Jeff Clements: How People, Not Money, can Govern America

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find your podcasts.

Corporations, wealthy donors, and special interest groups have always had a disproportionate impact on elections, but their sway has dramatically increased since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision of 2010 with negative repercussions for the fight against political corruption and American democracy itself.

Today’s guest is Jeff Clements, who serves as President of American Promise, a fast-growing, cross-partisan network of Americans working to win the next amendment to the US Constitution so that people, not money, govern America. Jeff has practiced law for three decades in public service and private practice and is the author of Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy From Big Money and Global Corporations, a must-read for anyone who is sick and tired of the reign of corporate super-citizens in American politics.

In this discussion, Jeff outlines the strange history of the Citizens United ruling, the ongoing destructive effects that it is having, and the growing movement to reverse it. We take a look at the damage done to America and its people by the concentrated political power of billionaires and global corporations that spend money to dominate debate and influence election outcomes. We also explore some of the creative strategies and tools that the American people are using to renew democracy and curb unbalanced corporate power. Make sure to tune in today to learn more!

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Insight into Jeff’s legal background and what led him to American Promise. [0:03:24]

  • Examining the broad support for a bipartisan constitutional amendment to get big money out of politics and restore democratic power to the people. [0:08:55]

  • A non-partisan look at the massive, multibillion dollar operation that we call elections. [0:14:06]

  • The real threat of oligarchy as the ‘donor class’ becomes increasingly concentrated. [0:20:18]

  • Attainable timelines and outcomes for American Promise that transcend politics. [0:22:24]

  • Writing the 28th Amendment and American Promise’s strategy for earning support. [0:26:45]

  • How to join American Promise’s network of civically responsible business leaders. [0:32:18]

  • Understanding why we require a systemic solution for a systemic problem. [0:37:41]

  • The deeper significance of working toward a shared bipartisan vision for America. [0:38:53]

---

Tweetables:

“Free speech [and] equal representation in our political system are both values that belong to all Americans. We have the ability and the right to enact reasonable, effective regulations of corporate money and other money in elections.” — @ClementsJeff [0:08:17]

“In a very divided time, you have to unite republicans, democrats, independents. You have to get wins along the way. [You have to] build massive pressure to overcome the immense obstacle that is Congress; and we are doing that. We’re doing all those things.” — @ClementsJeff [0:13:40]

“The level of cynicism and nastiness of this stuff is not just to be bemoaned because it’s ridiculous or offensive. It actually has an impact on our political system.” — @ClementsJeff [0:19:28]

“The concentration of the money is as big a problem as the amount and how it’s spent.” — @ClementsJeff [0:22:19]

“Some of our most impactful advocates are local and national businesspeople who are managing their businesses for impact and improvement of environment and society.” — @ClementsJeff [0:33:03]

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jeff Clements on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-clements/

Jeff Clements on Twitter: https://twitter.com/clementsjeff

Corporations Are Not People: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626562103

American Promise: https://americanpromise.net/

American Promise Business Network: https://americanpromise.net/business-network/

National Citizen Leadership Conference: https://nclc.info/

High Conflict: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982128562

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine-month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g. vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

MBA Series (Ep. 2) - Intro to the Next Economy II

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts. 

We may not be to blame for climate change, systemic racism, and damaging levels of debt, but we are responsible for doing whatever we can to turn the tide on these issues that currently plague our world.

Over the course of 18 episodes, we are going to discuss the key themes that we explore in our Next Economy MBA program. This program is focused on educating the people who are going to drive the Next Economy forward by creating systems that benefit all life. With people like you, there is hope for the future of our species on this planet.

In this episode of the MBA series, we delve into the problem with interest-bearing debt, why access (not availability) is the reason that 800 million people are chronically hungry, and how historical systems perpetuate inequalities across the world today, as well as why the Genuine Progress Indicator is a better measure of progress than Gross Domestic Product. We hope you’ll join us!

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Exploring the destructive nature of our relationship with money. [0:03:35]

  • Debunking the myth that there is a scarcity of food in the world today. [0:07:39]

  • Examples of how a scarcity mindset manifests itself. [0:10:56]

  • The benefits of a shorter workweek. [0:11:55]

  • How historical systems perpetuate current inequalities. [0:13:56]

  • Delving into the fallacy of progress. [0:22:03]

  • Surprising factors that lead to the increase of GDP. [0:23:18]

  • Genuine Progress Indicator; a more holistic measure of progress and an alternative to GDP. [0:24:36]

  • The limited power of money and the unlimited power of human connection. [0:28:03]

---

Tweetables:

“Before you can talk about what works, you have to have a shared idea of what perspective you’re coming from and your shared values.” — Phoenix Soleil [0:02:00]

“One of the core problems around how the economy operates right now is that money is the primary or, in some cases, the exclusive way that people meet their human needs.” — Erin Axelrod [0:03:42]

“Creating debt creates this artificial need for continual growth.” — Erin Axelrod [0:06:13]

