WATCH US LEAD, THE PODCAST
8. Give Yourself Permission to Pause
Tune in this week as we take a moment to pause and reflect on what we’ve learned over the last few weeks so we can implement these lessons in our lives. All this content means nothing if we don’t take the time to pause, so this check-in episode will help you amplify your wellbeing and move your impact further and expand how you show up for yourself and others.
Are you giving yourself permission to pause? Maybe not, but to do this work, you should be. We need to pause to be able to expand our impact, and we need the reflection and reset so that we can do this work long-term and create the systemic, structural, and social change we truly need.
Tune in this week as we take a moment to pause and reflect on what we’ve learned over the last few weeks so we can implement these lessons into our lives. All this content means nothing if we don’t take the time to pause, so this check-in episode will help you amplify your wellbeing, move your impact further and expand how you show up for yourself and others.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
Three questions I ask when I’m trying to check in with myself.
Some a-ha! moments I’ve had recently.
What strong leadership looks like.
How small actions lead to big impact.
Why pause and reflection are vital to making an impact.
How to hold yourself accountable and show up to make a change in the world.
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7. 5 Mindsets of Purposeful Disruptors
Tune in this week to learn five mindsets held by purposeful disruptors and establish whether these mindsets are currently showing up in your life. Identify where you need to start taking action to overcome your beliefs and discover the importance of showing up authentically in your business and life.
There are core beliefs you are holding onto right now that are preventing you from scaling your impact. As a purposeful disruptor, it is important to acknowledge your mindset and beliefs and how they may be limiting the way you show up in the world. So let me ask you, what mindset shifts do you need to make to create legacy-level impact?
Tune in this week to learn five mindsets held by purposeful disruptors and establish whether these mindsets are currently showing up in your life. Identify where you need to start taking action to overcome your beliefs and discover the importance of showing up authentically in your business and life.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
How to show up authentically in your business and life.
Why creating legacy-level impact should be integral to your life as well as your business.
A common roadblock when it comes to creating legacy-level impact.
Why failure is so important in your journey to creating legacy-level impact.
The beliefs and actions of purposeful disruptors.
How to identify the roadblocks that are keeping you stuck.
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6. Wellbeing is THE Strategy for Legacy-Level Impact
Join me this week to learn why it’s time for radical change around our thinking and why if we don’t exhibit and embody wellbeing ourselves, we can’t do that for others. I’m shifting your understanding of wellbeing and providing you with a framework to use to take action so you can commit to this work and create the change you want to see in society.
To create legacy-level impact, you must have sustainable and scalable growth grounded in strategy. And for me, the ultimate strategy to fund and fuel your impact is wellbeing. Wellbeing is the most powerful way to achieve and succeed, but are you prioritizing yours?
When you feel overworked, overcommitted, and overwhelmed, it’s hard to create the impact you want in your own life, let alone in your business and the lives of others. We have to break this unhealthy commitment and design a life and business grounded in wellbeing to achieve legacy-level impact.
Join me this week to learn why it’s time for radical change around our thinking and why if we don’t exhibit and embody wellbeing ourselves, we can’t do that for others. I’m shifting your understanding of wellbeing and providing you with a framework to use to take action so you can commit to this work and create the change you want to see in society.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
How to build sustainable and scalable growth in your organization.
The commitments you can make to achieve wellbeing.
Some questions to help you to get to the ultimate strategy of wellbeing.
Why you might be feeling overworked.
How to get out of the struggle and embody wellbeing.
The importance of being grounded in wellbeing.
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5. Becoming a Transformative Leader
Creating legacy-level impact requires transformative leadership. But - - what exactly does this mean? Transformative leadership is leadership that is committed to doing the work of liberation, equity, and justice. Let’s explore how we can step into this type of leadership today.
Creating legacy-level impact requires transformative leadership. But - - what exactly does this mean? Transformative leadership is leadership that is committed to doing the work of liberation, equity, and justice.
Join me this week as I’m defining what it means to become a transformative leader and sharing a framework to help us think about how this shows up in our lives. I’m showing you how our experiences help us get to the place where we can embody transformative leadership and how to take action to continue on this journey towards legacy-level impact.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
What transformative leadership is.
The difference between transformational leaders and transformative leaders.
How my experiences have brought clarity to what I want to commit to.
What my journey of becoming a transformative leader has looked like.
How to establish where you are on your journey towards transformative leadership.
Four domains to get aligned on to allow you to show up as your complete self.
