Achieve Great Things

What makes someone influential? What qualities do people see in compelling communicators and charismatic leaders? At a time when many people seem to be losing faith in institutions, what can leaders and organizations do to build trust and influence? On this episode of Achieve Great Things, we’ll explore these questions with John Neffinger, who co-authored a book that’s required reading at Harvard,...

Not long ago, some of the world’s most accomplished movement lawyers and activists gathered to tell their stories, compare notes, and share lessons about leveraging the law and mobilizing social movements to win hard-fought battles for people and the planet—even when the odds seemed impossible. They were convened by a lawyer, an activist and a storyteller, who share their stories and lessons in an...

Raj Shah is the president of the Rockefeller Foundation and the author of a new book called Big Bets: How Large Scale Change Really Happens. Dr. Shah has been part of big bets for 25 years—from vaccinating nearly a billion children to helping countries fight Ebola and COVID. Now he’s working to connect a billion people to electricity for the first time. Raj joins us on this episode of Achieve Grea...

Bestselling author Dan Pink has opened millions of minds to practical insights from social science that can help all of us be better communicators. In this episode of Achieve Great Things, Dan returns to share Top Takeaways from his #1 New York Times bestsellers: To Sell is Human and Drive: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others. You’ll take away insights and ideas you can use to communicate...

Desmond Meade is president of the Florida Rights Restoration Committee, which inspired the nation with a grassroots campaign that passed a groundbreaking constitutional amendment with a win few saw coming—a supermajority of 62% of the vote. It restored voting rights to 1.5 million people with prior felony convictions who had served their time. The campaign was unique in transcending typical politi...

Dealing with disinformation tops the agenda for all kinds of organizations working on all kinds of issues. We’re bombarded by fake news, foreign propaganda, consumer scams and other kinds of deliberate disinformation that make it hard to sort out fact from fiction. Alex Cole has been on the frontlines of information wars around the world. He says America is “under a disinformation assault from wit...

Jessica Blank is on a “mission to impact our world through the transformative power of story.” She’s an award-winning writer, director, actor, producer, coach, consultant, and teacher. She has an amazing track record of creating art that leads to impact. She and her husband, Erik Jensen, launched a new form of art-for-impact, called “documentary theater.” They created a play about people condemned...

Dan Pink is the author of bestselling books that have opened millions of minds to insights from social science to help us be better leaders, managers and marketers—and also healthier, happier people. His most recent book is called The Power of Regret. We all have regrets, though we often think it’s best not to. Dan has studied the science of regret and conducted original research—collecting regret...

Many of us working to make change in the world spend a lot of time thinking about how to “break through the noise” of today’s hyperactive media environment. Our organizations are struggling to “be heard” above the din of news, politics, marketing and more that bombard our eyes and ears all day, every day. In this episode of Achieve Great Things, we’ll talk about something completely different: The...

Generations of Americans grew up with Consumer Reports, a magazine packed with useful information for making smart purchases. CR is also a national nonprofit with a storied history, an important mission, and a timely all to action. CR’s CEO, Marta Tellado, is out with a new book, "Buyer Aware: Harnessing Our Consumer Power for a Safe, Fair, and Transparent Marketplace." On this episode of Achieve...

The economy is the number-one issue on the minds of voters in the United States. Not surprisingly, it’s also on the minds of politicians, policymakers, and policy advocates. But how do American voters think about the economy? Who do they trust to tackle economic issues? How can you talk about economic policy in terms that really speak to working people? On this edition of Achieve Great Things, we...

Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, is an award-winning epidemiologist who worked on the frontlines of public health before building de Beaumont into a leading voice in health philanthropy and public health practice. In this episode of Achieve Great Things, he shares insights from the foundation’s new book and lessons to help you communicate about public health with m...

