Quote from John Freeman on October 5, 2023, 1:40 pm

Was going to reply to your post about text messaging so I'm holding it off until it's all good.

Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on October 5, 2023, 2:25 pm

The future of the forum

This event is making me think about the forum's future.

Restoring databases is a simple click and little issue... Unless there has been new content.

And the new content mostly comes from the forum.

I really dislike restoring older versions because it pushes the costs of the website issues onto others -those who wrote new posts-.

Also, it erodes trust.

Yes, it happens rarely.
And if things go well, it will happen less and less -or never-.

Still, it kicked off my thoughts on this topic.

And the question is:

Is the forum worth it?

 

Forum con #1: failed to add value to PU alumni (?)

When I first launched, I saw it as a great opportunity for learning and growth.

I still believe it is.

But that's just me.

I also believe some folks did turn that opportunity into an actual tool for more growth.

However, if we look at it more rationally, it's a fact that only a tiny minority of people who joined PU leveraged this tool..

You just have to look at the introduction forum.
Only a minority introduce themselves, and only a minority of that minority go on to post much else.

Meaning that most PU alumni got no benefit from the forum community (at least not from active participation, read on).

Forum pro #1: it added huge value to make PU better

If the forum failed to directly improve PU alumni's experience, it excelled in doing so indirectly.

Such as:

• PU's lessons were refined, tested, or simplified thanks to this forum
• Provided some great real-life examples to link to
• Made me a better "teacher"
  • By learning from others and from other real-life case studies
  • I could spot what part of the material was more helfpul and which part less clear

On the other hand...

The ROI may be getting smaller and smaller

Learning isn't always an endless upward slope.

Sometimes your learning goes up very quickly in the beginning, and then tapers off.

Even if it's true you can always learn more, the ROI goes down because the time you need to put in to get that learning is similar.

Meaning you put a lot of time into it, for smaller and smaller returns.

Coaching also made me rethink the forum

PU is now offering coaching at the checkout.

So more people will choose that option.

Financially, it seems an obvious choice.
The selfish WIIFM monetizes the calls.
And that's also very helpful for the business in this period of higher investments. And more to invest also makes for better products and content.

But for TPM that plays the long game learning and personal growth are equally if not more important.

So the question is:

Could the same learning from the forum be compressed with audio interactions?

Could coaching be better for personal growth (while maybe also delivering more value to the coachee)?

I need more experience to say.

But it's possible.

But... How about the forum community?

Yeah, I ask myself the same.

There are some bonds in place now.

And no matter how "inconvenient" it may get, I still like the idea of a forum-based community.

So, yeah, I'm thinking about this.

If anyone has any thoughts, happy to read.

Quote from Ali Scarlett on October 5, 2023, 4:43 pm

Hi Lucio,

I actually agree with all of your points, which is disappointing because that includes the cons (and I really like the forum here).

However, I think your pros/cons analysis leaves out the non-PU-alumni-related benefits:

• Having a community at all helps justify the price of PU: from a marketing perspective, even if they don't choose to participate in it, forum access is still added value they're getting that helps the price of PU make more sense.
• Brainstorming value for the advancement of TPM's mission: for example, new definitions for the TPM dictionary, comments on TPM's values, and even the eagle depiction/analogy was mostly forum collaboration with you, Lucio. (And I think it'd be unwise to assume that the eagle is the last update to TPM's marketing where forum feedback could provide value.)
• Brainstorming value for the improvement of TPM's content and marketing: such as infographics, feedback on YouTube videos, and, of course, the sales pages (something that could probably always improve with more testing, analysis, and idea exchanges).

Happy to read any thoughts.

Quote from B on October 5, 2023, 4:57 pm

Hi Lucio,

my thoughts on this are:

• participation in the forum is probably a "plus": meaning, it's a given that only some people are going to "take it".

Many people, when in new ventures, shy away from active participation as they are simply unsure of themselves and what they have to say.

In a way, the forum is always there for when someone is "ready to take the plunge".

It also requires some "basic fortitude". For most people who join, I would guess based on my experience, the forum may be a "high stakes situation".

People who are not versed in power dynamics already live in environments where the idea that every small mistake can destroy them, is already reinforced daily into their mind. And that all situations are equally high-stakes.

• coaching is 1-1, while the forum is a mastermind group.

Everyone here reads everything. That makes the forum more of a diffused effort, with possibly a higher possibility of infusing different perspectives.

The imbalance between the economical return from coaching and the non-economical return from the forum may be covered by the "brainstorming/mastermind" effect.

Or, it may be covered even economically, in prospect. Although that may need some modifications in the forum structure.

• the forum could in theory survive even if you become less and less involved, if people here keep advancing as they are doing.

This forum is a true mastermind group.

It's a given that people may come and go, and that my include you. But the group may still be able to "survive".

Also, different times call for different things, and so people who became less involved may come back.

Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on October 5, 2023, 6:22 pm

Thank you so much Ali and Bel!

I agree with both of you.

And most of all, the "solution" if a solution is ever needed maybe just this:

Quote from Bel on October 5, 2023, 4:57 pm

• the forum could in theory survive even if you become less and less involved, if people here keep advancing as they are doing.

(...)

Also, different times call for different things, and so people who became less involved may come back.

Yes indeed.