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4. Designing a Thriving and Resilient Team
I’m sharing what steps you need to take to build a thriving, resilient team and what is necessary for your team to achieve legacy-level impact. I’m sharing the ways this pandemic has shown us what’s not working in our professional lives, and how to do the vital work that leads to the vision, mission, and ultimate purpose of our organization.
We’re a year into this pandemic, and if it’s shown us anything, it’s that many of the systems and structures we have come to rely on are broken. In relation to teams, it has provided us with an array of examples of what is and is not working, and this week, I’m talking about breaking the status quo and building thriving, resilient teams.
As purpose-driven brands and leaders, we know that to create legacy-level impact and make the change we want to see in this world, we cannot do it on our own – we must do it with others. Understanding what a thriving, resilient team is as well as acknowledging the mindset shifts necessary to create one is crucial to moving forward and showing up differently in your organization.
In this episode, I’m sharing what steps you need to take to build a thriving, resilient team and what is necessary for your team to achieve legacy-level impact. I’m sharing the ways this pandemic has shown us what’s not working in our professional lives, and how to do the vital work that leads to the vision, mission, and ultimate purpose of our organization.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
How the pandemic has amplified existing issues within organizations.
Why wellbeing is the foundational strategy for success and achievement for your team and brand.
How to embrace the necessary mindset shifts when building a thriving team.
5 areas in your business that you need to get clarity on right now.
Why entrepreneurship is a team sport.
The actions you should be taking right now to build your business.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE:
FEATURED ON THE SHOW:
Leave me a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to be entered into my giveaway of 10 Audible gift cards.
Enjoy the Show?
Don’t miss an episode, follow me on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
3. Designing an Activist Brand
What an activist brand is and how to build one with your business. I’m sharing 10 questions to help you identify where you are right now on building an activist brand, and showing you how to make the necessary shifts to align your values with the systemic change and social impact you want to create.
When we think about brands, what immediately comes to mind are aspects such as logos, phrases, sounds, and smells – all the elements generally associated with a brand. But while these are important, a brand is so much more than these trademarks. In this episode, I’m showing you the essence of what creates a brand, or more specifically, an activist brand.
As purpose-driven leaders, we want to go beyond building a known brand. We have a responsibility to fuel and fund the change we want to see in the world, and building activist brands - those that stand for a set of values but are also leading advocates for the social, structural, and systemic changes we require - is how we do this.
Join me this week as I define what an activist brand is and show you how to build one with your business. I’m sharing 10 questions to help you identify where you are right now on building an activist brand, and showing you how to make the necessary shifts to align your values with the systemic change and social impact you want to create.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
The differences between a traditional brand and an activist brand.
What a brand is and is not.
How to build an activist brand.
Some examples of how activist brands show up.
What being an activist brand entails.
How your brand can be a leader of change in society.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE:
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
You're listening to Watch Us Lead where hard conversations become significant actions. I'm your host Kimberly Y. Bennett founder of K Bennett Law and Designing the New Legal. Together we’ll create the brand shifts that lead to sustainable change. Now, let’s dive into today’s show.
Before we even get going in discussing what an activist brand is, first let me tell you what a brand is not. Or better yet let’s broaden our view of what a brand is. Now as a trademark attorney, what I'm about to say might make you feel a bit like, “Wait, what, huh? This is not what I've been told about what a brand is.” But bear with me and take in what I'm about to say as you expand how you view your brand and how you define what a brand is.
When we discuss brand, we always think about the logos, phrases, sounds, smells. All those elements associated with the brand. The Coca-Cola bottle shape, the swish for Nike, the Tiffany blue box. Those are all recognizable brands in many parts of the world. Yes, these are important pieces to the brand. Yes, these are elements that should be protected as well. But a brand is more than these trademarks.
While a brand includes the logos, phrases, sounds, and smells that we identify with it, it goes a step further and it’s a complete package. A brand is also the essence, the emotions, the experiences associated with an individual, a product, a service, or an organization. Let me use an example to demonstrate what I mean.
Okay, close your eyes. Go with me for a second. Picture a red dart board like logo. What brand name comes to mind immediately? Without even seeing letters around it, do you think of Target? I know without even seeing the Target name anywhere. If I see that logo, I know there's a Target up ahead. I also know, and you may also know if you're like me, the likelihood of stepping into a Target and getting only the items you plan to buy is also unlikely. Why is that?
It’s because the Target corporation has spent a ton of time doing research and committing the resources the understanding their customers. They understand what we want before we enter Target. They understand what's happening in our lives before we even enter Target. They understand why we come to Target. They understand what we’re looking to buy when we come to Target. They also understand the other items we might buy based on the aisles that we’re shopping in. All these elements. Target has a deep 360 understanding of the essence, experience, emotions their customers, us, associate with their brand.
