In our episode, we discussed:

• A career at the intersection of Culture, Commerce, and Innovation
• Navigating China’s Evolving Consumer Landscape
• Strategic Growth Initiatives in China

Listen to the P&G Alumni Podcast Episode with Sarah Kochling here.

The post P&G Alumni Podcast – Chinese Leaders: Sarah Kochling appeared first on Social Legacy.

So, what’s causing this friendship recession?

1. Predominance of Technology. The same survey showed that 40% of Americans claim to only have online friends 🤯 Sit with that for a minute. No passing of warm plates, no clinking of glasses, no falling over each other as gales of laughter overtake us. Now, I’m not saying online friendships aren’t meaningful – I have some great friends I’ve met and only engaged with virtually. But to only have online friends feels like we’re missing some of the depth, texture, and richness of human connection.
2. Importance of Work. Increasingly, we identify with our work titles. If not our primary jobs, our side gigs. In fact, the gig economy has put free time (e.g. time to socialize) at a premium. Maybe because we love being busy with both jobs, and maybe because economic pressures are making time an even rarer luxury.
3. Decline of Faith. My friend Ed made a comment the other day, “the benefits of being part of a church are incredible!” The Pew Research Center agrees – they found that active religious adults are more likely to engage in community. Concurrently, Americans who don’t identify with any faith has grown from 17% to 26% over a decade.

And here’s what we can do about it:

• Don’t sacrifice community for convenience. In a world of contactless payment and deliveries left at the door, tech enables us to live a life of complete isolation! Can’t get up the energy to fight traffic today? Texting your friends you can’t make it? Fight the impulse and get out the door! Community feeds your soul like this amazing bunch in Amsterdam 🥰

• Create opportunities to bring amazing people together. My friend Jon Levy has inspired me with his game-changing Influencers Dinner – I realized we can all create shared experiences that build and deepen human connection. In fact, I recently hosted a fun evening with amazing people at one of my fav restaurants!

• Start introducing yourself without referencing work. This may feel uncomfortable at first, but you’ll begin to find other ways to connect, identify yourself, and perhaps realize the myriad ways you both find and contribute joy in life. For instance, with the TikTok account I just started, I refer to myself as CEO, Author, & Mom. All three are equally important to me, because I’m more than my job.

Let’s get ourselves out of this friendship recession.

I imagine us each as sparkling drops of water in the ocean. We’re each a small part of the whole, but if enough of us pull away, the entirety of the ocean shrinks. If we continue to pull away into our little bubbles, our broader communities will be negatively impacted, individual struggles with loneliness and mental wellness will amplify, and truly, the whole world will be impacted. So let’s dive in. Embrace the friction and discomfort that friendship requires and then immerse in the joyful embrace of community. It’s worth it.

For related articles, check out:

• Pilgrims don’t travel alone
• The power of tiny interactions

The post We’re in a friendship recession appeared first on Social Legacy.

• Keynote | Barrier IQ: Mastering Barriers for Transformative Growth. Provided a tangible framework to identify your personal barriers, and tools to break through each type.
• Guest Speaker at Dinner with Rika Nakazawa, Chief Commercial Innovator and Author.

The post WNorth 10 Year Anniversary Conference appeared first on Social Legacy.

In our episode, we discussed:

• Innovative Sports Marketing in China to drive consumer engagement and brand innovation
• Navigating Marketing Challenges at Apple
• His Leadership and Personal Values: Embracing Diversity and Personal Expression, Authenticity
• Applying Sports Principles to Team Dynamics: “Pregame” Mindset in a Corporate Setting

Listen to the P&G Alumni Podcast Episode with Adam Antoniewicz here.

The post P&G Alumni Podcast – Chinese Leaders: Adam Antoniewicz appeared first on Social Legacy.

• The fun of liquid collaboration
• Comparing Chinese and German cultures
• The importance of getting from weird to wonder.

Listen to the P&G Alumni Podcast Episode with Falk Fuhrmann here.

Related Contents:

• We’re in a friendship recession

The post P&G Alumni Podcast – Chinese Leaders: Falk Fuhrmann appeared first on Social Legacy.

Step 1: Unknown unknown becomes Known unknown

😬 ➡ 🤔

Do you have mentors, coaches or advisors around you? These are people who have a sense of what you do and are invested in your growth. They are the ones who can help you identify blind spots. They home in on your unknown unknowns. Some examples:

• Shifting from product to people management. What don’t you know about engaging, supporting and leading people?
• Jumping into a new industry. What technology or vertical knowledge do you need to understand?
• Flagging employee engagement. What new trends, people dynamics, or competitive threats have emerged?

Are you surrounding yourself with people who can help you identify the unknown unknowns? These are blind spots that can become crippling if you don’t address them. But once you’re aware, the unknown unknown becomes a known unknown.

BTW this applies to more than work. I just read a few books, The New Jim Crow, Evicted, and Homelessness is a Housing Problem. My previously unknown unknown has become known and now I need to figure out what I want to do about it.

Step 2: Known unknown becomes Known known

🤔 ➡ 🧐

OK, once you’ve identified what you didn’t know, you can focus on deepening your understand. Research, one-on-one discussions, store checks, consumer engagements… these are all great ways to learn about your area of in-expertise. Because while others can help you identify blind spots, you own the next step in shaping your understanding of that area.

Referring to my new awareness of the homeless problem in the United States, I’m going to deepen my understanding in 2025 and define what I can do about it. Now that I’m aware, this will become part of my Social Legacy.

