Aug. 8, 2023

Communications Strategic Messaging With Miriam Khalifa

Communications Strategic Messaging With Miriam Khalifa
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Season 1

Kim Clark interviews Miriam Khalifa this week about the power of messaging strategy. Miriam began her career in political and public opinion research and helped with some of the top campaigns in the United States. Corporations need to make sure we can live up to what we are saying and beware of our social cause in messaging. Kim and Miriam speak about how your actions must match your words. We have to be realistic about our company’s DEI benchmarks and how we use our political communications. Find out where organizational communications need to go on this week’s episode. 

About The Guest:

Miriam Khalifa (she/her) is passionate about the power of communications and data to create organizational and social change. She began her career in political and public opinion research, shaping the messaging of top campaigns in the U.S. As a DEI strategist, she has leveraged communications and research to establish effective initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Currently, she does consulting and data analytics to optimize the impact of DEI strategies for financial services and technology companies.

Find Miriam Here:

LinkedIn

About Kim:

Kim Clark (she/her) focuses her work on the communicator and content creator's role in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She is the co-author of The Conscious Communicator: The fine art of not saying stupid sh*t, an Amazon #1 bestseller and the leading voice for DEI communications and social justice messaging for brands.

She speaks at conferences, writes custom workshops, writes inclusive communications guides, and consults with companies on all things related to diversity, equity, and inclusion communications. Kim is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, a cisgender woman, Native American (Muscogee Nation) and a mom of two kids with disabilities. These marginalized identities and the privileges that come with society seeing her as White motivate her daily for social change.

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Transcript
Kim Clark:

Okay, thanks for joining on communicate like you

Kim Clark:

give a damn, I have a very cool guest, who, actually the way we

Kim Clark:

crossed paths Miriam was I think he just reached out to me on

Kim Clark:

LinkedIn and maybe like asked me a question or you wanted to you

Kim Clark:

know, you wanted to get together for a minute. And I ended up

Kim Clark:

like listening more to you and fascinated by your background

Kim Clark:

and your perspective of what was what's going on in the world.

Kim Clark:

And that's when I was drafting the conscious communicator, my

Kim Clark:

chapters for the conscious communicator book. And I

Kim Clark:

thought, I think she has a really interesting perspective

Kim Clark:

that can be added to the book. And it just turned into this

Kim Clark:

whole thing. Like I'm sure like the when you just reached out to

Kim Clark:

me called on LinkedIn, that wasn't something that you

Kim Clark:

expected that you'd end up as a contributing author in a book,

Unknown:

by any means, but it was such a fortunate

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circumstance. And I'm so glad that you know, we met and the

Unknown:

rest has been history.

Kim Clark:

So I've gotten to know you over the time that

Kim Clark:

since we've originally connected, but introduce

Kim Clark:

yourself to our audience.

Miriam Khalifa:

Yeah, so my name is Miriam Khalifa, I am a Bay

Miriam Khalifa:

Area native Oakland, born and raised still here. And I am a

Miriam Khalifa:

dei strategist and research enthusiast who believes in the

Miriam Khalifa:

power of communications to create change.

Kim Clark:

Oh, I love it. So tell us about your path, like

Kim Clark:

how did you get into di I kind of what was the pulling vision

Kim Clark:

for you? And what's your background?

Unknown:

Yeah, so, you know, I've always felt this kind of

Unknown:

innate sense of injustice in the world, and almost like a

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responsibility to see how I can, you know, make life better for

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people, people of all walks of life. And so, you know, the past

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few years, have really been focused on creating equitable

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opportunity for underserved communities, primarily through

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corporate strategy, but also through public policy. So I'm

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currently building data driven dei and change management

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strategies, primarily for finance and other private sector

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clients, as well as doing research on how to increase

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equitable impact for underrepresented talent, and how

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companies can better support them. But prior to the EI, I was

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doing political research and public opinion polling, which

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was really centered around gaining insights, that shaped

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messaging strategy, so for polling this often was for

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public policy, and, you know, big NGO campaigns. And then I

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later on did the same thing for congressional and presidential

Unknown:

campaigns where we know messaging is everything.

Kim Clark:

And how did you get interested in that?