All of these pieces are what a brand is about. As purpose driven leaders, we want to go beyond building a known brand and even a bold brand. We want to build brands that not only stand for a set of values, but are also leading advocates for the social, structural, and systemic changes we require. That’s where an activist brand shifts from a traditional brand.
An activist brand aligns their values with their social impact. So the essence, experience, and emotions associated with their brand extends beyond the products and services they are selling to the issues and causes they are supporting. So while they might be selling products and services, they go beyond that and really show up for causes and issues. That seems seamless to their customers, to their community, to their industry, to the world.
To build an activist brand, we have to be intentional from the beginning. If you weren’t intentional from the beginning, then it’s about starting now at this very moment and asking yourself, “Where does my brand stand on the important issues of our society? How am I positioning my brand to do different, to be different, and to stand up for a set of values that indicates without question how my brand will show up in our community and in our society?”
When we discuss activism, a lot of times we go straight to politics because that’s what we have been engrained to do. But by doing this, we are missing the mark. We are missing the goal of activism, the social impact. Improving the greater good. Activism is about social change. It’s about standing up and intervening. It’s about using our position and power to bring awareness and resources to issues that go beyond our products and services and really impact society and that are focused on improving the greater good.
As purpose driven leaders, you know the status quo isn’t working. In fact, you may have built your business or organization to disrupt the status quo. Because of this, you are unique positioned to design your brand to leverage its power and position to be a leader or change in our society. A brand that does better.
A brand that understands that silence and complacency is not an option. And a brand that’s willing to make statements and do the work and use its resources to work towards creating the structural, systemic, and changes our society needs. And doing the work even if that should lead to some backlash from those who don’t understand that the work you're doing isn’t about a political statement. It’s understanding that as a brand, you have a responsibility to both fuel and fund the change we want to see in this world. That’s what designing an activist brand is all about.
So to be an activist brand, you must be aligned. You must be protected. Quite frankly, you must be unapologetic about your commitment to your values and the social change you are seeking. So let’s talk about that first piece. Being aligned.
When your brand is aligned, you’ve intentionally designed for that alignment. It’s intertwined in your business model, your team structure, your client and customer service experience, your industry throughout leadership. All the elements to successful and purposeful business design. It means that when people see your brand, when they buy from your brand, when they work with your brand, when they know you or representatives of your brand and your industry, they are clear about the social issues your brand stands for as well as the products and services that you sell. They know this without you even having to say a word.
Second, an activist brand must be protected. That means as a business you need to operate with a solid legal foundation. So of course, I'm a lawyer. Yes, we’re going to have more detailed discussion about what it means to be protected and what it means to grow an IP portfolio and to think about your assets and documentation.
For today, I want to make sure as we’re kicking off this conversation together, you understand just how important having a solid legal foundation is because you need the documentation in place. You need your finances in order. You need to risk manage. You need your assets protected. Because without that, your business will not exist. If your business doesn’t exist, that means you're not doing that bold brave work we need your organization to do. Because we need businesses like yours, brands like yours to step up in ways they haven’t before. So your brand must be protected so you can achieve that hundred-year plan.
Finally, your brand and your leaders need to be unapologetic about the causes you support. It’s about living and breathing your commitment day in and day out. Not just to your team, your clients, and your industry but to everyone. It’s standing up and speaking up for those causes even in the face of adversity. So there's no room for questioning your position or your motives. It’s using the power of your platform for good, for social impact. This is what will separate you from those that just talk about it. It’s confidently standing in your greater purpose with clarity of direction and commitment to the work.
We see examples of this in businesses now. Businesses that are not non-profit businesses. Businesses that are for profit. A few examples that come to mind for me in my legal industry, there's a company called Cleo. It’s a for profit legal tech company that does take an activist stance on the issues they believe and the causes that are aligned with their company’s values. The CEO speaks out. The team members speak out. You see it in the content they publish, the conferences that they produce. They are consistent and committed. We know as consumers of their products where they stand without question.
Then we have Ben and Jerry’s, which is another great example of a for profit brand that aligns purpose and passion in how they’ve designed their business and their entity structure. On Ben and Jerry’s website, you see a list of issues that they care about. They list a range of issues. Whether it’s climate change to Black Lives Matter to LGBTQ issues, they are front and center about the causes and the issues that they believe in and that they support.
These are just examples of how activist brands show up. Definitely not the only ones, but examples. As you're on this journey towards designing an activist brand, I want to provide you an assessment to help you understand where you are today and identify opportunities for further work and improvement along your journey. This is an open-ended assessment. There's no right or wrong answer. Instead focus on discovery and honesty. Because when you know where you're starting, it’s must easier to design where you want to go. So let’s jump in.
