I‘m a big list maker. At least monthly I compile a list of my most important projects, both personal and work-related.

This list gives structure to my weekly and daily planning sessions. At any given point, especially when I get bogged down in minutia, I can refer back to this list to ensure that I am always working on my most important priorities.

Retroactively, the lists also help me to assess the accomplishments of my team when I review our work at the end of each month, each quarter and each fiscal year.

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This idea was originally created as part of the Rejuvenation Project, a month-long challenge to find one actionable idea per day that could help me to 1) keep my batteries charged, 2) remain focused on career priorities and 3) rejuvenate the creative spirit.

Quotations inspire me. They focus me. They motivate me.

I like the way an eloquent quote can elegantly reflect the light of resplendent wisdom. To me, each quotation has special value.

I collect quotes as a gem collector might gather precious stones. Like gemstones, quotes were never meant to be hoarded and stored in a dark, out-of-sight vault. Rather, they are most appreciated when shared and displayed for the enrichment of all.

If you also appreciate quotes, I invite you to meander through this collection of my favorites, categorized by these topics:

1. Being Creative
2. Planning and Goal Setting
3. Being a Leader
4. Learning, Teaching and Being Well Educated
5. Understanding Life’s Transitions
6. Marketing Effectively
7. Achieving Success
8. Creating a Compelling Vision
9. Overcoming Adversity
10. Chuckling with Yogi

All relief efforts—regardless of the disaster size—transition through four distinct phases. Anticipating how a relief effort will unfold helps us better serve those affected by the disaster.

Each stage of recovery demands a specific type of public affairs response. (In case you’re unfamiliar with that term, “public affairs” is used by the military, government agencies and the American Red Cross to describe public relations, communications and media relations.)

The American Red Cross recognizes that our disaster relief unfolds in the following stages:

1. Heroic Phase.
2. Honeymoon Phase.
3. Disillusionment Phase.
4. Reconstruction Phase.

What happens in each phase? What should we anticipate as each unfolds? How do public expectations change? How should our communications strategy shift in each phase?

1. Heroic Phase.

This occurs immediately after a disaster strikes. The community is often shell-shocked and in dire need of basic emergency needs such as food and shelter.

The Red Cross is already in place and providing services immediately after the disaster. Therefore, we are seen as being heroes in the community, just as fire and emergency personnel are perceived as being heroes.

In public affairs, we have a twofold message in the heroic phase. First, we want to assure the public that we are there. We want people to know that the Red Cross is on the scene providing immediate relief. Second, we want to inform those affected by the disaster how they can GET help.

2. Honeymoon Phase.

This stage occurs in the first few days after the disaster. Usually it carries with it a great deal of public support and media coverage. This is also the time when we receive the most praise from public officials.

Fundraising and volunteer recruitment are easiest in the honeymoon phase.

In addition to helping people know how to GET help, in this phase the messages expand to help people know how to GIVE help (and also how NOT to help). Individuals want to volunteer, and people are looking for ways to contribute money or donate in-kind items such as clothes, food or water.

While it is useful to capitalize on the goodwill of the public during this phase, we must also be careful not to get carried away. Our public affairs work must help manage public expectations about the kinds and amounts of services that we provide.

3. Disillusionment Phase.

By this time, the community and survivors are getting tired. They are being worn thin by the stress of the ongoing recovery efforts.

People sometimes begin to question Red Cross and its service delivery, fundraising methods or community partnerships. During this phase, media, elected officials, partners or the general public are more apt to vocalize criticism.

It is very important for us to closely monitor the mood of the community and to stay abreast of changes in the operation. We must be fully prepared to explain any changes in service delivery.

Disillusionment will likely be expressed first in the social media. This is the phase when we must listen to what people are blogging or tweeting. We must join their conversations by commenting on blogs, using Facebook to address concerns and tweeting to correct misinformation and disseminate accurate information.

4. Reconstruction Phase.

This is the long-term phase of the disaster where we must manage the expectations of the public regarding the ongoing recovery process. By now, the news media will likely have shifted their focus somewhere else. Likewise, the public’s attention moves from Red Cross services to the work of our partners. At this stage, it is important to help people understand the difference between our services and those of our partners.

In the timeline following a disaster, the relief effort transitions through these four distinct, yet overlapping phases. Our communications changes in each phase, yet we remain anchored to our fundamental Red Cross message—We Are There!

Her departure gave me the opportunity to recruit someone new, so I spent considerable time thinking about how to forge a strong partnership between 1) the individuals I inherited and 2) those I would select myself.

In consultation with team members that remained, I developed this list of 10 characteristics to describe the commitment, the loyalty and the engagement of every contributing member of my marketing group:

1. We are inspired by the mission of the marketing department, knowing that our special group exists to ensure the success of the American Red Cross.
2. As we visualize the role of marketing within the organization, we are proud to be a part of an exceptional consulting team working on projects that really matter.
3. We value diversity within our team, knowing that each of us makes a unique contribution to the department, to the organization and ultimately to the community.
4. We build synergy whereby the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In so doing, we recognize the interdependence of every member of the team.
5. When one of us succeeds, that person appreciates and acknowledges the contributions of teammates, knowing that success is often a team effort.
6. We celebrate when another member of the team excels. After all, we know that one teammate’s success reflects positively on our entire group.
7. When something goes wrong, we avoid pointing fingers and assigning blame. Instead, we join hands with others to seek solutions and to look for the learning embedded within the situation.
8. We assume positive intentions on the part of others. In circumstances where there is a potential for misunderstanding, we proactively seek clarification.
9. We are loyal to other members of the team, especially in their absence. We focus on the positive, affirming attributes of our co-workers and teammates.
10. We always operate from an abundance mentality that seeks win-win solutions. We refuse to believe that our win implies a loss for someone else, knowing that a scarcity mentality spawns fear, competitiveness and retaliation.

