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Hannah S Kim

Do you have any accountability buddy success stories?

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I've always heard that having an accountability partner is an effective motivator for working out, getting work done, achieving goals etc... in the long term. Have you ever had an accountability partner, and if so, how did it work out for you? Would love to hear your stories!

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Richard Shepherd
Over the summer we got friendly with an early customer and this has turned into a mutually beneficial relationship where we have a goal setting and review call once a fortnight. After the experience of YC where you have accountability buddies coming out of your ears, we really felt we needed to continue that effort. We have really benefited from the process on both sides and continue to do our fortnightly call after about 10 weeks now. We also talk in between but in a less structured way. PS - accountability buddy merges nicely into an awesome word I learned on a tour of Disney World once which is: 'accountabillibuddies'.
Hannah S Kim
@richardesigns accountabilibuddies- very cute haha. I've also never thought of accountability in this context, but this sounds awesome. I'm curious- what you guys usually talk about? My team has been running user interviews for our product and I'm always curious to know what kind of topics/questions others talk about.
Richard Shepherd
@richardesigns @hannahsuyun isn't it! We have a 30 minute set format for our fortnightly calls. Fifteen minutes on each company. Say our one line company description, reflect on that. Reflect on our current 2 week goal, set a new 2 week goal and then identify what our biggest challenge is right now and how we're going about tackling it. We feedback on each other's points constructively. I'd be keen to learn about other formats we could use actually since I wouldn't want our current one to limit us. Is this useful?
Hannah S Kim
@richardesigns @hannahsuyun Yes! Thank you- sounds like a super efficient system, I like it!
Bill Flitter
I absolutely have an accountability partner - especially as a solo founder. We meet weekly for about 60 minutes to go over priorities and talk strategy. He is also a solo founder (but been at it longer) so his input is helpful because he's done it. He's been keeping me on track and focused.
Hannah S Kim
@billflitter This is so cool, it sounds like a really great hybrid of accountability and mentorship :). Also great that you two have your own separate projects and come together to help one another.
Mr Ethar Alali
For most people, this is true! However, there are some contexts where not only are they no help, they're worse! 1. If they are not holding you to account, and you them, then the partnership doesn't work 2. If they are not as strong at something as you are, it's dangerous for you (because they can't support) - this is key in a heavy lifting gym, which is why you may need more than one person. In my shot putting days, I needed more than one person to spot. Also, don't make your accountability partner a business partner (it's not what they are anyway). Especially if either of the above are true. Though this can be useful in some rare cases, they may not pull their weight in the relationship. Get the wrong person, they will focus on you not doing your job, rather than focusing outwards and selling, say.
Hannah S Kim
@ethar_alali Hi Ethar, thanks for the thorough comment! I agree, I think accountability partnerships only work if the other person is as dedicated to the goal as you and is willing to pull their weight.
Dan Gusz
I totally agree. I've actually been working on something in this space for the last year: http://app.withlloyd.com/. We are in the career space and believe that careers shouldn't be so difficult. So we created Lloyd - a human co-pilot for your career, for the price of a pair of socks. I'm more than happy to chat more about it, or feel free to give the product a try!
Hannah S Kim
@dan_gusz Hi Dan, just tried out your product, love the concept behind it! Do you have any plans to improve the design and the flow of the product? I think this is such a great tool especially for people who are new to the job market- it would benefit from a more intuitive design!
Dan Gusz
@dan_gusz @hannahsuyun Thanks for the feedback! Yes, we do have some plans for design updates, and would love any feedback that you have as well. Feel free to send my way directly: dan@withlloyd.com.