F3 Northern Alliance VQ and Q tool chest

This is intended to help VQ’s (yes, the “V” stands for Virgin) and Q’s be effective, memorable, and confident.

In short, a VQ and Q have 2 responsibilities:

1. Preparation

• Schedule your Q

• Pre-blast coordination with your Site Q

2. Day of

• Be the Leader - Pax are there for you

• Mission, Mission, Mission

• Work more, talk less - lead by example

• Be high energy

• Identify FNG

• Watch you 6

• Lead the COT

• Post-blast coordination with your Site Q

1. Preparation

1. Schedule your Q.

1. Q Sign-up

1. Anyone can see all of the Northern Alliances AO (Area of Operation).

2. When you select an AO (all of them are listed), it will open to the schedule for that month for that AO only. 

3. If the month is full, you will see “view next month”.

4. You can not see WHO is Q’ing, just that your AO schedule is full for a given day.  

5. You can click on one of the available days and sign up. 

6. Required information: Q’s hospital name, Q’s F3 name, phone number.  Email address is recommended.

7. The Q will then receive a text message and an email (if provided) from the Weasel Shaker confirming the signup.

8. The Q will also receive a reminder of the Q about 24 to 36 hours in advance of the Q.

1. The instructions above are WAY more complicated than the actual task.

2. Check in with your Site Q 48 hours before. You will get either an email or text (or both) from Calandy 24 hours before your Q to remind you. But If you haven’t heard from your Site Q by then, contact them. Give them some heads-up on what your Q will be so they can post a pre-blast on Slack. Life happens, if life happens and you can’t Q, get another one to “substi-Q” for you. Your Site Q can also be a good resource for this. If you can’t find a substi-Q, or it is simply too late … don’t worry, the Site Q has your back day-of.

3. Slack Pre-blast

1. IF you havn’t joined Slack yet, joing: https://app.slack.com/client/T03NQSDA9PE/C03PC70LLEL

1. Join:

1. All official F3 official coms between PAX should be done on Slack.  It is ok to continue posting to X through your AO’s X account, but don’t rely on it.  Slack allows more-secure communication that removes political and social “noise” from the post.  It also allows PAX who prefer NOT be on X to have a communication opportunity.

2. https://join.slack.com/t/f3na-workspace/shared_invite/zt-2cya1xg8l-BJLBfP1AvP0~nO1DaFLFEA

3. Once you are a member, click “add channel” and select “Browse Channels”. You will see all of the NA channels.  I recommend joining all of them, but at a minimum, joining “Site-Q’s”.  This is where our 1st F coordinator will communicate with Q’s. Other channels:

   • 1st F

   • 2nd F

   • 3rd F

   • Mumble Chatter

   • Ride

   • who-can-help-me

4. Once you have access to all of the channels, communicate away.

2. Pre-blasts.  Get with your Site Q about 24 hours before your Q to give them some heads-up on your plans. They will provide the Pre-blast for you.

3. Post-blast. If you are comfortable with Slack, post your video within 12 hours of the Q. Make sure to announce how many PAX you had (don’t forget to count yourself)

2. Day Of Q

1. Be on Time

   1. Recommend that you arrive at least 15 minutes early, earlier if you have to set up or scope the area. Challenge: get there before the site Q.

2. Identify FNG’s 

1. If you identify someone you don’t know, greet them with your hospital name and let them know  YOUR F3 name and a fist pump.  If they are a guest or rarely-posting PAX just crawling out from under a rock, they will return the pump with their F3 name.  Ask them who invited them out, and be genuinely interesting in them.  Use FORM to spark conversation.  Family, Occupation, Recreation, Message.  Message starts with step b below.  If they are an FNG, they will look at you with bewilderment, mutter their name, and wonder WTF.  Those are your clues to greet them as an FNG.

2. Explain what FNG is (Friendly New guy) and that they will be greeted by that name through the Post, and that at the end, they will be asked to introduce themselves, at which point the Q will give them a new F3 name.  We recommend leaving the explanation at that. Not sure calling them FNG vs just their name is weird??

3. Assign one of your PAX to shadow them through the Post.

• explain the obvious obnoxiousness we all take for granted, 

• catch them as a 6 if necessary, Never leave them alone.

• make them feel at home. 

• Explain the COT and video - remind them to say “FNG” rather than their F3 name (which they won’t have yet). 

• More importantly, keep the pace a “convo level” so your FNG guide can get personal information out of them necessary to help shout out names in the COT in the naming ritual. 

3. Be on Time, Start on Time.

   • Start at 5:29, even if PAX are still gathering or talking.

   • Walk to the center of the circle and establish your leadership with a big “good morning” and tell them your F3 name and remind them where they are.

   • If this is your VQ - proudly state that.

   • Remember: YOU ARE IN CHARGE.

   • High energy

   • Confidence

4. 5:29 am: Mission, CYA and Warmup.

• Mission of F3: The Mission of F3 is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.

  • Say it slow, clear, and deliberate. Read it off your phone or a note card if you have to. There is only ONE time in your Q when a PAX will legitimately criticize you for the workout, and it is if you get this wrong.

• CYA “don’t hurt yourself” line. Here are some really good ideas and guidance: f3nation.com/disclaimer-notice

• If time allows, always good to remind everyone of the F3 Five Core Principles (this is especially helpful if there are FNG’s in the crowed).