“What is chronically keeping 800 million people hungry today is not a lack of calories; it’s our economic systems and distribution systems and the fact that money is the roadblock to accessing calories.” — Erin Axelrod [0:08:33]

“If you’re constantly looking at things from an individual point of view and you don’t look at the history and forces of the culture and the politics and how they work together to create conditions, then you’re not going to see the whole picture.” — Phoenix Soleil [0:21:03]

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Next Economy MBA: https://lifteconomy.com/mba 

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6207096/ 

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine-month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

---

Other episodes in this series include:

Robin D.G. Kelley: Disrupting the Dominant Capitalist Ideology

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Today on the Next Economy Now Podcast, we welcome esteemed public intellectual and author Professor Robin D.G. Kelley. Robin is the Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA and has researched and published extensively on the history of social movements in the US, the African Diaspora, and Africa. He has also spent time focusing on Black intellectuals, music and visual culture, Surrealism, and Marxism.

We get to cover a few of these areas of expertise, spread across his wide range of articles and books, with Robin opening up about racial capitalism, the role of the state, his personal background, and what we should expect of private companies. He also talks about reimagining some of the commonly held views of the market economy, and how this can enable us to build a healthier future for a larger portion of the world. 

One of the biggest takeaways from our chat is the idea of refocusing on communal needs, and how this might best be achieved in a realistic manner. Join us to catch this high-level, yet approachable exploration of what it means to build a successful economy, the roots of anti-capitalism, and a whole lot more, with Professor Robin D.G. Kelley.

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Some of Professor Kelley's background and route into his particular area of expertise and research.  

  • The theories that began the disruption of the dominant capitalist ideology.  

  • Understanding the role of the state; balancing utopianism with the need for realistic change. 

  • Examples of the kinds of community initiatives that are sustainable and socially empowering.

  • Working with private companies; how business can evolve to benefit a larger number of people.  

  • A new definition and a fuller depiction of success. 

  • The intersection of racism and capitalism; Professor Kelley talks about the links.  

  • Professor Kelley's perspective on society's pressing need for further education.

---

Tweetables:

“There are solutions, some of them are short-term, some of them are long-term, sometimes the short-term solution creates the conditions for long-term vision .” — Robin D.G. Kelley

“You don't need to bring in a high-paid consultant to figure it out, people are figuring it out on the ground, and that, to me, is way more important.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

“There are ways to make companies more amenable to the needs of communities and consumers.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

“We are being assaulted by, not just misinformation, but a kind of ideological, neoliberal common sense which is really, really dangerous. This idea that there is only one way to think about the economy.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Robin D. G. Kelley — https://history.ucla.edu/faculty/robin-d-g-kelley

UCLA — https://www.ucla.edu/

Africa Speaks, America Answers https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780674046245

Thelonious Monkhttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9781439190463

Freedom Dreamshttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9780807092460

Hammer and Hoe https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781469625485

Black Bodies Swinging https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250805430

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa — https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781788731188

Kwame Ture — https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stokely-Carmichael

Cedric Robinson — https://www.thenation.com/article/society/cedric-robinson-essays/

Black Marxismhttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9780807848296

Lauren Halsey — https://www.davidkordanskygallery.com/artist/lauren-halsey

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

MBA Series (Ep. 1) - Intro to the Next Economy

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

To kick off our new MBA Series, LIFT Partners Erin Axelrod and Kevin Bayuk sit down to give a run down of what our listeners can expect in the following podcasts, how it relates to the Next Economy MBA program, and to introduce some important terms and concepts that will be explored in future episodes. Much of this is about different ways to think about fundamental ideas, supporting the development of the next economy, and the significance of our use of the words 'next', and 'economy'. 

One of the founding principles of our organization is our need to imagine what comes next, and the utmost importance of this to the planet as a whole. Thus, spearheading a progressive and impactful critique, and getting away from the confines of the default, business-as-usual economy is a big part of what we do.

Tuning in today, you will hear a little about rethinking ownership and profit-making, links between reduced energy consumption and improved quality of life, ways to break free from the damaging effects of exploitative norms, and better models for healthy scaling and necessary replication. So if you want to come on this journey to imagine a healthier and more equitable future for all, start here.

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • The broader meaning of 'economy' in the context of this work.

  • Escaping the confines of the 'business-as-usual' economy.

  • The inability to separate the economy from the legacy of oppression and inequality. 

  • Unpacking the core idea of the 'next economy' and the significance of the usage of the word 'next'.  

  • The central roles of land, housing, and access in birthing the next economy. 

  • Reframing ownership and the inspiring example of Our Table Cooperative.

  • Introducing the concept of enterprises as part of movement networks that can transform systems. 

  • Situating new technologies in these ideas for the future and reduced energy usage. 

  • The fundamental points of critique of the business-as-usual economy. 