Within my first 90 days, I led my group through a two-day planning session to 1) discuss organizational priorities, 2) plan marketing projects and 3) enlist the commitment of each individual to the team effort. By the end of the retreat we had defined the following 10 characteristics that every contributing member of the marketing department should be able use in describing his or her dedication, passion and internal beliefs:

1. I see the big picture.
2. I see how the individual pieces fit together, and I understand the importance of my unique role.
3. I prioritize my work and spend considerable time working in Quadrant II on projects that are important but not urgent. Because of this, I am proactive and in control of my job, my career and my life.
4. I think strategically before acting tactically.
5. As an internal marketing consultant, I ask affirming, empowering questions of myself and others.
6. I approach consulting projects in a collaborative manner, finding ways to say “yes” and facilitate the success of others.
7. I own and manage important projects where I assume responsibility for the entire planning, production and evaluation of my projects.
8. I am a collaborative team player, contributing my energy and expertise to those projects managed by others.
9. I have a deep desire to learn, to create and to explore. Knowing that the status quo often leads to obsolescence, I seek innovation and welcome change.
10. I make a difference. I do work that really matters.

I had watched others in similar circumstances as they obsessed on finding the right answers. I took the opposite approach. Rather than seeking answers, I began by asking myself a series of questions, recalling the wise words of James Thurber who once said, “It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”

Only after developing what I felt were the right questions did I begin wrestling with the answers. The questions were incredibly easy to ask but excruciatingly difficult to answer. To my amazement, however, this turned into a most insightful and even invigorating process. I’ll share with you the questions, but first let me explain my process.

For a couple hours each day, I went to a local coffee shop and found a secluded table where I could engage myself in a private conversation. I left my laptop at home because I wanted to drill deeper. I used an old-fashioned method of communicating—handwriting on blank sheets of paper. I purchased a leather-bound book containing only blank pages and on the first page I wrote the title:  Journal for the Journey—A personal assessment, a scrapbook of ideas, and a map for navigating an important career transition.

Something magical happened when I held my fountain pen and allowed it to begin writing things I needed to know. My writing was primal and I was amazed to see how my original, unedited writing helped me uncover ideas I didn’t know were buried beneath the debris. My hand grew tired and the pages were often messy, yet the words that appeared on the paper helped me to rearrange the random ideas in my mind so they made sense. My writing helped me cut through the clutter.

Within my journal I wrestled with several core questions. Like bright stars against a black sky, the following questions formed the stellar constellation by which I navigated my journey:

1. Who am I? Knowing that others would inevitable try to pigeonhole me, I decided to lead them so they would not make wrong assumptions about who I was. I proactively guided them to place me in the right career categories.
2. How am I different? Lots of people had resumes that looked a lot like mine—same job titles, similar track record, same degrees, and even the exact same cliches that were in my professional profile. How could I stand out from the rest of the pack? What was my unique niche? What differentiated me?
3. Where am I going? This seemed like an easy question to answer until I realized that the paved road in my rearview mirror was in much sharper focus than the pathway ahead that emerged into a dense fog.
4. What have I done? It was easy to describe my responsibilities or the processes I used, but that didn’t address the issue of the real impact I’d had. What had I really achieved that made a difference? Had I produced measurable results?
5. What can I do? What “campaign promises” could I make during the job search that I could later deliver on once I was hired? A job search is a time to promote oneself, not with arrogance but with a humble confidence. This is done by assuring the potential employer that you will produce the desired results.
6. So what? How could I show all the stuff on my resume in a way that a potential employer could see value and relevance? Good sales people know the difference between features and benefits. I needed to lead with the benefits and then follow up with the features.
7. Why would someone hire me? What memorable “sound bite” might best summarize who I am, how I’m different, where I’m going and the impact I could make?

My journal pages were not as neatly organized as this list now appears. After all, I was navigating an uncharted journey towards an undisclosed location. Therefore, my thinking was seldom linear. On the blank pages I gave myself permission to take detours or to stop at interesting points along the way. In addition to answering the foregoing questions, I also used my journal to:

• Capture inspiring quotes to keep me motivated.
• Write out talking points for possible interview questions.
• List the priority people in my network who could be of most help.
• Jot down miscellaneous notes to help me stay focused.
• Brainstorm ideas on how to build and maintain momentum.

My journey began by asking myself penetrating questions. To drill deeper, I often answered my questions with questions. Only then did answers begin to manifest themselves, illuminating my pathway enough to take several more steps forward.

I’d be interested in hearing from someone who has developed a game plan for his or her unique transition. What advice would you give to others who might be on a similar journey?