And "people who become less involved may come back" may also just include myself.

Quote from B on October 5, 2023, 6:39 pm

PS. Just a personal side message: I hope you remain involved here.

In any case, thank you for everything you shared with me and taught me, and continue to share and teach.

It made and is still making a big difference.

And even independently of that, I have been honored and happy to get to know you, and to be able to call you my friend.

Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on October 5, 2023, 7:14 pm

Thank you for the note, Bel, I can say the same.

And just as a side message (which I should have been clearer from the beginning).
This isn't a plan, but more loud thinking during a period that has more demands on my time (and maybe it was visible that I was spending bit less time on the forum recently, which also shows that one can keep the forum without as much time allocated to it).

Quote from John Freeman on October 5, 2023, 9:39 pm

Hello Lucio,

Participation

I want to say that I share your disappointment regarding the members introducing themselves and then never posting. That's for the active participation. You're right it's a small minority who posts.

However, like in other forum, some people are "lurking". I noticed that before there was maybe 2-5 users at the same time reading it. Now, there is between 80-90 people at times. So I think people do use it.

From the points above, I think it's bound to be like that. It's like if you would check the percentage of people who go through more than 50% of PU, I would imagine it's quite small.

I think by definition what you teach is for a minority anyway. There are many pre-requisite to use this knowledge at its best I think.

So personally, I would not look into quantity so much to evaluate the forum's success. I do understand that it's been alive for some time now and that one could expect a higher participation.

So personally I would rather look at a strategy to improve participation. I think people sometimes might underestimate the benefit and ROI from writing here.

Value for TPM

I think for TPM the value of the forum is huge. It's an R&D lab where you don't have to pay employees. Many points have already been enumerated here. So I think there is no equivalent for these new ideas than collective brainstorming and emulation.

Talking about community, it does build a base of "loyal customers/users" who are something like the "inner circle" of TPM. Removing the forum would remove this base.

I think it adds a huge value for the customer to have the forum. Its quality is sky-high I think compared other forums less well regulated. As I said before PU without the forum does not have the same value at all to me. The forum is a value multiplier for PU. It turns passive learning into active learning with real cases we experience. To me that's invaluable. Yes it has equivalent with the coaching. However all these cases and knowledge gets shared only 1-on-1 as Bel said. So again, value multiplier for this knowledge to be shared.

Your presence on the forum

I do think it adds tremendous value to it. To replace you it would be needed to have someone that you would consider your "heir". That is skilled enough to teach these principles. I' don't see such a person yet.

As a conclusion, I think the forum is a value beast. I think it faces what I faced in associations: uninvolvement. I was surprised to see people who had very few posts but registered since some significant time come on the forum to complain about the new subscription policy. I thought: "where were you guys all this time?". I'm being brutally honest here.

I think the issue is an issue of participation and what I noticed in the associations where people are free to come and go: to me it's a matter of WIIFT.

So I think the challenge to bring more users to participate in the forum is to show and demonstrate what it can bring to THEM to write on the forum.

So man, I want to tell you that I think this forum is the best I've been on so far. By a large margin. I also think that sometimes people don't see value even when it's presented to them.

So I think that removing the forum would destroy a strong base of supporter, the inner circle if you will. Yes you will grow with the coaching, youtube, instagram, tiktok. But it's not the same. So the question is also: what value does it bring to you as an individual? Which brings me to the next question: what can we do to bring more value to you regarding the forum?

I'm aware the questions above might be a bit bold. However, as you said it's about brainstorming. I'm also getting out of my comfort zone asking those questions. I could be off.

I also agree with Bel that there could be an entry barrier to posting. It feels like people are intimidated to post. It's also something that we could brainstorm to increase participation.

People also could see it as a big effort and a big investment.

So I think it's about lowering the bar for writing, understanding why people who introduce themselves don't post, why people who register don't introduce themselves.

I think it could start with just a poll as you already did about PU. On the forum without the need to log in for instance. So you can learn more about the "lurkers".

Because I think to get the forum going and keeping it readable/manageable, not many additional users are needed. 10 more people who write and it's already going to be a challenge to maintain and police. So that's also the advantage: you can focus on quantity vs quality. So it depends on your strategy.

There is also the challenge of how to move a PU student to become a forum active member.

I want to say it again: I think that PU without the forum

So these are the challenges I identified. I hope it makes sense to you.

Grazie mille!! :)

Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on October 5, 2023, 10:06 pm

Thank you so much, John!

Yeah, there is a barrier to entry indeed.
Interestingly enough, some folks are somewhat wary, shall we even say "fearful" to write (and if some are reading, bro... Make it your challenge to change that, you can't go through PU and still be wary of writing on a g****n forum or we totally failed there :) ).

As for your question on what forum users can do to add more value, I never thought about it because I usually approach it differently. Rather than asking, I believe in letting people pursue their own interest and preferences, and then finding ways to make it win-win.
And if done well, that should happen without an "ask".

I'd go even as far as to say that I find it immoral to ask anyone to change their behavior to benefit TPM/me more.

BUT... I realize that one can "offer a proposal" others can freely decide whether to heed or not and that requires little or no effort -or maybe even adds value- to others, while also adding more value (learning in this case).
So I'll actually think about it (and now that I think about it, the "forum rules" are actually a good example of that).