Guest Post: How You and Your Brand Can Make Positive Change in Honor of George Floyd
By Kent Lewis
We have to make the changes we want to see in the world. It starts with us. In light of what has happened to George Floyd, and so many others, many business owners are asking themselves: how can we help? Kent Lewis of Anvil Media wrote a syndicated article for LinkedIn posing that question to his audience. The answer is simple: we don’t do nothing. Instead, do the following to help make a positive impact:
- Listen
- Learn
- Act
Listen
The best way to help an individual or a society is not to ignore the concerns, but listen to them. Kent remarks in his article, “In times of crisis, it is often much easier to speak, if not yell, than to listen.” We were given two ears and only one mouth for a reason. Let’s all listen to our black friends, co-workers, and classmates to discover how we can make the world better and safer for everyone in it.
Learn
We’re imperfect creatures who are always learning. It’s important for both our minds and bodies to absorb knowledge and grow. We can’t help others if we don’t; we remain stagnant. To help, we must learn from George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement. Kent notes, “One aspect of learning, especially as it pertains to race relations, is to ‘unlearn’ what you may have learned in school.” How do we do this? Kent answers, by consulting, “true authorities, including non-profit and educational institutions, authors and other subject matter experts.”
Act
After you’ve taken in all you can by listening and learning, it’s time to act. As Kent, and many others have said, “Action speaks louder than words.” Anvil recommends volunteering “your time and expertise to organizations dedicated to making change. You can also donate funds to further those causes.” Donating and supporting your community in the Black Lives Matter movement is far more meaningful than writing a simple social media post.
We hope to see more positive social change as we, as businesses and humans, listen, learn, and act.
For more insights from Kent on this topic, read the full article here.
