Stand for What You Believe In

Be authentic. Do not create a campaign to woo new customers or to placate current customers. Do it with pure intentions, and make sure your entire organization is clear on the stand you are taking. Ben & Jerry’s has been doing it right for a very long time, before it was trending. Do a case study on their culture to see how they have been able to successfully navigate this terrain without losing any of their customer base.

It’s clear that an organization gotta be doing and standing up for more. Brainstorm many different ideas that all have a constant theme: giving back by using human connection.

Company leaders may want to consider finding ways to engage themselves and their workforce so they can problem-solve directly within the community. For example, if a company has a frustration point for the community, why not bring that community in to work with company employees to problem-solve? The ideas that arise may blow your mind. Social engagement may be the thing that saves your company’s life!

Remember why you started your company in the first place. In my case, founding Rise Shea Butter was based on the conviction that women deserve better knowledge about their bodies. This larger social good is just as important to us as our bottom line, and, in fact, it is inseparable from it. Social engagement isn’t just an add-on. The most powerful way companies can be socially engaged is to organize themselves such that serving their customers advances their vision for social improvement in a self-reinforcing circle.

I believe that building a company is building a community. If you want to sell something, it better be good on all fronts. If you want top talent, it’s not money people want; it’s meaning. We gotta inspire the next generation if we are to keep up with the world. Show that entrepreneurship is about imagination and community — not greed and profit.

At Fast, we’ve recognized that cultivating a diverse company goes beyond just hiring. Leaders should create a culture where employees feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work. Too often when companies create diversity groups or initiatives, those diverse voices are required to do the actual work. It is great to invest in these initiatives, but it should be a core part of the company, and all employees should feel they have a role to play, rather than creating a one-off project to check off the list.

Talk as a team about your company’s values and how they intersect with present-day issues and the macro environment. Reach out to organizations that are tackling these issues. Find out if there’s anything that can be done together. It should be more than just a campaign — it should be something you would do even if customers and others didn’t know about it.