---

Tweetables:

“Economy, to us, encompasses much more than interest, debt, and dividends.” — Erin

“A lot of the choicefulness that entrepreneurs and individuals are able to step into is defined by legacies of harm and oppression.” — Erin

“A lot of the techniques, strategies, and approaches that we explore in the Next Economy MBA are actually really old. So they are not new, and they come in most part from indigenous wisdom, traditions, and lifeways.” — Kevin

“There is such an abundance of innovative ways to look at how we truly relate to land and housing.” — Erin

“If you take away the orientation towards profit-making, you can have better practices!” — Kevin

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Next Economy MBA Online Course - https://lifteconomy.com/mba

Our Table Cooperative — https://www.ourtable.us/

Robin Wall Kimmerer — https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com/

Erin Axelrod — https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaxelrod

Kevin Bayuk — https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbayuk

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

 Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

---

Other episodes in this series include:

Patagonia Case Study [4 of 4] – Operations (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the final episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come very soon…

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • How Patagonia thinks about social, environmental, and financial goal setting and key performance indicators

  • The thought process behind how Patagonia sets prices for its products

  • Internal and external reporting practices, including the B Impact Assessment and the “Footprint Chronicles'“

  • How Patagonia baked its values and benefit purposes into its company bylaws

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Patagonia Case Study [3 of 4] – Strategy (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the third episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come in the coming weeks!

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • Patagonia’s approach to marketing and how it’s evolved over time

  • Exploration of the thinking behind Patagonia’s feature-length films

  • How Patagonia intentionally cultivates their brand community

  • Standing up for what you stand for might mean standing against or alienating potential customers and strategic partners

  • Doing what’s right and authentic is good business

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Patagonia Case Study [2 of 4] – Culture (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the first episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come in the coming weeks!

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • Maintaining consistent culture across geographies through values alignment and shared purpose & sense of agency in serving customers

  • Creating the conditions to allow people to show up as their full self and pursue the passions outside of work that enhance their value when present for Patagonia

  • Enacting purposeful business activism to influence the market, supply web, and policy in ways that are core to the mission and operations

  • Patagonia’s efforts and stance with regard to racial and gender equity, diversity, and inclusion

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Patagonia Case Study [1 of 4] – Vision (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the first episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come in the coming weeks!

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • Four critical moments in Patagonia’s history: rock climbing with petons, the Ventura River, organic cotton, and “Don’t Buy This Jacket.”

  • How Patagonia developed its new mission statement

  • The Stockholm Resilience framework and how Patagonia thinks about planetary boundaries

  • The company’s approach to growth and why they should (or should not) grow

  • The eight business philosophies that guide the company’s decision-making and operations

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Guest Post: Intro to the Next Economy

The following is the first in a series of guest posts from Jeremy Casebeer, a professional athlete and upcoming participant in Cohort IX of the Next Economy MBA (starting September 20, 2022). Jeremy will be posting monthly about his experiences preparing for and participating in the course.

As a professional beach volleyball player from Southern California I’ve been fortunate to grow up outdoors with access to the mountains and beaches. From an early age, I loved being in nature. Multiple wildfire evacuations with my family made me realize that our relationship with the natural environment is very delicate. 

In high school, I was introduced to climate change and went on to study Environmental Studies at UCLA. While I put a traditional job in sustainability on pause to pursue my dream to play beach volleyball professionally, I’ve been working to use my platform as an athlete to scale impact as an ambassador for nonprofits, working on the first Climate Action Plan in volleyball, and focusing my sponsorships with brands that share my values and have transparent impact and third party certifications. (Condense?)

I’ve been fascinated by the relationship of how we can structure social and economic systems to improve our lives and the health of our planet. My next step in understanding the potential of business for good is to learn with others when I join LIFT Economy’s “Next Economy MBA” program starting September 20, 2022. 

It is clear that our current economic system is not working for the vast majority of people and the planet. For example, some of the problems include:

  • Economic, racial, and gender inequality

  • Climate change and environmental degradation

  • Billions of people struggling to meet their basic needs 

Profit maximization, competition, and scarcity have been central to capitalism since it emerged in the 16th century. This reflects how the world was understood at the time. It was our best attempt to organize society in order to trade and produce goods and services efficiently. 

Technology, access to information, and our consumption of natural resources has accelerated exponentially since capitalism emerged. We live, think, and act differently now. So when you consider how little the core principles of our current economy have changed over the past few hundred years, these structural problems are not surprising.   

We now understand just how interdependent we are on each other and our environment, that our collective actions determine our collective future. 

As our understanding evolves, so should the systems that we use. It wouldn’t be reasonable to assume our systems for thinking and acting as teenagers would serve us well into life as adults. As we learn and grow, we implement more effective ways to live productive and meaningful lives. 

Similarly, our economic system should evolve to meet the needs of our modern world. It is time to move on from a system that leads to inequality, incentivizes exploitation, and encourages short term thinking to the Next Economy.