• Free of charge

• Open to all men

• Held outdoors

• Peer led

• Ends with COT

• If FNG’s are present, also handy to explain the 3 F’s: Fitness, Fellowship and Faith, good opportunity to put the FNG at ease so that we aren’t going to break into Gregorian chants and do a rosary in the parking lot. 

5. Warmups.

   • You can do this in the circle or have the PAX “mosey” to another location.

   • Warmup the body parts that are focused in your workout.

6. The Explanation: Don’t talk, work:

   • If part of your workout takes longer than 1 minute to explain it’s too complicated. PAX don’t come to listen to a 5 minute explanation, they come to work.

   • The PAX can only hold about 2-3 exercises, and rep counts in their mind, so don’t explain the next 15 exercises at the start because no one will remember. Get to work.

7. The Workout. Communicate and uphold standards:

   • Exercise standard:

     • Give a clear instruction for the exercise, don’t say ‘well, you can do some merkins if you want or some lunges if that feels better or some downward dogs….’ In the NA, this is a recipe for disaster. Nothing will lose the PAX like indecision and weakness.

     • Give a clear number for reps, don’t say ‘10-15 merkins.’ Give the standard- ‘15 merkins.’ PAX can modify from that, or Q can actually suggest the modification exercise.

     • If you are counting for them (and we recommend you do), use voice inflection or different phrase to indicate the last rep.

   • Q Standards:

     • Rely on your more-experienced PAX to help newer PAX or FNG’s with the workout.

     • ALL the experienced PAX are responsible for communicating to FNGs and newer guys what F3 is about.

   • Q Heckling and Correction:

     • VQ- gentle correction/reminders and encouragement during someone’s VQ is appropriate. It’s a big step out of the comfort zone so experienced PAX should primarily support and assist. *Unless it’s clear the VQ made no effort to practice, plan or attempt to do things right—in that case, heckle mercilessly*

     • Subsequent Qs- if there is improvement and/or sincere effort to improve, continuous gentle correction and reminders of standards and process. If there is no effort to improve, dynamically shamegoad with high intensity.

     • Experienced Qs- hold each other accountable to standards, regardless of who the Q is, or how long he’s been Q-ing.

8. Take care of your 6.

   • It’s in the credo “Leave no man behind…”

   • This is especially important when traveling off campus with non-runners in the group, and when you have FNGs or newer guys who aren’t yet in shape. Be ready to do some wagon wheeling, etc. Leave yourself enough time to get the PAX back. Challenge the “fastholes” to get home and circle back for the 6 in ‘Clydesdale suicides’. If you aren’t able to do this - assign on of your experienced PAX or your Site Q to do it for you.

   • One option is to give non-runners a heads-up that you’re going off campus and what the destination is so they can get a head start, drive, etc. Non-runners, you might have to suck the teat of humility and leave early, carpool, ride a bike, etc.

   • But the second part of the credo is ‘…leave no man where you find him.’ So if someone has been the 6 for two years, still don’t leave them way behind, but it’s OK to have less patience and increase the dynamic shame-goading.

9. OMAHA:

   1. call OMAHA with enough time for COT - remember, not all Q’s will have Mary.

10. COT procedure: Allow 10 minutes for a good COT, longer if you have FNG or multiple FNG, less if you have small group of PAX who know each other and don’t need the pomp-and-circumstance.

1. Countdown.  It is awesome if the PAX start this themselves, but if they are unsure the post is over, or you beat them up too much, it is recommended to ask the Site Q start this and gesture to the #2.

2. Name-a-ramma video.  

1. grab your phone and video each pax to record their hospital name, age, and F3 name… linger long enough to capture any gestures (flight attendant’s exit gestures, centerfolds poster un-ravel, hall pass’s hand off, Bobby Knights chair throw … you get the picture), and long enough to “give respect” to the 50+ crowds. 

2.  Start with the Site Q and end with you

3. Announcements.  

1. Self explanatory.  Let the experienced PAX lead this - they will. Just follow along.

2.  Site Q will announce next week’s Q.

4. 3rd F:

   1. If you are uncomfortable leading the 3rd F, ask if anyone wants to offer up a “prayer”.  If blank stares and crickets are the result your site Q should step in and makes something up.  Ideally, bring the group in to “take a knee” or ball of man.

   2. This is a great time to thank the PAX for their hard work.

5. Depending on AO and Pax attending, encourage 2nd F

11. FNG - after COT, name your FNG.

1. Refer to “freed to Lead” and “Q Source” for guidance on this. There is an art to this. This is the Q’s job, but your site Q can help

1. Rely on your Pax for help, especially rely on your FNG Shadow Pax for ideas.

2. Remember, the name should be a bit edgy… it is meant to be a little humiliating, even insulting - it's an inside joke for F3 Pax and should not be offensive to the general public.  It may be helpful to explain this to the new PAX after the name is given.

3. It is meant to remind the PAX of humility moving forward. Jayhawk HATES his F3 name, because B he hates the Jayhawks… he’s a KSU Wildcat.  But he is humbled by it because the name reminds him daily that he isn’t any better than his terrible F3 name, and to make each day better than the best.  Humility. 

12. Your Site Q will take care of the former FNG’s deets.

13. Leave no trace: Make sure AO is cleaner than you found it.

    1. Make sure no laundry left

14. Post-blast follow up. See notes above.

Handy-dandy VQ and Q summary page download, we stole this from the F3 JAX, why reinvent the wheel, right?.