefs in a single document or in your Action Network notes field (Module 4). Over six months, the document becomes your map of the base — who is connected to whom, who is ready for what, who is ready to move into leadership.

When you have done 30 of these well, you will have the beginnings of a real base. The first three teach you how to do the next 27.