First, what are the values that define your brand? Second, how does your brand values show up in the everyday lives of your customers or clients? Third, how are you committing to improving your customers or clients through your products? Fourth, how do you decide on brand partnerships as you look to grow and scale your business? Five, how do you live your values outside of just selling your products and services?
Six, where does your brand stand on the important issues and causes in our society? Seven, how are you positioning your brand to sustainability show up for these issues and causes? Eight, what systems or structures in our society perpetuate injustices to those you serve? Nine, how do your products or services perpetuate injustices to those you serve? So I'm going to take a moment and repeat that because that is specifically about how your products or services perpetuate injustice, right? So nine, again, how do your products or services perpetuate injustice to those you serve?
Now this question might feel a little uneasy, but this is a real question we need to ask ourselves and we need to understand how and what we do day in and day out could actually contribute negatively to those that we are serving. To our clients and customers. So it’s really about understanding how you're showing up so that you can shift how you're showing up. Then finally number 10, how are you working towards dismantling those systems and structures as part of your overall business design?
Those are the 10 questions I want you to consider to help you identify where you are on building an activist brand. This is not a one and done journey. This is not a 10-question assessment that gives you exactly what to do. Instead, it’s about discovery and honesty. It’s going deeper. It’s committing to doing this work and committing to doing it from a place of clarity so that you can move forward intentionally, and really go deeper and create the level of impact that we all know we need.
So once you’ve done this assessment then shoot us an email. Let us know what came up. What your thoughts are. We would love to get some feedback. In fact, if you have a question as you're going through this, let us know that question too because all of that is important as we’re going on this journey. Remember we’re in this together and that we know we need to create legacy level impact. So this is one of the elements of it. It’s not the only one. It’s a part of that journey. So stay committed. Do the work. Do the discovery, and then take imperfect action.
To celebrate the launch of the show, I'm giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts. It doesn’t have to be a five-star review of course, although I sure hope you love the show. I want your honest feedback so I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Visit kbennettlaw.com/podcastlaunch to learn more about the contest and how to enter. I’ll be announcing winners on an upcoming episode. See you soon.
Thanks for listening to the show. I look forward to sharing more insights with you on upcoming episodes. Let’s continue to take imperfect action. See you next week.
Enjoy the Show?
Don’t miss an episode, follow me on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
2. Disruptive Change
Three questions you can ask yourself to decide if the path of radical change is for you. I’m sharing why creating radical change that breaks the status quo requires moving at a pace we haven’t seen before, and why it takes a powerful collective to redesign and rethink a new path forward.
Disruptive change is radical change that breaks the status quo. Disruptive change is also personal. While brands and businesses must fuel and fund the structural, systemic change we need, disruptive change at its core starts with you; it starts with us.
If you are tired of the status quo, have a vision to do more, and realize that there is a gap in our current systems and structures where your skillset can be used to do this work radically better, this episode is for you. You’re on the path to embracing radical change in your being and your business, and I’m here to help at every step of the way.
Tune in this week as I share three questions you can ask yourself to decide if the path of radical change is for you. I’m sharing why creating radical change that breaks the status quo requires moving at a pace we haven’t seen before, and why it takes a powerful collective to redesign and rethink a new path forward.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
What disruptive change is and why it’s so important.
Why there are so many issues impacting society right now.
Some examples of brands already doing this work.
How to form a radically different path from those who have come before you.
Why social impact is achieved through collaboration.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE:
FEATURED ON THE SHOW:
Leave me a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to be entered into my giveaway of 10 Audible gift cards.
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
You're listening to Watch Us Lead where hard conversations become significant actions. I'm your host Kimberly Y. Bennett founder of K Bennett Law and Designing the New Legal. Together we’ll create the brand shifts that lead to sustainable change. Now, let’s dive into today’s show.
Last week, we kicked off our episode with an overview of legacy level impact, and the key brand shifts to achieve it in your business and in your being. Now, this week I want to shift our convo and discuss disruption. More specifically I want to know are you ready for disruptive change? Are you ready to cause a disruption? Maybe you're just simply talking about it, and this path isn’t for you. Maybe since you're here, you actually are ready, but it’s fear that’s keeping you from stepping up.
Disruptive change is radical change that breaks the status quo. Disruptive change is also personal. While brands and businesses must fuel and fund the structural and systemic change that we need, disruptive change at its core starts with you. It starts with us. If you are tired of the status quo, I mean legit tired of the status quo, you have a vision to do better, and you realize that there's a gap in our current system and structure where your skillset can be utilized to do this work radically better. Well, if that’s true for you then you're on the path to embracing radical change in your being and in your business.