Step 3: Known known become Mastered known

🧐 ➡ 😎

After learning, researching, listening, and understanding, you develop a plan to grow your expertise and master the area. You’ve grown from lack of awareness to awareness to intentional development. Now, you can share what you learned with others! And this allows you to consider what’s next.

• If your opportunity was in the area of people management, perhaps you can consider growing your team.
• If you’ve now deepend your understanding of a new industry, how do you add unique value?
• If your blind spot was employee engagement, how can you help others who are struggling?

This new growth chart breaks down the basic steps from blind spot to mastery in a few digestible chunks. Now, why do I think this mindset is helpful?

Sometimes we resist the idea of blind spots, or busy ourselves in defending our expertise or leadership… rather than improving our knowledge base and growing. Hopefully the idea of unknowns and knowns takes down our defensive walls and helps shift us into a growth mindset. Because everyone’s got unknown unknowns. It’s what we do about them that matters.

For related articles, check out:

• 2 things you can do to accelerate growth
• How design thinking makes us better leaders

The post The new growth chart appeared first on Social Legacy.

1. Be specific.

When seeking a mentor, show you’ve done your homework on the person.

• Why did you approach this person?
• What are they excellent at, from which you seek to learn?
• How have you been struggling, and why do you seek mentorship now?
• In what ways do you believe this mentor can add value, and what perspective might you offer them in return?

The generic requests, “Will you mentor me?” don’t land well because they don’t give the mentor an understanding of what you need and why you reached out. Further, the cold call requests are even more challenging. In fact, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with reaching out to someone you don’t know. But it’s even more important to be specific and explain why you’re reaching out to them, specifically.

2. Respect their time.

Mentors are busy and if someone agrees to meet with you, demonstrate respect for their time.

• Thank them for agreeing to meet you, and take the lead in scheduling, providing meeting invite with a functioning link.
• Set an agenda for the meeting, and ideally, send one out in advance or attach to the meeting invite.
• Take the lead in the call, setting expectations upfront and ensure you end the call on time.

These simple steps can ensure your mentor feels respected, knows what to expect, and understands how to add value.

I have benefitted greatly from mentors and love mentoring younger leaders! Now, these were the 2 mistakes mentees make from our panel discussion. I hope this helps you find a great mentor and develop a productive relationship. What are your tips for those seeking mentorship?

To hear Jessica’s excellent view of mentorship, listen to our P&G Alumni podcast episode here. And read about how mentors help us become Unbreakable here.

Fish cartoon from writerswrite.co.za and time image generated with Dall-e

The post 2 mistakes mentees make appeared first on Social Legacy.

Look for experiences that round you out.

This was a great point – when we get itchy to move onward and upward, we often look for the next title or more pay. But Bhav encourages listeners to seek experiences that build out our skill set – go wide, not up. If you look to expand your experience set when looking for something new, you set yourself up for continued growth.

Now, we recognize that leaning into different experiences is scary. You may worry, “What if I fail?”

But… what if you succeed?

In fact, we often don’t realize it when we push for the next promotion that we may be plateauing in our career. So, look for experiences that round you out, vs. accelerate up.

Be the luck in other people’s life.

What does Bhav mean? He recognized how we’ve both been so lucky in our lives and our careers. It’s true – we’ve had great bosses and mentors, people who have helped us along. So the best thing we can do is to turn and pull. That is, become the luck in another’s life. And I couldn’t agree more with Bhav that this approach in life will pay back multiple times.

I’ll pause here and recognize no career is all smooth sailing. Sure, there are bumps and people we would have preferred to not work for or with. But two things bear remembering: 1) We learned from those people and experiences, because humans grow and strengthen through friction, 2) We ought not fixate on the negatives, for risk of missing the luck and positivity from which we’ve also benefitted.

View everything as an opportunity.

Bhav grew up in Nairobi, Kenya where there was a lot of turmoil and specifically, persecution of Indians. This led his parents to take the kids and move to London with nothing. There, their close family of five started over, figuring out how to all live in one rented room. Even as they collected coins to pay a meter for electricity, Bhav and his siblings realized they had a great life together – and saw everything extra as pure opportunity.

OK, reading about his upbringing may not resonate as privilege. But Bhav always sees the opportunity – and he intentionally reflects to recognize the privileges he did grow up with. And he reminds our listeners that not everyone has had the same privilege they’ve had, either. What a wise, awesome leader. Had to post a photo from when we recently hiked to the Wisdom Tree 🙂

Listen to the full podcast here and for all my podcasts, please check out the podcast page on my site.

Interested in hearing more from Bhav? If you’re in Singapore this July, check him and this event out at ProcureCon Asia.

The post Be the luck in another’s life appeared first on Social Legacy.

In our episode, we discussed:

• Lessons from leading brands like Apple, Holiday Inn, and Vicks
• The power of cultural adaptability in global marketing
• Why humility and followership are critical for effective leadership
• How life integration beats work-life balance

Watch the full episode of The Unfinished Business Podcast on my YouTube channel here.

Related Contents:

• Orbiting the giant hairball

The post Unfinished Business Podcast appeared first on Social Legacy.

In our episode, we discussed:

• Insights from his extensive experience in global business and operations
• Leadership lessons: The importance of adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and continuous learning in effective leadership
• Operational excellence and driving business growth in diverse markets.
• The value of leaders investing in mentorship and development

Listen to the P&G Alumni Podcast Episode with Bhavesh Shah here.

Related Contents:

• Be the luck in another’s life

The post P&G Alumni Podcast – Chinese Leaders: Bhavesh Shah appeared first on Social Legacy.