Unknown:

Good question. You know, I think that I feel, I've

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always felt politics is, you know, the kind of center of of

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who we are as a nation, and opportunity and experience, you

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know, should be equitable for everyone here, because, you

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know, we're American citizens. And I think that I was drawn to

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policy, because I saw that this is a way to create widespread

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change, and reach, touch, you know, so many lives through,

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through a simple thing, like communication strategy, the

Unknown:

impact is, is really magnified. And what I'll say is that it has

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been a winding path through that I'm working on various types of

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campaigns, you know, initially, the polling that I was focused

Unknown:

on was was very much around social issues. So reproductive

Unknown:

rights, environmental justice, oftentimes, touchy subjects are

Unknown:

hard for, you know, public discourse to really kind of wrap

Unknown:

its head around and, and move forward on just because of how

Unknown:

things pull how polarized things were. And so the power of you

Unknown:

know, messaging strategy, and really public opinion research

Unknown:

as a whole is that you're able to tap into the values of the

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people you want to reach and understand how do I get them

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where I want them to be? How do I be most effective in what I'm

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doing here? Whether that's, you know, to turn out the votes to

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get people to see you know, think differently about what it

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means to be pro life, you know, you name it, but I was really

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drawn to that idea. Have, we can shape the future of this country

Unknown:

just by the way that we message to people and by the way, we are

Unknown:

able to speak to them and what they care about.

Kim Clark:

So there's a lot of skill set around persuasion and

Kim Clark:

influence. And a lot of that has to do with speaking the language

Kim Clark:

of your targeted audience and to your point tapping in to the

Kim Clark:

values and what what it is that they value. It's not, we're not

Kim Clark:

talking about company values like that sit on a badger, a

Kim Clark:

lovely poster in the break rooms. This is genuine people's

Kim Clark:

like, what they value and the values that they stand for in

Kim Clark:

their life and being relate to them in that way. Now, the what

Kim Clark:

you contributed to the end of the habitual chapter, so the

Kim Clark:

depth model is five pillars, de Pth, deliberate, educated,

Kim Clark:

purposeful, tailored, and habitual. And so we put you at

Kim Clark:

the end of the habitual chapter, because the title of your work

Kim Clark:

is communications for social impact more than a slogan. So

Kim Clark:

it's not like you're in, you're out, right? It's not a one off.

Kim Clark:

That's not what this work is about. So as a DI strategist who

Kim Clark:

really values and understands the power of communication, what

Kim Clark:

in this article and feel free to read some if you'd like? What is

Kim Clark:

the key takeaway that you hope that the audience would get from

Kim Clark:

this work?

Unknown:

Yeah, thanks, Kim, happy to share, you know, a few

Unknown:

little clips that I think kind of embody the message I was

Unknown:

trying to get across. As a former public opinion, and

Unknown:

political researcher, I learned a lot about the time and thought

Unknown:

that goes into a campaigns messaging strategy. Public

Unknown:

opinion, polling falls under the broader category of market

Unknown:

research, which is used to inform campaigns on the win over

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their audiences, whether that be a product launch or an election.

Unknown:

The goal of market research is to understand your audience

Unknown:

segments and their values. This information informs the campaign

Unknown:

on how it can tap into those values using communications,

Unknown:

regardless of whether the goal is to sell a product or get

Unknown:

constituents to learn and care about an issue and then vote on

Unknown:

it. Companies use market research to inform their ad

Unknown:

campaigns and generate sales. And candidates can win elections

Unknown:

based on their messaging, it's time for organizations to

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utilize similar strategies for the social causes they speak on.

Unknown:

They're serious about going beyond performative

Unknown:

communications and want to make progress. Companies can instead

Unknown:

use their platforms to create and reinforce positive impact.

Unknown:

So I think that kind of sums up the gist of my point. And you

Unknown:

know, it really is that it's about taking the time to be

Unknown:

authentic, intentional, and like you said, habitual. It's not,

Unknown:

you know, releasing a statement willy nilly, or as kind of a

Unknown:

response to something that's happening. It's really about,

Unknown:

you know, thinking through your company's values, your company's

Unknown:

priorities and our track record, before speaking on an issue, and

Unknown:

asking yourself, you know, is this something that we have

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consistently prioritized and been, you know, public about? Or

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are we responding to a current trend? Or maybe even responding

Unknown:

to backlash? Because we didn't speak out initially. You know,

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and then lastly, asking yourself one can we live up to what we're

Unknown:

saying, and to, is it in line with the brand that we're

Unknown:

building, and everything that we plan to do going forward? That

Unknown:

last line as well, kind of, you know, some sub Hey, like

Unknown:

conscious and habitual communications can do more than

Unknown:

just communicate, follow through on your company's commitments,

Unknown:

they can also enhance accountability and increased

Unknown:

likelihood of actually achieving your goals. Once you've put that

Unknown:

out there. And when crafted, well, they have the power to

Unknown:

reinforce and reinvigorate your company's missions and values,

Unknown:

by tying those to tangible actions that people can do

Unknown:

beyond the company.