The “Next Economy” is what our economic system might look like when it does transform. LIFT Economy describes the Next Economy as a "bioregional, locally self-reliant, and racially just economy that works for the benefit of all life—one that meets the basic needs for all people everywhere while regenerating our planetary ecosystems."

I look forward to joining the 2022 Next Economy MBA cohort this September. For those of you who are interested, the Next Economy MBA is a nine month learning journey for emerging leaders of an equitable, inclusive and regenerative economy. I will be studying key business principles from the world's most innovative organizations and gathering the tools I will need to align the deeper purpose of my career.

Over the next year I will be sharing insights from the Next Economy MBA in a series of podcast episodes and blog posts. To learn more go to www.lifteconomy.com/mba and subscribe to Our Impact Podcast

David Holmgren: RetroSuburbia – The Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the permaculture concept following the publication of Permaculture One in 1978. Since then he has developed three properties, consulted and supervised in urban and rural projects and presented lectures, workshops and courses at a wide variety of events and venues in Australia and around the world. His writings over those three decades span a diversity of subjects and issues but always illuminating another aspect of permaculture thinking.

At home (Melliodora in Hepburn, Central Victoria), David is the vegetable gardener, silviculturalist and builder. Within the international and growing permaculture movement, David is respected for his commitment to presenting permaculture ideas through practical projects and teaching by personal example, that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism.

As well as constant involvement in the practical side of permaculture, David is passionate about the philosophical and conceptual foundations for sustainability, the focus of his seminal book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.  This book has been significant influences on the development of Transition Initiatives around the world. More recently his Future Scenarios work has seen him recognized as a significant thinker about the “Energy Descent future.” After a decade of significant international travel, David is no longer flying but continues to do some international presentations by Skype and pre-recorded video including receipt of the recent award by Italian environmental organisation.

Interview Highlights:

  • From the co-originator of the permaculture concept, David shares his definition of what permaculture is and what it is not

  • Discussion of David’s new book, RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future

  • An unpacking of many economic ideas based around what David Holmgren argues is the basic economic unit of society: the household.

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Kris Lin-Bronner: The Magic of Dr. Bronner's (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Kris Lin-Bronner is Strategic Adviser and CSR Manager for Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the top-selling brand of natural soaps in North America. She is responsible for overseeing and managing many diverse projects under the umbrella of sustainability and social responsibility.

Kris advises the Special Operations Team and affiliated Fair Trade projects on financial and operational matters, provides integrated risk assessments on new business ventures, and works to institutionalize Dr. Bronner’s sustainability efforts across multiple levels of the company, from operations to governance. Prior to joining Dr. Bronner’s, she worked in the non-profit sector for programs serving recently resettled refugee and immigrant youths in San Diego.

Kris earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a graduate degree in International Economic Development from UCSD. She is a former hospice volunteer, as well as a design enthusiast, and she enjoys adventure travel. She was born in 1974 in Taiwan and currently lives in Encinitas, California with her husband David and their daughter Maya.

Some highlights from Kevin’s interview with Kris include:

  • How Dr. Bronner’s models what’s possible for companies in addressing climate change

  • The rippling impact of Dr. Bronner’s leading edge strategy around mitigating climate change impacts by engaging with the land use practices in their supply stream

  • Dr. Bronner’s goal to get enough people to care to create the critical mass to shift away from the extractive economic model to a more regenerative model and how they pursue that goal

  • The success of the Fair Pay Today program where Dr. Bronner’s and a consortium of businesses advocated for fair living wages for workers and their ongoing efforts to address income inequality

  • Dr. Bronner’s excitement about Project Drawdown and how to use it as a tool to assess what role Dr. Bronner’s can play within their scope of influence

  • As a top scoring B Corp, Kris shares how Dr. Bronner’s attracts new talent

 —-

Resources:

Videos:

Terminology:

Organizations

 ---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Frederic Laloux: Reinventing Organizations for the Next Stage of Human Consciousness (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

A former Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company, Frédéric Laloux holds an MBA from INSEAD, and a degree in coaching from Newfield Network in Boulder, Colorado. He has traveled widely and speaks five languages fluently. Frédéric Laloux works as an adviser, coach, and facilitator for corporate leaders who feel called to explore fundamentally new ways of organizing.  His work draws on two strands: his deep understanding of the inner workings of organizations, and his longstanding fascination with the topic of human development and his own joyful journey of personal and spiritual growth.

His research in the field of emerging organizational models, published in his book Reinventing Organizations, has been described as “groundbreaking” and “a leap in management thinking” by some of the most respected scholars in the field of human development and management. The book focuses on how a currently emerging, new form of consciousness is bringing forth a radically more soulful, purposeful, and productive management paradigm.