Let’s just take a moment and think about this past year. From the pandemic to the protest to end racial injustice to the ongoing struggle to protect our environment, we have plenty of work to do. None of this work is new work, in fact. We can look at our economic structure, educational system, our policing structure, our congress, our unhealthy work life balance, the inequities and injustices in our legal system. All of it. There are so many issues that impacting our society, and those are just a few examples.
While we respect the work that has been done and continues to be done as we work towards creating a just society, you know we have so much more to do. We must do it at a pace we haven’t seen before. So what do we need to do different? We need disruptive change. We need radical change that breaks the status quo.
So this brings us back to our question that we kicked off our conversation with. Are you ready for disruption? Or better yet, let me rephase it. Are you ready to lead the disruptive change we need? Let’s think about current examples of brands and individuals living this. We have Ben and Jerry’s, a brand that steps out consistently through resources, through statements, through actions, through the commitment over the years to be a brand that is changing the way brands show up. They’ve even been early adopters of that B Corporation business model in aligning purpose and profit and not putting profit first.
We can look at AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the work that she’s doing in congress. It’s disruptive. It’s different. Let’s be frank. There are others in these same systems that are doing disruption in ways that are not positive. They're not purposeful. They're not leading to the greater good for society. While that’s happening, that’s not what we’re focusing on. The disruptive change we’re talking about is positive and it’s purposeful, and it’s talking about moving the greater good.
Then we can look at another is Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Maybe you didn’t know about the movement a couple of years ago. Maybe you heard about it, but it was just something you heard and you didn’t know much about it. Today, right now, the work that was done and continues to be done by those leading this movement is disruptive. It’s disruptive change. It’s radical change that’s breaking the status quo. It says how movement building before can't be how we are going to do it in the future. These are just a few examples.
I'm sure you're thinking of individuals in your immediate life, brands maybe that you're using, celebrities, influencers you follow, businesses or business owners you trust. All of these that are embracing and living disruptive change.
So here’s my quick ask. Go grab a notebook because I want to give you three questions that I want you to think about, and then I want you to answer as you decide if this path is for you. Because to create legacy level impact, we need people and businesses that embrace disruptive change. So the first question is are you willing to be courageous? Being a disruptive change agent means that you have to embrace the fear and doubt that’s inevitably going to come up.
Are you willing to push past that fear? Push past that doubt while accepting that some of what you're doing has a bit of an unknown element to it, and that you're still willing to forge a new path, a radically different path from those that have come before you. Are you willing to hear the naysayers? To be challenged by the naysayers? To be told that doesn’t make sense, but that you're still going to do the work. Will you recognize these moments when they happen, address them immediately or seek support so you don’t get stuck, and then continue to move forward? If so, then you have to answer are you willing to be courageous?
Second, in fact, are you willing to break the status quo even when it’s so engrained into every bit of who you are and how you operate. This includes moving past the traditional models, traditional structures, traditional systems and towards embracing curiosity and creativity. How you're going to workshop issues, challenge your beliefs. Because some of these beliefs that you're going to be challenging are beliefs that you’ve held for years. They encompass years of education and/or experience that you may have, and that may be in fact keeping you on the same hamster wheel achieving the same predictable results.
To be clear, I do embrace predictability. Just not when it leads to maintaining the same structures and systems that create the very outcomes in our society we are trying to change. So when you're ready to break the status quo, you are always learning. Then you're challenging what you learned. And then designing innovative ways to achieve specific outcomes based on your learnings and based on your realization that sometimes doing the way that you were taught is not the way that’s going to get you to the new path forward.
Then finally, are you ready to embrace collaboration and the power of the collective? As a social impact or purpose driven leader, you recognize the power of the collective. In fact, you know the work that we’re doing is not work we should be doing alone. You know there's a greater purpose to what we’re doing. Whether it’s for your family, your industry, the greater good.
There are levels to breaking the status quo, and there are levels to this radical change that we are looking to achieve. While it starts on a personal level like we discussed earlier. Because, in fact, our impact work needs to be personally sustainable before we can grow our sustainability outside of ourselves. Once we have reached personal sustainability, we need to join forces with others to create radical change. We cannot and should not do this work on our own.
I always remember one of my college friends that had this saying, and I think his mom passed it on to him. Four hands are better than two. I want you to think about this saying as well as you are on this journey because this isn’t a straight path, an easy path, or a path without naysayers. While you can kickstart the change on your own to create the level of impact we need, collaboration is key. Social impact is achieved through collaboration. These structures and systems were designed by many people. It will take a powerful collective to dismantle, rethink, and redesign a new path forward.
