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Dear friends,
For so many of us, this year has been one of extreme highs and challenging lows. Personally, it was one filled with a successful book launch and more than 100 talks and podcasts, incredible clients, three hospital stays, Phoebe-pup’s surgery, a B-corp certification, exceptional new McP team members and exponential growth. The world has caught onto the fact that impact, ESG and purpose are all paramount to success and must be in every conversation at every organization—both corporate and nonprofit. Our eight-year-old firm’s growth has mirrored and benefitted from that.
As we look forward to 2022, I can honestly say we’re here for it: ready and enthusiastic, even as we deal with what is likely to be a difficult January with Omicron's spread. We are ever so grateful for YOU, our readers, our clients and our friends. Wishing you a safe, healthy and joyous season filled with festive fun and good cheer (and perhaps a few quality naps along the way!).
With love always,
Susan
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ON OUR MINDS
Brought to you this week by Account Supervisor McKenna Gramoll who is still reeling from Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Web3, crypto, and NFTs—oh my!
The latest tech buzzword? Web3. For the newbies (me, last week), Gizmodo has an excellent explainer that reminds us of Web 1.0 (static pages) and Web 2.0 (dynamic, app-like pages). The vision for Web3 is a blockchain-backed internet that “shifts the power dynamic from the giant tech entities back to the users—or at least that’s the theory.” As my colleague Liza Butegwa very aptly put it: “‘democratize’... like when does that actually ever happen?” While both the optimism and skepticism are sky-high, we’re looking forward to watching how Web3 navigates our world of capitalism and centralization. Our friends at Causeartist have started to ponder the future implications for crypto, climate and wealth distribution, rounding up projects meant to transform this landscape.
Do you get déjà vu?
From year-in-reviews, to predictions and trend-forecasting, the start of a new year is undoubtedly a time for reflection. It allows us to reconcile what we debated in 2021 and explore our aspirations for 2022. But the dawn of our new year feels eerily like March 2020 all over again. From theater cancellations to school shutdowns, Omicron has become omnipresent. The dominant variant spurred an update from the Biden administration on its response strategy. The silver lining here? We know how to fight this—vaccines, testing, isolating, and masks all work. For businesses, the lessons learned during COVID about ethical and responsible leadership still apply. Pandemic fatigue is real. We need grace, protection and humanity from our leaders (now and always).
Birds aren’t real
On TikTok, #BirdsArentReal has over 291M views. The conspiracy claims that all the real birds were replaced with U.S. government spy drones during the mid-20th century. First introduced around 2017, Gen Z has taken up the mantle of #BirdsArentReal through rallies, merch and digital content. The catch here is that supporters are in on the joke. A profile from The New York Times shares: “[It’s] a parody social movement with a purpose. In a post-truth world dominated by online conspiracy theories, young people have coalesced around the effort to thumb their nose at, fight and poke fun at misinformation.” While #BirdsArentReal has a ways to go in becoming a force for political change, it offers several lessons about how to apply a fresh perspective to a tired and dangerous political threat: the spread of misinformation. While agency execs try to crack the code on the future of social good campaigns, this parody reminds us of the power of humor.
ON OUR RADAR
Best of:
Watch:
- Housed at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, our client The Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) explores the nature of consciousness in life and after death — and what these phenomena may illuminate about our understanding of the relationship between the brain and the mind. See the work in action here.
Read:
Buy:
- This time of year, gift-giving often becomes a stressful, inefficient, and environmentally unsustainable practice. As you track down last-minute scores, find new ways to give—from digital subscriptions to experiences to secondhand goods.
- Unused or unwanted gifts are a key contributor to waste. This year, try a service like Loop & Tie. The platform will send a list of curated gift options to your recipient (ranging from $10-$500). Your recipient can then choose the gift they really want without ever seeing price tags. Loop & Tie handles fulfillment, sources from BIPOC and women-owned businesses, and offsets carbon emissions.
Listen:
Cheer:
- Innovation is everywhere. This start-up is finding a way to transform carbon emissions into perfume—educating its consumers about climate change along the way.
- Apolitical’s list of 100 Most Influential Academics in Government “highlights work that’s influenced the policymaking process by providing insights into policy problems, contributing innovative ideas and solutions, or adding relevant and informative data.”
Subscribe:
- Young Money, the newsletter penned by Reuters journalist Lauren Young, is a personal finance must-read. Subscribe on LinkedIn.
- DoSomething Strategic, the consultancy arm of the nonprofit, shares a monthly newsletter with insights on the pulse of young people and social change. Check it out.
Apply:
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