Use your damn blinker.
Also, the Dream Small audiobook is out and The A Pledge has a new home
Hi friends,
I’m going to dive right into it today, because I have some exciting things to share, but first, I thought I’d share that this year, of the 21 books I’ve read so far, two are quite possibly my favorite books OF ALL TIME.
I’m not ashamed to say that I’m more than just a little bit obsessed with Fredrik Backman, and his books, A Man Called Ove and My Friends, forced me to create a 6-star rating in my Notion book database. Up until now, books could only achieve a 5-star rating, and I’m a pretty tough critic. These two books were so phenomenal that they broke my system.
Oh, and I’ve recorded several podcasts recently I think you might enjoy, including one with ex-UGA and NFL great, Mohamed Massaquoi, and one with King of Pops founder/CEO, Steve Carse.
The Dream Small audiobook is out!
LOL Gemini’s photo when I asked it to create an image of me with my book.
ChatGPT’s take. Much better (though less funny). Also, I’m dying to know who those people are in the frame behind AI me.
I’ve heard from many of you that know me personally that, while reading Dream Small, you read it in my voice…to that end, you can now hear it in my actual voice (for reals) → Amazon link
You can also watch my short video to learn what the book is about:
I “sold” my first nonprofit!
Ok, you can’t “sell” a nonprofit, obviously. Here’s what happened (and why I’m so excited about it.)
The A Pledge was an idea I had around 2014. Coming off of my experience at Leadership Atlanta and my newfound personal Purpose to have an outsized, positive impact on the world, I very much wanted to focus on improving my industry (marketing and advertising).
The appetite for my idea, to attack systemic racism in the marketing and advertising industry, however, was met with the predictable criticism and resistance. At best, people told me there’s no way to make a dent in such a large problem, and at worst, that there wasn’t a problem at all. I knew that starting the effort with little to no support would be a mistake, so I kept the idea on the back burner while I focused on other ways to make an impact (enter 48in48).
The summer of 2020 changed everything. I won’t dive too deeply into why (because, IYKYK), but with a renewed interest in social justice, nine other Atlanta leaders joined me in launching The A Pledge. Our ambitious 10-year goal: to match the diversity of Atlanta’s agency teams to that of our city. Ambitious because at the time, less than 10% of Atlanta’s agency workforce were People of Color, compared to 62% in the city of Atlanta.
Our team has worked diligently over the past five years, even in the face of significant headwinds. Last year, we pivoted to focus on supporting Black-owned agencies, which led to the development of our TAP Forward cohort program.
After I joined the board of Goodie Nation (July, 2024), and realized the full scope of what this amazing organization has done for over a decade, it became apparent that if The A Pledge was a part of the Goodie Nation community, we’d have a much better chance of achieving our goal.
And thus, TAP Forward is now a part of Goodie Nation, and The A Pledge, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will cease to exist. But the work we are doing continues, only with more resources, expertise, and leadership. I couldn’t be more excited about this evolution. If you know of any agencies that should consider joining our next cohort, please have them apply.
Use your damn blinker
I’m a little worried that my subscribers are slowly being subjected to the rantings of an old man (next year I’ll cross the 50-year threshold, so let’s be honest, I’m old-manning at a rapid rate at this point), but I just had to get this off my chest…
I have little no patience for people who fail to use their blinkers. If that sounds harsh, perhaps it is, but consider this: it's such a fundamental act of consideration. When you neglect that simple flick of the wrist, you're sending a message:
"My time is too precious to bother with a gesture that could make your life easier."
I’m sure that sounds petty, but I can think of no better example of whether or not someone has empathy than if they use their blinker. The blinker has no purpose for the actual driver, other than to let other drivers (and pedestrians) know what you’re going to do so that they can be prepared. So that they can have a better (and safer) driving experience.
I suppose at this point, I’ll have to hope that self-driving cars are programmed to use their turn signals, but then, how will I know who the a**holes are out on the road?!
And don’t even get me started on people who don’t give you a friendly wave when you let them in. Those freaking people…
Ok, I’m done. Rant over.
The point.
I hope you read a good book this summer, preferably one by Backman, or maybe take a chance on Dream Small.
And please, for the love of all that’s holy, use your blinker.
I hope you’re happy.
Love what you did with The A Pledge. More nonprofits should look for ways to combine, merge, find synergies and maximize their resources. Funders LOVE it and it’s good for everyone involved.
I should have had you sign your "Dream Small" book when we had lunch this past week!