So on this path towards legacy level impact, we need to lead disruptive change. It won't always be easy. You won't have an exact plan to follow, but you know this is the work that must be done to achieve the type of impact we require. So go grab that notebook. Start thinking about these questions and be honest about your answers. I look forward to chatting more about legacy level impact, disruption, building an activist brand, and more on upcoming episodes.
To celebrate the launch of the show, I'm giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts. It doesn’t have to be a five-star review of course, although I sure hope you love the show. I want your honest feedback so I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Visit kbennettlaw.com/podcastlaunch to learn more about the contest and how to enter. I’ll be announcing winners on an upcoming episode. See you soon.
Thanks for listening to the show. I look forward to sharing more insights with you on upcoming episodes. Let’s continue to take imperfect action. See you next week.
Enjoy the Show?
Don’t miss an episode, follow me on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
1. Legacy-Level Impact
The importance of having bold, deep, and sometimes difficult conversations and the role that large for-profit businesses must play in driving social, structural, and systemic change. Hear why legacy-level impact needs to be a necessary component of all business design, and how you can create the impact needed in the world.
Welcome to Watch Us Lead, I am thrilled to welcome you to the podcast! If you are a leader or executive who is committed to social impact and wants to create the systemic and structural change we need in this world, this podcast is for you. This show is a resource for all of us on this social impact purpose-driven journey, and I’m looking forward to being here with you each week!
For my first episode, I’m introducing myself, showing you what you can expect from the podcast each week, and sharing the unique perspective I bring to the conversation about lasting social impact. I’m kicking off the show by talking about legacy-level impact; what it is, why it’s important, and why it sets the stage for you as you begin your social impact journey.
Join me this week as I discuss the importance of having bold, deep, and sometimes difficult conversations and the role that large for-profit businesses must play in driving social, structural, and systemic change. Hear why legacy-level impact needs to be a necessary component of all business design, and how you can create the impact needed in the world.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts.
I want your honest feedback so that I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
The 5 key brand shifts necessary to make a change.
What an impact-driven business and leadership entail.
How to assess your business and leadership to see how you’re showing up.
What true change requires.
A list of previous movements and people who have achieved this level of impact.
What type of imperfect action will lead to the world we’re all working towards.
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE:
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
Legacy level impact is positive, purposeful change that breaks that status quo and has lasting influence for generations. I'm thrilled to welcome you to our first episode of Watch us Lead. Well, actually it’s not quite the first episode. It’s our first podcast episode. In fact, we were a live show for some time. Now we are bringing our live conversations and community here, and I am super excited.
So if you were part of our live community in the past or if this is your first time learning about it, we absolutely plan on continuing taping live shows. So stay tuned for future announcements because I would love for you to join us when we’re back live.
Like our live shows, I want this to be interactive and I want your engagement, your feedback, your thoughts, your insights on all the topics that we discuss. We need to have these bold, deep, necessary, and sometimes hard conversations that allow us to be the leaders and design the businesses that achieve legacy level impact. This show was meant to be a resource for you, for me, and for all of us on this social impact purpose driven journey. So hit me up on email and social so we can continue the conversation.
Today as we kick off the first podcast episode of Watch Us Lead, it’s only right that we talk about legacy level impact. What it is, why it’s important, and how it sets the stage for you as you begin or continue your social impact journey. So legacy level impact is positive, purposeful change that breaks the status quo and has lasting influence for generations. Take a moment and ask yourself what people, movements, organizations, or businesses have achieved this level of impact.
When I think about this, I think about Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, Harriet Tubman, Zora Neale Hurston, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, the abolitionist movement, the civil rights movement, the NAACP, the McArthur Foundation. I mean so many organizations, peoples, and movements run through my mind. I'm sure the same thing is happening with you right now.
While I'm thinking about those from the past, I'm also thinking about those that are on this journey right now like the Black Lives Matter movement. A movement that I am personally involved in and care a lot about. But what’s always been painfully missing from this conversation is the role large for profit businesses have played in driving social, structural, and systemic change.
Local businesses have been part of this conversation. Some have and continue to do the good word, the necessary work. I'm sure you know them; the businesses lead by your neighbors and your community leads. But they can't do it alone. We need larger organizations, not just non-profits. We need the for profit businesses to do this work and to commit to driving social, systemic, and structural change.