Some highlights from our interview include:

  • A brief overview of the concepts and inspiration behind Reinventing Organizations

  • What Laloux would change if he could write the book over again today

  • What is was like for Laloux to present his findings to the Dalai Lama

  • How the election of Donald Trump has affected Laloux’s worldview

  • The book he most often gives as a gift

  • What’s next for him in the next 6-12 months

 ---

Resources:

Reinventing Organizations Wiki

Translations of Reinventing Organizations

Enlivening Edge: News from Next-Stage Organizations

Participatory Budgeting

Center for Courage & Renewal

The Center for Nonviolent Communication

The Mankind Project

Videos:

Books:

Organizations Modeling Teal Characteristics:

 ---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

john a. powell: Othering, Belonging, and Expanding the Circle of Human Concern (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

john a. powell is Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He was previously the Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. Prior to that john was the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is a co-founder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the boards of several national and international organizations.

john led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to education, health, health care, and employment and is well-known for his work developing the frameworks of “targeted universalism” and “othering and belonging” to effect equity-based interventions. john has taught at numerous law schools including Harvard and Columbia University. His latest book is Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society.

Some highlights from Ryan Honeyman’s Conversation with john a. powell include:

  • How john first got interested in the work he is doing today

  • The emergence of “white anxiety” and how this anxiety shapes our current political dialogue

  • john’s views on Anand Giridharadas’s book “Winners Take All” and companies who believe they are “doing good” (while actually reinforcing our broken system)

  • His work around a New Social Compact

  • john’s opinions on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Justice Democrats

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Amelia Swan Baxter: Building The Next Economy With WholeTrees (Rebroadcast)


Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Amelia Baxter believes that the 21st century built environment is filled with opportunities for trees. Baxter co-founded WholeTrees in 2007 to develop and sell products and technologies that would scale the use of waste-trees in commercial construction, increasing forest revenues, and offering green construction markets a new material for the 21st century. Amelia has led project teams in over $2M in USDA research grants working toward the commercialization of the tree's natural engineering. By raising equity investment for her company, attracting national executive talent, and pinpointing nascent urban markets for trees as structure, Baxter has participated in the growth of a truly conscious and regenerative company.

---

Interview Highlights:

  • How WholeTrees provides an ecological, economic, social, and aesthetic benefit

  • Coming from a place of heart as well as a place of necessity to attract great staff and business culture

  • How the character and inner work of company leaders ripples throughout the entire organization

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Bayo Akomolafe: The Consequences of Anthropocentrism

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Today we host a deeply inspiring and perspective-shifting chat with the one and only Bayo Akomolafe. Bayo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and is a father, son, brother, life partner, author, poet, teacher, public intellectual, international speaker, post-humanist thinker, and so much more. He is also the visionary founder of the Emergence Network and the host of the online course We Will Dance with Mountains.

Our guest is committed to rethinking how we engage with crisis and agency and exploring new ways to conceive of what it means to be human. Tuning in, listeners will get a hearty, digestible taste of Bayo's work and philosophy, and where his inspiration for a better, less anthropocentric world stems from.

In our conversation, we talk about the inherent tendencies of an individualized and human-centered worldview, the links between shadows and fears, and how embracing a less binary conception of good and bad can unleash their transformative power. We also touch on what fatherhood means to Bayo and his experience of intergenerational effects in tension with agency and determination. Join us to hear it all from this wonderful guest. 

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Bayo's story of growing up; early years in Lagos, and his journey to a different understanding of his life. 

  • Unpacking Bayo's use of the terms 'crystal-centrism' and 'posthumanism.’

  • The enlightenment-era roots of the way humans engage with the world and crisis.

  • Escaping dangerous kinds of individualized thinking.

  • Bayo's excitement about the book he is currently writing.

  • Teaching and learning in new ways; Bayo introduces how he thinks about the idea of a 'next economy.’  

  • Bayo talks about fear, fatherhood, and intergenerational effects. 

  • Some thoughts on misconceptions about recycling, and the failure of our solution-mindset. 

  • How to get involved and engage with the work that Bayo is doing!

---

Tweetables:

“The things that I talk about are secreted by my attempts to be a father to my daughter, and attempts to meet my son.” — @BayoAkomolafe

“Humans are not all that, we are not going to solve our way out of this crisis.” — @BayoAkomolafe

“The way we think about the crisis is often the crisis.” — @BayoAkomolafe

“These days I'm thinking about the ways that the human is supported and perpetuated by post-human or monstrous arrangement.” — @BayoAkomolafe

“It is very humbling to revisit the human, not as this magisterial decree of independence but as something that is quite organic and creaturely and fragile.” — @BayoAkomolafe

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Bayo Akomolafe — https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/

These Wilds Beyond Our Fences — https://www.powells.com/book/-9781623171667/1-0

We Will Tell Our Own Story — https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780982532768

The Emergence Network http://www.emergencenetwork.org/

We Will Dance with Mountains — https://course.bayoakomolafe.net/

Bayo Akomolafe on Twitter — https://twitter.com/bayoakomolafe

The Problem with Jon Stewarthttps://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_problem_with_jon_stewart 

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Jesse Brown: Rethinking Local Storytelling

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

The media landscape is changing, and there are fewer and fewer resources going toward telling local stories. Today’s guest, however, believes that there is so much to explore and honor in our own backyards. In this episode, Shawn Berry speaks with Jesse Brown, a serial founder and entrepreneur with over 20 years of media production and storytelling experience. Jesse believes deeply in the power of place and brings a comprehensive set of skills to the table, from content creation to advertising, sales, and event production.

