As we enter a new era in American civic and work life, many of us are recognizing uncomfortable feelings of disquiet, disbelief and fear. So, it’s falling to us, individually and collectively, to learn to replace these fears with real and authentic experiences of inclusion, empathy, and engagement.

When we are frightened we are more likely to yield to abominable behavior. The best way to foil a bully is to not fall prey to victimhood.

A bully is someone who tries to break your spirit. 

Whether in the schoolyard or in the workplace, bullies seem ever-present in the United States.
Article: 4 Buddhist Ways to Loosen the Bully’s Grip

Claim your place in a world where you are not diminished but celebrated.

An introduction to a powerful process called Future Self Dialogue.
Article: Let the Future Show You the Way

Learning to speak hard truths with love

Hate and blame are convenient ways of making meaning out of a bewildering situation. But we are all victims of the same world-dominating machine, suffering different mutations of the same wound of separation. It’s time to build a new story around the understanding that we are all in this together. One earth, one tribe, one people.
Article: The Election: Of Hate, Grief, and a New Story

Without trusting your customers and clients first, there can be no true partnership.

Overcoming trust issues doesn’t begin with kept promises; it starts with a leap of faith.
Article: Trust Issues: What Happens When You Trust Your Customers

If your nonprofit is still approaching social media as simply another tool, you are very much missing the point.

The messages about you do not even need to come from you to mobilize the publics that are already, or potentially, yours.
Article: Social Media as an Organizational Game Changer

Everything a designer does affects the user experience.

Seven years ago Joshua Porter and Joshua Brewer launched a massive web project called 52 Weeks of UX. For the next year they delivered weekly missives on the art and science of user-interface design. Today it stands like an encyclopedia on the process of designing for real people.
Article: You cannot not communicate.

Just one more week for early-bird pricing.

On Wednesday, February 15, in partnership with the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, I will be offering a special DIY Brand Camp for non-profit organizations. There is an early-registration discount in effect until next Friday.

This workshop is for you if you are concerned that too many people don’t know about, let alone understand, your organization’s amazing contributions. This workshop is for you if you want to learn how to improve the effectiveness of your donor engagement.
Workshop: Communicating Impact with Brand Clarity

Playlist

If you were to make a film about the assumption of the U.S. presidency by a billionaire with the emotional intelligence of a 12-year old school-yard bully, you’d need killer a rock theme song. David Bowie’s Cracked Actor fits the bill perfectly. A driving, dervish beat is big enough to hold all of this epic story. Debasing lyrics could have been written today. And the leading guitar lines (Earl Slick, Ladies and Gentlemen,) establish exactly the discordance needed to contextualize a crazy new world. Here’s Bowie performing the song with an amazing touring band (that honking alto sax you notice is David Sanborn) live at the Universal Amphitheater in L.A on 09/05/1974.

Image of the week

The etchings in the headers are by Keith Mallett. He created the larger of the two as a Google “Doodle”, and the ubiquitous search engine featured it on their homepage this past Monday, Martin Luther King Day. The artist said that he was inspired by King’s assertion that we never stop “working toward a world of brotherhood, cooperation and peace”.

What’s Clarity First?

If you’re new to Clarity First, it’s the weekly newsletter by Clarity, the consultancy that helps mission-driven companies use their brand – their purpose, values, and stories – as powerful tools for transformation.

If you get value from Clarity First, please pass it on.