2020 was yet another example of this. This past year it was hard, but it wasn’t shocking. Again, we are having these conversations about racial injustice and equality, discrimination, oppression. Yet it feels like so much of our progress keeps getting wiped out or it’s simply stagnant. Legacy level impact should not be a nice to have or an afterthought for businesses. It needs to be a necessary component of business design, and I believe part of the reason this conversation ebbs and flows is because some of those that hold the power in our society, namely businesses, just don’t care enough.
Quite frankly as a Black woman, it’s damn right frustrating that businesses are operating without regard to their impact. Because we have this conversation over and over again, and yet it feels like we’re only slightly moving this damn needle, right. We need to move the needle right now at this very moment as entrepreneurs and executives. We can and must build businesses that are designed to create this level of impact because we need this change now.
So we need you, the business leaders, of these new and established businesses to understand that how and your business operated in the past cannot be how you and your business will operate in the future. That means it’s time to shift to designing your business for legacy level impact. This is the conversations we’re going to have on this podcast.
For the first couple of episodes, I'm going to jump into the five shifts and go a little bit deeper. For today, I'm just going to talk about them so you can start understanding where they are and start doing a quick assessment of your business and your leadership to see how you're showing up. So the first shift is disruptive change. More specifically, radical change that breaks the status quo. This is going beyond what everyone does and saying it’s time to lead a new path. And that path is saying I want to change the way society, structures, and systems are set up.
The second is being a bold and activist brand. That’s being a protected brand but that’s also unapologetic and aligned with how they show up day in day out. The third is shifting towards having a thriving and resilient team, one that’s inclusive. People first. That amplifies wellbeing. The fourth is transformation leadership. Leadership that is empathetic, collaborative, authentic, you know. Gives people a sense of belonging. And fifth, it’s strategic, sustainable, and scalable growth. It’s innovative, efficient, data driven, scientific and systematized.
These are the key brand shifts that if you are ready to design a business for legacy level impact that you need to be making. Because while legacy level impact won’t happen overnight, we can accelerate it if we start doubling down strategically on how to make that happen. Then taking imperfect action aligned with that strategy every single day.
This is what Watch Us Lead is about. It’s recognizing that it’s up to us, the leaders, executives, rebels, and activists of the world to create the kind of impact we all need. All the good intentions in the world just won't cut it. Legacy level impact requires these key brand shifts that will fund and fuel the effort and momentum needed to move this mountain.
If you are a disruptive leader or an executive that wants to create the systemic and structural change we need in this world then intentionally designing a purpose driven business that funds your impact is crucial. Whether it’s day one of your business or you're running a multimillion or billion dollar business, it’s time to step up and lead in a way you haven’t before. It’s time to design and lead legacy level impact businesses y’all. No more hiding. No more playing it say. Step into your leadership.
Listen, you're beyond just giving face time to what matters. You know true change requires creativity, curiosity, commitment, and most importantly strategy. Enough of these actions are not tied to strategy. Let’s double down on strategy before we act. This is the conversation we need to be having. I'm sure you know there's a lot that goes into growing a social impact business. One that’s not only innovative and bold, but profitable and sustainable.
So I invite you to move beyond hashtags and well intentioned training sessions, and instead to join me each week to have the hard conversations. The ones that will move us forward. The kind of conversations that take us from wanting to do better to stepping into that better in every area of your brand and your being.
The reality is imperfect action isn’t only okay. It’s guaranteed. You won't wake up with the perfect plan for what to do every day are you're working towards creating legacy level impact. In fact, you're not expected to. Here’s the thing. Instead it’s about you continuously stepping up imperfectly day after day. It’s you listening, truly listening, so you're able to hear when you might have screwed up. It might hurt a bit, but you’ve got to hear it. So then you're able to learn and do better and be better, and then double down on your commitment to creating this legacy level impact.
Because that’s the work we need to be doing. Strategic, imperfect, focused, committed work every damn day. That’s the type of imperfect action that will create the future we’re all working towards. One that’s inclusive. That’s diverse. That’s equitable. That’s anti-racist. Because this impact work isn’t transactional. It’s not one and done. It’s long term ongoing relationship focused and generational.
So as we step into this conversation, let me introduce myself. My name is Kimberly Bennett. I'm an innovator, an entrepreneur, a legal industry disruptor, a brand strategist. And oh I happen to be a lawyer that runs my own private practice. I care deeply about scaling businesses that lead the change we want to see in this world. So I'm pulling together my diverse background in law, psychology, public relations, activism, and hell, being a Black woman of Caribbean decent in the United States. And all of that to bring a unique perspective into this conversation. Because I think it’s important that we bring clarity and strategy to what lasting impact really takes.
