28. If you don’t know, now you know: from implicit to explicit brand values
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“getting into that place where we're able to talk about our values front-facing as a part of our messaging is super important. I wish I had done it sooner. And it is something that I feel like is almost like working on the gym. You have to build up your courage or your consistency muscle with it, just like you would continue to go to the gym every day if you want to see results.” – India Jackson
In this week’s episode of Flaunt Your Fire, host and CEO India Jackson is joined by her Pause On the Play co-host, Erica Courdae to discuss the importance of building a brand around core values, and leading with them.
Our values evolve and shift as we do, throughout our lives. So it’s important to circle back and revisit and reexamine every now and then whether they’re still relevant and aligned with who you are and where you’re going.
As for expressing them, it’s important to be crystal clear about what you mean, rather than vague and cliche.
India and Erica offer a new masterclass through their brand Pause On the Play, From Implicit to Explicit: Leading Through Your Values, which is designed to help you get clear around your personal and brand values and how to best communicate them and take imperfect action.
Your Action For This Episode
Check out Pause On the Play’s new workshop, From Implicit to Explicit: Leading Through Your Values here.
Consider
[00:01:45] There are a lot of layers and nuance to personal and brand values, and as you grow and evolve they will shift and change with you.
[00:02:01] Considering your values is not a “one and done” situation. You need to revisit them from time to time to examine what still feels aligned with where you are and where you’re headed.
[00:03:56] Don’t assume people know what you believe. If you don’t state it explicitly, they won’t know. It’s best to be clear up front.
[00:06:15] You can’t assume that, for example, someone who is gay is concerned with LGBTQIA equity, or that someone who is Black supports Black Lives Matter. Everyone has biases. And if you don’t want to work with people who don’t share your values, being explicit about them will help keep the wrong fit away and call in the better fit.
[00:08:36] It’s important to know your personal values and to know which ones are separate from your brand values, especially as you start to build your team where all of you represent the brand.
[00:10:27] Consider honing down your values to 3 to 6 total for your brand to avoid confusion.
[00:14:52] When you are clear about your values up front, you will attract the right people and repel the wrong people.
[00:18:13] Even if you feel guilt about using your privilege in the past to avoid doing anti-racist work, it’s important to start showing up today, willing to mess up, then learn and keep going.
[00:20:28] Explicitly stating your values and taking actions around them are like going to the gym – you have to consistently work at it daily to see results.
[00:23:54] It’s necessary to have feedback from outside your own perspective so you can be corrected or held accountable when you mess up or are being inconsistent. Learning is part of your evolution.
[00:27:10] Erica and India worked with Kim Wenzel of Pattern of Purpose to rebrand their workshop, which has been renamed From Implicit to Explicit: Leading Through Your Values. This had to evolve as the Pause On the Play brand evolves.
[00:30:09] The From Implicit to Explicit workshop is designed to help you get radically clear on your brand’s values and separate them from your personal values, and help you see how to best communicate them up front.
[00:34:53] Doing anti-racist work and leading with your values is not about looking for a pat on the back for being a good white person; it’s about being a decent human being.
Quotes
[00:01:42] India Jackson: I think that there's a lot of layers to your values. And as you grow and you change and you evolve as an individual, as well as your business, and who your team is, and all of these things, you might need to update them.
[00:03:56] Erica Courdae: There are some things that are gonna have larger implications, sometimes they're smaller. But the reality is that it's not worth risking how large or small the impact could be, when you could have just simply stated, hey, here's a fact that you need to know. This is where that clear communication is necessary.
[00:06:16] Erica Courdae: And this is where you don't assume, because we know what happens when you assume. You don't know what you don't know. And when you decide to write someone's story, it can get real dicey, because you have decided what their truth is. And if you if it doesn't feel good for someone to do it for you, you can't do it for other people.
[00:08:01] India Jackson: As I stepped into evolving from a brand that was named after me, India. Jackson Artistry, into owning and honoring the fact that I had a team, it wasn't just me anymore. And we rebranded with the new name Flaunt Your Fire. This is bigger than me, I'm gonna own that. And I think that there's something to that, where we have to take a look at our personal values and our brand values, they may not be the same.
[00:10:27] India Jackson: I definitely think that when we look at ourselves as individuals – like Erica, you are a whole person, I am a whole person – way more than four values, or way more than five values. But the brand needs to hone that down into less than six. I mean, I personally think between three to five max in order to be clear and concise to the public, because let's just be honest, people's attention spans and ability to grasp things… it's just not there.
[00:18:30] Erica Courdae: When clients of mine are in this place of feeling bad for what they didn't know which I'm a firm believer, you don't know what you don't know, for feeling like I should have done it. In which case, there's nothing you can do about what's past which you can do is take ownership. commit to doing the best you can today and keep going tomorrow.
[00:20:28] India Jackson: I think that I'm getting into that place where we're able to talk about our values front facing as a part of our messaging is super important. I wish I had done it sooner. And it is something that I feel like is almost like working on the gym. You have to build up your courage or your consistency muscle with it, just like you would continue to go to the gym every day if you want to see results.
Connect with Erica Courdae
Connect with Flaunt Your Fire
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