Jesse loves to connect people and organizations in ways that help everyone realize their goals, and he is currently channeling that passion into local streaming platform, HUDSY, which features stories made in the Hudson Valley, about the Hudson Valley, and is challenging the usual tech playbook with its egalitarian business model. HUDSY is a non-traditional business, cooperatively owned and delivered by a small group of locals who are dedicated to protecting and celebrating the Hudson Valley’s talent, diversity, and culture. HUDSY empowers its members by providing a path to ownership and by keeping funds in the local economy.

Tuning in, you’ll learn how Jesse is leading the way forward in local storytelling, cooperatives, and next economy development in the Hudson Valley, New York, as well as how HUDSY is providing skill building and direct access to capital for filmmakers to bring local stories to life, plus so much more!

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • What led Jesse to start his first business at the intersection of localism and storytelling.

  • The inspiration behind HUDSY: honoring the stories that already exist while building a platform to create new narratives.

  • How HUDSY builds upon the cultural legacies of regional magazines.

  • The valuable role that local storytelling can play in stimulating local economies.

  • Understanding how HUDSY is founded on the principles of platform cooperativism.

  • Original creative content that viewers can look forward to seeing on the HUDSY App.

  • How HUDSY provides skills and direct access to capital for the next generation of filmmakers.

  • What Jesse has learned about the power of collectivity from some of his greatest challenges.

  • Who has influenced Jesse to build new systems and models in the ‘niche platform world’.

---

Tweetables:

“[HUDSY builds] upon the cultural legacies of other magazines that have represented regions before and [takes] it into video streaming. [It takes] it into the innovation of equity and thought around creatives and artists in the fact that it’s also structured as a cooperative.” — Jesse Brown

“I don’t know if we all realize that, by shifting our attention to more local models, there’s real value there. That value can create a regenerative form of income that can continue to spur local economies.” — Jesse Brown

“This is such a competitive word, but [we want to see] some ‘big wins’ in the co-op space because, if we see those, it could give us more energy and more excitement and continue to usher more people into this space.” — Jesse Brown

“We’re super excited to help give the skills and the resources to the next generation of filmmakers—and it only helps us, because our platform will be better because of it.” — Jesse Brown

“There’s no shortage of capital in the world. We need to start putting capital into places and investing in people who are really committed to making a difference, not just creating more wealth for a small group of people.” — Jesse Brown

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jesse Brown on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-brown-5ab8b214/

Jesse Brown on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/digi_ranch/

HUDSY — https://hudsy.tv/

HUDSY Community Content Fund — https://hudsy.tv/grants/

Good Work Institute — https://goodworkinstitute.org/

Trebor Scholz — https://www.newschool.edu/public-engagement/faculty/trebor-scholz/

Platform Cooperativism Consortium — https://platform.coop/

Means TV — https://means.tv/

kweliTV — https://www.kweli.tv/

Revry — https://www.revry.tv/

BRIC — https://www.bricartsmedia.org/

DCTV — https://dctv.org/

Start.coop — https://www.start.coop/

Zebras Unite Co-Op — https://zebrasunite.coop/

Bloc by Block News — https://blocbyblocknews.com/

Wild Earth — https://wildearth.org/

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 7500+ subscribers and get our free 60 point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts by visiting: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy
Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy
Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Taylor Paul: From Life Sentence to Life Purpose

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

In 1994, Paul Taylor (now known as Taylor Paul) was given a life sentence plus 26 years, of which he served 23 consecutive years before being granted parole in 2017. While on the inside, Taylor facilitated the state-mandated Cognitive Community Reentry Programs for the Virginia Department of Corrections for over five years. He ultimately went on to create his own program, called SANITY: Standing Against Negative Influences Towards Youth, and Co-founded the RVA League for Safer Streets, an unconventional basketball team that specifically targets and engages high-crime areas in Richmond, Virginia. 

Their motto, “No workshop, no jump shot,” lets players know that workshops on conflict resolution, problem-solving, and critical thinking are mandatory before even dribbling the ball. Taylor is also a sought-after motivational speaker, one of the equity advisors for the White Men for Racial Justice (WMRJ) group, and a passionate advocate for restorative justice, unitive justice, and criminal justice reform.

In today’s episode, Taylor shares the paradigm shift that occurred for him while he was in prison that forced him to reconsider how he was utilizing his innate capacity as a leader, embrace the Islamic concept of taqwa or ‘piety’, and focus on cultivating joy to prevent future generations from making the same mistakes he did. We also gain some insight into why he now goes by Taylor Paul, his mission to ‘restore humanity’ in people, and how you can help Taylor build the next economy by suspending judgment and remaining open-minded, so make sure to tune in today!