Because here’s the thing, and I just need to say it. We can do better, much better. I know it will take leaders and executives like you to challenge the status quo and to lead others to create the social, systemic, and structural change we require. I know stepping into that space might seem scary for some, but you know it’s time and you're ready to do it. So I'm inviting you to join me and my fellow disruptive guests to have the hard and real conversations around what an impact driven business really entails. What impact driven leadership really entails.
Each week we’ll come together and discuss how to strategically operate your disruptive impact driven business. Those conversations will cover everything from protecting your organization’s intellectual property to creating a kind of company culture where people thrive to developing living leadership day in day out even when you screw up. Then to discussing the key brand shifts that allow you to show up and put real action behind those good intentions.
So if you are a leader committed to social impact and you're ready to go beyond hashtags and trainings and blacking out your profile picture then be sure to hit that subscribe button because this podcast is for you. Of course, I have to say this because I'm a lawyer. But I'm not your lawyer. Even though legal topics are discussed on this podcast, and they will be. This show is for educational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice.
If you need legal advice then you should contact an attorney to help you assess your facts, develop your strategy, and define your next steps. So now that you know where we are headed, I invite you to join me as we roll up our sleeves and look at the areas in your business and your life where change truly begins. It’s time for action.
To celebrate the launch of the show, I'm giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts. It doesn’t have to be a five-star review of course, although I sure hope you love the show. I want your honest feedback so I can create an awesome show that provides tons of value. Visit kbennettlaw.com/podcastlaunch to learn more about the contest and how to enter. I’ll be announcing winners on an upcoming episode. See you soon.
Thanks for listening to the show. I look forward to sharing more insights with you on upcoming episodes. Let’s continue to take imperfect action. See you next week.
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Introducing the Watch Us Lead Podcast
Join attorney and legal industry disruptor Kimberly Y. Bennett every week as she shares how to strategically operate your disruptive and impact-driven business, protect your IP, and enhance communications within your organization.
Disruptive change begins here.
It’s up to us, the leaders, executives, and rebels of the world to create the disruptive change our world requires. All the good intentions in the world just won’t cut it. Disruptive change requires sustainable and scalable businesses that can fund and fuel the momentum... for generations.
You’re beyond just giving facetime to what matters.
You know hashtags and blacking out your profile picture just won’t cut it.
You know true change requires creativity, curiosity, courage, commitment...and most importantly strategy. This is the conversation we need to have.
Join attorney and legal industry disruptor, Kimberly Y. Bennett, to have the hard conversations. The conversations that take us from “wanting to do better” to stepping into that “better” in every area of your brand and your being.
Each week, Kim will share how to strategically operate your disruptive and impact-driven business, leverage your IP, and create a company culture where people thrive. She’s pulling together her diverse background in law, psychology, business, PR, and hell - - being a Black woman of Caribbean descent - - to bring a unique perspective into the conversation.
We invite you to join us as we roll up our sleeves and look at the areas in our lives and brands where change truly begins. Together, we can bring clarity and strategy to what legacy-level impact really takes.
Disclaimer: And - of course - just a quick reminder, while we discuss a range of legal topics on this podcast, the show is for educational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing you legal advice. If you need legal advice, contact an attorney to help assess your facts, develop your strategy, and define your next steps.
TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF THE SHOW, I’M GIVING AWAY 10 AUDIBLE GIFT CARDS TO 10 LUCKY LISTENERS.
Keep reading to find out how to enter!
Listen to the first episodes:
1. Legacy-Level Impact: The importance of having bold, deep, and sometimes difficult conversations and the role that large for-profit businesses must play in driving social, structural, and systemic change.
2. Disruptive Change: Why creating radical change that breaks the status quo requires moving at a pace we haven’t seen before, and why it takes a powerful collective to redesign and rethink a new path forward.
3. Designing an Activist Brand: How to make the necessary shifts to align your values with the systemic change and social impact you want to create.
Here’s what you should do right now to sign up for your weekly dose of Watch Us Lead:
1. SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS
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This will launch Apple Podcasts and bring up the podcast.
Click on the “Subscribe” button and you’re all set!
2. REVIEW THE PODCAST AND ENTER TO WIN
I’m giving away Audible gift cards to 10 lucky listeners who review the podcast in Apple Podcasts!
How to Enter: Once you’ve listened to an episode or two, tap the stars and click on the “Write a Review” link on the Watch Us Lead podcast page in Apple Podcasts to leave a review.
3. ANY REVIEW QUALIFIES YOU TO WIN
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Apple Podcasts doesn’t release contact information for reviewers so you’ll need to take a screenshot of your review and fill out this form for your official entry.
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