Kim Clark:

That's definitely something I want to follow up

Kim Clark:

with you first. You know, you talked about, you know, the

Kim Clark:

whole part of the title talking about more than a slogan, one of

Kim Clark:

the things in in you, you expanded upon that and what you

Kim Clark:

just shared, one of the things that I've seen consistently from

Kim Clark:

brands who don't do social cause messaging, well, is that they

Kim Clark:

may say, and even have the CEO say, and, and in a formal

Kim Clark:

statement, we stand with the LGBTQ plus community or we stand

Kim Clark:

with the black community, we stand with dot, dot, dot, but

Kim Clark:

then when you see their actions there, and they are actually

Kim Clark:

folding when there's any kind of a whiff of a push back for some

Kim Clark:

some takes a little bit more of a push back or, you know, you

Kim Clark:

know, allow it or push back or a lot Longer pushback, but they

Kim Clark:

eventually still fold. So what I'm seeing here is this this gap

Kim Clark:

of say and do, where we'll say that we stand with the

Kim Clark:

community, but we're not able to withstand the pushback that, you

Kim Clark:

know, because we don't have the legs underneath that we don't

Kim Clark:

have the strength, positionally from a reputation standpoint and

Kim Clark:

the work behind it, to really have the teeth to show that we

Kim Clark:

understand what we're saying. And this is how we're backing it

Kim Clark:

up. And we're going to withstand this storm, if you will, and get

Kim Clark:

through it and continue to be with the community that we are

Kim Clark:

advocating for. Because these folks are our customers, these

Kim Clark:

folks are our employees, and we are going to stand with them and

Kim Clark:

withstand any pressure to create a division between us and this

Kim Clark:

community in our customer and employee base. So there's

Kim Clark:

there's a great opportunity for brands to actually withstand and

Kim Clark:

not allow the division on their watch. You're a DI strategist,

Kim Clark:

you've talked about equitable impact. And there's a lot of

Kim Clark:

folks who are interested in di measurement, that was something

Kim Clark:

else that you mentioned, as well. So if you could help us

Kim Clark:

kind of understand, as a DI strategist, what do you see as

Kim Clark:

the role of communications? How do you help communications

Kim Clark:

further equitable outcomes? And do you measure it? How do you

Kim Clark:

and if so, how do you measure it?

Unknown:

Great questions. So yeah, communications is actually

Unknown:

a really, really fundamental part of, you know, DDI strategy

Unknown:

and rollout. And oftentimes, I think communications, it's

Unknown:

required throughout the entire process, but where it becomes

Unknown:

really, really crucial, is that last piece where, hey, you know,

Unknown:

and data, I think, kind of flows through this as well. So the way

Unknown:

that I think about this, and the way that, you know, I've done

Unknown:

this work is, you start by evaluating where you're at, you

Unknown:

can't make progress, if you don't know, what to benchmark

Unknown:

to, and what you're working with what the underlying issues are.

Unknown:

And that's often the time where you first start looking at the

Unknown:

numbers. Right? Okay, so we can say that, you know, everyone's

Unknown:

happy working here, or that we have a great team, and we all

Unknown:

get along super well. But when you look, you know, by the

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numbers, where's that representation? You know, where

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are your underrepresented employees? Are they all coming

Unknown:

in a second year talent and then leaving by their third year and

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cycling through? You know, are they? Are they in decision

Unknown:

making roles? How much, you know, effect are they able to

Unknown:

have on the culture are their voices heard when they have

Unknown:

issues. And I think really looking at kind of the structure

Unknown:

of an organization is a great way to benchmark and to work

Unknown:

forward. Especially when you're thinking about, you know, D, I

Unknown:

think can be very intangible at times, like, how do you put a

Unknown:

metric on someone's feelings, right, but you can survey them.