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • How Taylor came to rethink the innate leadership skills that originally landed him in prison.

  • The Islamic concept of taqwa and how it informs his approach to restorative justice.

  • How he cultivates joy to prevent future generations from making the same mistakes he did.

  • Why he chose to forsake his given name, Paul Taylor, and now goes by Taylor Paul.

  • Discover how the RVA League for Safer Streets seeks to eradicate some of the social ills that Taylor says he “once helped to create.”

  • His refusal to be defined by his crime and his mission to ‘restore humanity’ in people.

  • Consistently balancing building individual relationships with creating systemic change.

  • What the appointment of Governor Youngkin signals for Virginia’s criminal justice system.

  • The importance of addressing the mental health needs of the community.

  • How you can help Taylor build the next economy: be mindful and suspend judgment of those who are reentering your communities.

---

Tweetables:

“[By] giving that perspective from urban communities to help [the White Men for Racial Justice group] understand the sights, sounds of urban communities, I’m also learning that there are some people in this world that don’t mind using their privilege to turn the ship around.” — Taylor Paul

“The best leader is the person that keeps himself below the people that he is leading.” — Taylor Paul

“When I leave this world, I don’t want people to say, ‘He was a gangster.’ I want them to say, ‘He loved God, he cared about his family, he cared about his community, and he gave more than he received.’” — Taylor Paul

“Unconventional behavior calls for unconventional strategy.” — Taylor Paul

“The answer to your [problems] may come from a person that may be incarcerated. I want you to be mindful and suspend judgment for those that are coming home and give them some opportunities.” — Taylor Paul

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Taylor Paul on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-taylor-12abb5163/

Taylor Paul on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/taylor.paul.3538

Taylor Paul Email — 921taylorp@gmail.com

RVA League for Safer Streets — https://www.facebook.com/Rva-League-for-Safer-Streets-2026434890912601/

Community 50/50 — https://community5050.com/

 ---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life. 

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast.

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Imani Black: Changing the Future of Aquaculture

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Imani Black’s family has been involved in aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay area since the 1800s. Imani always knew she wanted to be involved in environmental restoration and conservation, and after doing an oyster aquaculture training program she knew that this was the field she would work in for the rest of her life.

By 2050 it is expected that all seafood in the United States will be provided by aquaculturists. Although aquaculture is essential for food security, consumers have very little knowledge about this type of farming. There is also a lack of diversity and inclusion in the aquaculture space. Imani is on a mission to change all of this.

In 2020 Imani founded a nonprofit, Minorities in Aquaculture, to transform the industry. In today’s episode, she shares the progress that they have made so far and the exciting plans that they have for the future!

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Imani’s educational background, and the life-changing experience that guided her into the aquaculture space.

  • Characteristics that make Chesapeake Bay a very special place.

  • What Imani’s 6 years as an oyster farmer consisted of.

  • Motivation behind the founding of Minorities in Aquaculture (MIA).

  • Exciting plans that Imani has for the future of MIA.

  • The vital role that aquaculture plays in food security.

  • Imani’s thoughts on how to enhance people’s knowledge around aquaculture.

  • Some of the initiatives that MIA is in the process of launching.

  • Barriers that have prevented women from thriving in the aquaculture industry.

---

Tweetables:

“We have a mix of really good heritage and really good cultures around [Chesapeake Bay].” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“There was not a lot of solidarity among the aquaculture community when it came to diversity and inclusion and Black Lives Matter.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“About 75% of the seafood that is imported into the United States comes from global aquaculture. That’s bringing in over $16.8 billion into the United States. It’s a huge industry already, and by probably 2050 aquaculture will be the only way for us to get seafood.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“When it comes to the food security of our future, aquaculture is going to be the center point of that. People need to know where their seafood is coming from, how it’s being processed, how it’s being harvested, how it’s being handled.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“We have to start exposing people and educating people and encouraging people to want to care about aquaculture, to want to care about our seafood resource.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Imani Black on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/imani-black-aa9ab1114/

Minorities in Aquaculture — https://www.mianpo.org/

Minorities in Aquaculture on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mia_npo/?hl=en

Minorities in Aquaculture on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/MinoritiesInAquaculture/

Minorities in Aquaculture on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/minorities-in-aquaculture-1a27361b8/

Minorities in Aquaculture on Twitter —https://mobile.twitter.com/mia_npo

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life. 

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast.

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Iris Brilliant: Rethinking Wealth and Community

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Our society has an unhealthy addiction to needless wealth accumulation. This is a big contributing factor to the broken state of our world; economically, socially and environmentally. However, there are reasons to be hopeful, and in today’s episode, anticapitalist money coach, Iris Brilliant, shares why.

Having grown up very privileged, and with a strong conscience, Iris couldn’t bear the thought of investing her money in corporations that act in a manner she wholeheartedly disagrees with. The realization that this was what was expected of her caused her to think deeply about how we can transform our financial systems. Iris’s work is based on the premise that the high levels of isolation and segregation that our societal structures maintain is the reason for our desire to accumulate unnecessary amounts of money; money gives us a false sense of security, which we should be getting from our community.

