This blog post is a little different. It is essentially an email I free-typed to our community because I was compelled to share (when I fired up the laptop to send an email about this video!). I share it here now for all, with some minor edits.

Did you know this about me?

You may not know this about me, but I used to absolutely sh*t myself standing up to talk at networking events. I would fumble my words and screw it up, hard.

It has taken a lot of effort to move along the introvert/extrovert scale. And for years it took constant effort, overcoming my heart pounding through my chest, every time I had to speak, even in leadership positions for groups.

But things have changed. I have to be visible now.

My tipping point

When I think about it, what really tipped it for me was getting clear on my why. defining my purpose, and the urgency to create change in the world.

It has become more urgent now due to the clear climate issues. I have been pondering (as one does at this time of year), what the impact for The Sponge will be this year, which our awesome tribe makes possible! 😉

And I have a new idea that I want to share about our impact.

Because impact is a funny one to measure. Not funny ha ha, but funny as in how exactly what metrics to count. Our team currently count what we give through our initiatives. These are surface metrics only though, the best we could do til now, but still an valuable indicator to celebrate and grow on.

How does this new impact idea relate to what we do?

The idea I have been fleshing out relates to what we do through the work we do. So for a little context I will share that:

• All new client projects start with the Impact Brand Story framework, because it is the foundation of your brand (and a strong brand story underpins everything!).
• The work we do with you on the Brand/Culture cornerstone unites you and your team around what you do, how you do it, and what makes you unique as a team. “Your brand is your culture, and your culture is your brand!” ~ Tony Hsieh, Zappos
• The work we do with you on your impact model transforms your company to a crusade to join, rather than merely a paycheck. And combined with the previous point, fully engages your team, unlocking their creative and discretionary energy.
• Then the buyer work helps you connect all that goodness to your audience and grow your impact through new and existing customer relationships. Without this, you go nowhere!

That is the foundation work at a glance. It drives all the cosmetic and communication work that comes afterwards, when we help refresh your brand look and feel, design a new marketing strategy, or help build your website. But that is not the point here.

What are we really about?

What we are really about is strengthening the connections of you and your team to what you do. This is where I have been pondering most. How do we count this?

Success for us is profoundly connecting hearts to a purpose, an impact model, and values at work, to unlock that person’s creative and discretionary energy and enable their true potential.

That is real impact, humans passionately doing good in the world and earning a livelihood doing so. This is my idea of fulfillment really..

So, the metrics we really want to count, celebrate and grow are: hearts purposefully connected to their work.

How we measure that is the next challenge!

This is a work in progress, but I wanted to share it with you, because we are all works in progress! And I want to show you that we are also on the journey.

I would love to help you on your journey. If you have not yet booked a complementary brand story session with me, please do. Start a conversation now. There really isn’t anything I love talking about more than this.

Warmly,

LF