How do you design human connection at scale? Can emotional intelligence be learned? What’s the best way to handle being roasted online?
Kind, Curious, and Open-Minded. These are the core values that Elle Beecher is building The Board Walks community around. She aims to unite people for energizing conversations, growing as humans, and connecting with people who share a "learn something, teach something" mindset.
Elle calls The Board Walks ‘a quaint idea.’
It sounds simple: weekly five-mile walk on Saturdays kicked off with a highly intentional set of ground rules and hosted by a hand-selected and intensely trained guide to set the values.
Elle has invented and productized The Board Walks over 60+ weeks of iteration to generate ‘planned serendipity.’ She also discusses the type of feedback conversations she has on almost every walk. Her approach to community management is rooted in constructed feedback and offering a road to redemption for people when they violate a ground rule.
We talk about Elle's masterclass mentality and response to being roasted on Twitter for her walks, her second viral tweet about change connection at an airport, and how she helps community members improve emotional intelligence through feedback.
Elle is just getting started. The Board Walks are currently held weekly in Austin and San Francisco. Starting in early 2024, she is expanding to ten cities around the United States and is gearing up for global demand.
We cover:
Responding to a viral Twitter roast
Creating planned serendipity: the magic of The Board Walks
Enforcing shared community values: Kind, Curious, Open-minded
Scaling The Board Walks by inventing in real-life experience parity
Intentional product design for building human connection and learning at scale
Why it’s okay to take things personally
Please comment below.
We’d love to hear your thoughts, reactions, and questions.
Show Links:
It’s Personal. Locker Room Speech by Deion Sanders
The original Twitter roast.
Elle’s second viral tweet. “What advice would you give for choosing a life partner?”
The Board Walks homepage and newsletter
Elle Beecher on LinkedIn
Board Walk Empire: The Power of Curiosity and Connection with Elle Beecher