In today’s episode, Iris shares information about some of the organizations that operate in alignment with her values, steps that she has taken to enhance her sense of security without accumulating wealth, and how you can make a valuable contribution to changing the world for the better, whether you are a high net worth individual or not!

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • How Iris’s relationship with money has evolved over the course of her life.

  • Economic transformation that she hopes to achieve through her work as an anticapitalist money coach.

  • Examples of actions that give Iris hope.

  • Why so many are addicted to needless wealth accumulation and how we can change this. 

  • Organizations that are taking actions that align with Iris’ values.

  • Examples of how you can contribute to turning the tides of society towards justice.

  • Why American politics and the IPCC report cause Iris concern. 

  • Decisions Iris has made that have enhanced her feelings of safety and security. 

  • The book that Iris plans to write and the training program that she is currently enrolled in.

  • Iris’s call to action for listeners.

---

Tweetables:

“Our broken economy not only is failing poor and working class and middle class communities but, on a spiritual level, it is also failing rich people.” — Iris Brilliant

“What I find hopeful is the moments when I get to see clients connect the dots between their own redistribution and their own realignment of investment with something that will feel deeply fulfilling and meaningful for them.” — Iris Brilliant

“If it wasn’t for isolation and segregation, I just don’t believe that we as humans would want to accumulate endless wealth.” — Iris Brilliant

“We’re living in a crumbling and scary stage of late-stage capitalism and climate chaos and destruction. We really can't rely on the old paradigms around finance anymore.” — Iris Brilliant

“As we redistribute wealth and as we include more people in the group of people that we care about, we will be creating more safety for ourselves.” — Iris Brilliant

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Iris Brilliant Website — https://www.irisbrilliant.com/

Iris Brilliant on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/iris-brilliant-017237a3/

Iris Brilliant on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/iris.brilliant.coaching/

‘How to Create Safety and Security Without Accumulating Wealth’ — https://www.irisbrilliant.com/how-to-create-safety-and-security-without-accumulating-wealth

Resource Generation — https://resourcegeneration.org/

The Next Egg — www.thenextegg.org

Revalue — https://www.revalueinvesting.com/

YourStake — https://www.yourstake.org/

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life. 

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast.

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Jakada Imani: How to Run Equitable, Sustainable, and Results-Driven Organizations

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

The Management Center (TMC) offers tools and training programs for managers and their teams, and what sets them apart is not just the quality of their courses but their prioritization of building racial equity within organizations, rather than just helping them produce better quantitative results. 

Today’s guest, spiritually rooted coach and trainer Jakada Imani, has spent his entire adult life helping Black people break free from the barriers which prevent them from reaching their full potential. His personal experience of being mentored in the social justice movement in his youth has driven his desire to help others in the same way. Jakada is currently the CEO of The Management Center.

In this conversation, Jakada explains what TMC's offerings consist of (most of which I can personally vouch for because I have attended them myself), how they are changing mindsets around management, and his plans for growing the organization so they are able to positively impact more people. He also delves into what he is seeing take place in social justice movements around the world, and why, in the destabilizing time we find ourselves in, he has hope for a different kind of future.   

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Jakada’s entry into the social justice world, and how the mentorship that he received in this space informed the trajectory of his life and career.

  • The mission of The Management Center (TMC), and an overview of the work that they do.

  • Management is a skill on its own, and oftentimes a mindset shift is required when people transition from doing the work on the ground to managing people who are doing that work. 

  • Some of the most popular tools and programs offered by TMC.

  • How TMC prioritizes racial equity in their programs. 

  • An overview of TMC's approach to combating traditional preferences, traditions, and requirements.  

  • Jakada explains the danger of relying on a gut feel to make a decision, using a real-world example to highlight this point.

  • Transformation that has taken place in social justice movements over the past few years.

  • Where Jakada finds hope during the destabilizing time we find ourselves in.

  • Jakada’s self-care practices, and plans that he has for the future of TMC.

---

Tweetables:

“I’ve been about trying to help Black folks get free for my entire adult life.” — @jakada_imani

“If we can get folks to think about the role of management as a competency and a skillset in and of itself, that is an ‘aha,’ and folks just get better [at it].” — @jakada_imani

“Growing our services to be able to help more folks is the stuff that gets me excited.” — @jakada_imani

“It is a profoundly destabilizing time, and that means the world is in play. It’s a loose ball; it is not settling and it’s not set.” — @jakada_imani

“The main question is effort; are we going to try harder? Are we going to try harder? And then to seek those moments and to give it all in those moments will be important.” — @jakada_imani

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jakada Imani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakada/

The Management Center: https://www.managementcenter.org/ 

Greenpeace USA: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/ 

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 7500+ subscribers and get our free 60 point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts by visiting: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy
Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy
Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/