Trabian Shorters is founder of the BMe Community, a New York Times bestselling author, and an international authority on a powerful, important new way of thinking and communicating, called “asset-framing.” It’s a hot topic among leaders and organizations looking to make positive change—because asset-framing can be a game-changer. In this episode of Achieve Great Things, we’ll talk with Trabian Sho...

How do you achieve a bold vision to unlock $30 billion dollars for 13 million people? On this episode of Achieve Great Things, we talk with Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America, about what it takes to envision and achieve a truly ambitious goal.

On this episode of Achieve Great Things, we spoke to Priya Jayachandran, the chief executive officer of the National Housing Trust, about her organization’s journey to refresh the way it communicates. Priya took the helm in 2018, in her first role as a CEO, succeeding a founder who led the organization for three decades. Now, NHT’s new brand accurately reflects who they are now and what they stand...

Tyler Gage is an entrepreneur, investor, and adviser to companies that focus on ESG—the environmental, social, and governance aspects of business. He’s also the author of an amazing book about his very unique journey as an entrepreneur. It’s called Fully Alive: Using the Lessons of the Amazon to Live Your Mission in Business and Life. He’s the co-founder of a groundbreaking company called Runa, wh...

Long before “purpose” became a buzzword in business, Bill Novelli pioneered the use of marketing techniques to build a better world. He called it “social marketing” and co-founded a global agency devoted to it. He also ran one of the most well-known and well-regarded international nonprofits, led one of Washington’s most formidable advocacy organizations, took on the tobacco industry, and launched...

Many people are committed to improving racial equity in their organizations, but are unsure where to start. What are the first steps to advance racial equity at work? How do you engage leadership? And how do you overcome common barriers to prioritizing racial equity? In this episode of Achieve Great Things, members of our DEI Committee Reina DuFore and Veronica Selzler talk with Dr. Judy Lubin abo...

In 2014, Ian Haney Lopez introduced an important new term to the field of political communication with his book, Dog Whistle Politics. In it, he explained how politicians have used carefully coded language to stir up racial anxiety and resentment to divide Americans and win elections. Political strategists and progressive leaders are struggling to counter the insidious power of racial appeals in A...

From pandemic updates to climate change news alerts, we’re constantly bombarded with negative messages and bad news, which can trigger feelings of helplessness. Christine Heenan, former Vice President for Global Policy & Advocacy at The Rockefeller Foundation and current President of the Clarendon Group, believes that optimistic communications can help. Unlike communication strategies that focus s...

When the American Lung Association asked Carrie Schum and her team at Porter Novelli to develop a campaign to encourage smokers to make another attempt to quit smoking, they never expected to end up with the headline: “You’re not a failure. You’re a seven-time learner.” Although the campaign headline was different from anything that the American Lung Association had done before, the campaign teste...

While the benefits of a world connected by the internet abound, it's harder and harder to ignore one of its most noxious byproducts - digital pollution. Knight Foundation Vice President of Communities and Impact Sam Gill joins the podcast to discuss how confronting digital pollution can help our democracy overcome a "crisis of trust." Read more on our Aspirational blog: https://medium.com/aspirati...

In this episode of Achieve Great Things we're joined by Meera Mani, Director of the Children, Families, and Communities Program at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. She talks about the power of a shared narrative to achieve greater collective impact, and her organization's journey in lifting up their grantees' crucial work: helping children grow up healthy and ready for school. Read more ab...

When the Gallup organization first surveyed Americans about same-sex marriage in 1996, only 27 percent of the public supported legal recognition. Fast forward 23 years, and 63 percent of Americans support marriage equality. People changed their minds—but how? In this episode, Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry, reflects on how the movement eventually achieved a supporting majority that coul...

In 2005, Heather founded Caspian Agency to help purpose-driven organizations create more purposeful events. "The effects of a well-produced event," she likes to say, "are felt far beyond the experience itself." In Episode 3, we talk with Heather about the science and strategy behind making events more meaningful for sponsors and participants alike. Read more about our conversation and access other...