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Hi <<First Name>>

Since I started Who Knows One? three years ago (I still can’t believe that is a factual statement), people have often asked me if I’ve considered doing it for other communities. “Yes of course I have!,” I would reply, and in fact I did some shows early on for ACEP (the American College of Emergency Physicians) and we launched a version of the show for the South Asian community (gone too soon, Desi Chain). 

For the most part, it was always a down-the-road opportunity, and because most of the time I have been running WKO industries by myself, I would get so caught up in the day-to-day needs of the show that I didn’t make much progress towards branching out.

Happily, that is changing, as I recently did my first big team-building workshop for a conference of finance managers in Las Vegas. It was so much fun, and proved something I have felt all along, that the show has many lessons that are applicable to the workplace. Here are a few:

1. It’s okay to ask for help. No Who Knows One? contestant will ever know the Chosen One when the game begins, so they have no choice but to ask for help. That might be easy to do in our low-stakes game show format, but in the professional world people are often reticent to do so. But it’s hard to accomplish things on our own, and sometimes we don’t know who might end up providing the help we need.

2. Information is best shared, not hoarded. Think how hard it would be to win Who Knows One? if you didn’t share all the relevant information with your teammates. Yet that’s often how people operate in their jobs, operating on a “need to know” basis that leaves people in the dark. Transparency is a friend to problem solving.

3. It’s okay to not know the answer. Related to #1 above, I know from my previous corporate stints that some people view not knowing the answer to a question as a sign of incompetence or weakness. What is wrong with saying to someone, “I don’t know the answer, but I can get it for you.”? Nothing, that’s what. 

Much like Who Knows One? is a very different kind of show than people are used to, the workshop is also very different (read: fun), at least compared to ones I’ve participated in the past.

Interested to know more about how we adapt the show for corporate audiences? Reach out, I’d love to put a program together for you that explores the power of connection and community in the workplace. 

Great Jewish Geography Stories

One of my favorite parts of Who Knows One? is the JG stories I hear. I delight in each and every one (okay maybe not quite that much - but most of them!). If you have a great story, reach out to us and share it. We may just feature you in an upcoming newsletter and add it to our burgeoning collection of stories on YouTube!

Ilana Weiss (former WKO contestant!) sends in this month’s featured story, about a couple of school-adjacent connections she and her husband made at the Shabbat dinner table while living in Omaha, Nebraska:

Who Knows One? Mysteries

We famously solved the mystery of the acoustic Humpty Dance (RIP Humpty Hump), and by we, I mean the Who Knows One? detectives out there who did a little digging with the determination of ants building a colony. Each newsletter we’ll try to put things right in the universe - reconnect long-lost friends, return a kiddush cup to its rightful owner, figure out a solution to (almost!) anything that’s been weighing on you. Let us know and we’ll put our sleuths on the hunt.

I’m actually going to use this space this month to see if I can solve my own JG mystery. In the age of social media and Google search, it’s always so interesting when you can’t seem to find hide nor hair of someone you used to know. When Facebook first came out and I started reconnecting with all my old friends, I had this one friend, James Mansfield, who I could never seem to locate. Not on FB, not on LinkedIn, nowhere. 

Here’s what I know about James - he grew up in Carmel, Indiana, and is around 44-45 years old. He went to GUCI (that’s how I knew him), and honestly, that’s about the best I can do. I stayed at his house once in 7th grade for Mike Blumenthal’s bar mitzvah, I think his mom’s name was Angie. I really liked him, he was good at basketball, and I always wondered what happened to him. Any ideas where James is and what he’s up to today? Let me know!

Who Knows One? Job Connections - Immigrant Legal Aid Fellow for Avodah

Each month we’ll try to highlight a job posting, either from an organization we love or for a role that seems like a cool, unique opportunity. Have a job you want to recommend? Email us and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter.

This role seems like an amazing opportunity to make a difference for people who really can use the help. As someone living in a foreign country at the moment, I have learned first-hand how incredibly meaningful it is to have native citizens who are able and willing to help you when you are a stranger in a strange land. Here’s what Avodah has to say about the role: 

“Turn your passion into action with the Jewish Service Corps! If you’re between the ages of 21-26 and excited to work, live, and learn at the intersection of activism and Jewish life, you could have a place in Avodah’s growing community. We are currently recruiting for two open Immigrant legal aid fellow positions in our Chicago program with the National Immigrant Justice Center. Candidates with Spanish or French proficiency are strongly preferred. Visit avodah.net/serve to learn more and apply.”

Upcoming WKO Shows

If you’re in any of the following places, come see us in the next couple weeks:

August 13 - Denver Jewish Day School

August 16 - Unified Jewish Congregation, Baton Rouge, LA
August 20 - B’nai Torah, Atlanta GA

Our fall and winter tours are also taking shape, but there’s still a little room left to add a few more dates, specifically between Nov. 6-11 and Dec. 5-8.

November Tour Dates:

Nov. 2 - Temple Beth El Voorhees, NJ
Nov. 4 - Temple Beth Am Israel, Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 5 - IHC/Beth-El Zedeck, Indianapolis, IN
Nov. 12 - Bnai Amoona, St. Louis, MO

December Tour Dates:

Dec. 1 - Kol Emet, Yardley, PA
Dec. 2 - NATA Conference, Charlotte, NC
Dec. 4 - USCJ Conference, Baltimore, MD
Dec. 9 - Beth Hillel Beth El, Philadelphia, PA

How can we help build your community? Reach out to us today to inquire about dates.

Give Us All Your Chosen Ones!

As always, we're on the lookout for new and more diverse Chosen Ones! If you are interested or know someone else who would be sign up today!