Unknown:

And you can say, this is what we're hearing right? Now, let's

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come back. And it may not even be you know, as a consultant, I

Unknown:

may not be there in two years, when that survey takes place

Unknown:

again, and they have done the work and they have, you know,

Unknown:

invested time and money and been patient to see that follow

Unknown:

through. But if you come back in two years, you should be able to

Unknown:

see, hey, we had 46% of our folks saying that they feel when

Unknown:

they raise a concern that it is taken seriously. And you know,

Unknown:

things are being done about it. Two years later, you should see

Unknown:

a noticeable increase. And so I think being, you know, realistic

Unknown:

about hey, what can we measure, and then doing everything you

Unknown:

can to get there is a really important piece of this on it's

Unknown:

often overlooked. And once you understand where you're at, then

Unknown:

you build a strategy for how to get where you want to go. And

Unknown:

that's where, you know, communications becomes really

Unknown:

important because you can, you know, work with senior leaders

Unknown:

build as much strategy as you want. But if they don't have the

Unknown:

tools and the change management, the implementation, you know, to

Unknown:

really get this on the ground and get everyone on board. Like

Unknown:

they're not the one you know, senior leaders are not the

Unknown:

people executing on this you need your managers to understand

Unknown:

and be on board they need to be consistently informed and and

Unknown:

you know, able to have a two way communication channel of I

Unknown:

understand this is where we're trying to go. I'm having some

Unknown:

issues here. How do I work through this? They need You

Unknown:

know, playbooks, they need scripts, they need to be able to

Unknown:

talk to this to their own employees. And I think that

Unknown:

that's where this, you know, communications is really kind of

Unknown:

the make or break point. Because strategy is very pie in the sky.

Unknown:

And we can have the best ideas to make everything perfect. But

Unknown:

without that change management piece, it's not going to go

Unknown:

anywhere.

Kim Clark:

Great point. Great point. You were talking about

Kim Clark:

working with leaders and executives, then when we tie

Kim Clark:

that to your piece within the conscious communicator book, but

Kim Clark:

also your experience in working as a political strategist, etc.

Kim Clark:

What are some of the similarities and differences

Kim Clark:

between the politicians and how strat strategic messaging is

Kim Clark:

used in order to garner votes and ultimately meet the goal of

Kim Clark:

having that person that candidate elected? Versus is

Kim Clark:

there? Is there any kind of similarity or a difference when

Kim Clark:

we're talking about our CEO and engaging our CEO? Are there

Kim Clark:

things that we can learn from the political messaging strategy

Kim Clark:

process that we can apply to engage our CEOs tapping into

Kim Clark:

diversity, equity, inclusion and communicating about it and the

Kim Clark:

values that are important to our employee in our customer? Base?

Unknown:

Yes, absolutely. I think there's a lot we can learn

Unknown:

from political, you know, communications, and just the way

Unknown:

that they operate these campaigns. But, you know, coming

Unknown:

into that world, I think the piece that took me aback was

Unknown:

just how much dedication there is, how much time is invested?

Unknown:

You know, this is, these are months long research projects,

Unknown:

sometimes even, you know, years not. It's not like, oh, yeah,

Unknown:

just we think this sounds good. We think this will resonate

Unknown:

with, hopefully, the people are going to vote for us, you know,

Unknown:

there's such an investment into time, you know, money and time

Unknown:

that goes into discovering how they can most effectively use

Unknown:

messaging to reach their desired outcomes. And then once they

Unknown:

figure that out, they're very, very strategic on not only you

Unknown:

know, understanding our audiences is many different

Unknown:

groups combined with their own, you know, their own values,

Unknown:

their own opinions, and how do we, you know, best reach those

Unknown:

different groups to gain buy in from everyone that is on the

Unknown:

table for us. And I think that, you know, oftentimes we see

Unknown:

companies investing that same time, those same resources into

Unknown:

what what would be considered market research. But mostly when

Unknown:

it comes to, you know, finding product market fit, or driving

Unknown:

sales. And where companies oftentimes diverge from

Unknown:

political communications, is when it comes to social impact

Unknown:

issues, you know, whether we're calling that ESG, the AI doesn't

Unknown:

matter. We've often seen, you know, especially since 2020,

Unknown:

companies are kind of rushing to put something out saying

Unknown:

whatever sounds good reacting, as opposed to being proactive

Unknown:

and showing that this is a long term commitment for them, you

Unknown:

know, not laying the groundwork to say, here's what we've done

Unknown:

so far. And this is why we care. And this is why we're releasing

Unknown:

this statement. And not being consistent. It's kind of oh, we

Unknown:

said it, that should be enough. And then then everyone forget

Unknown:

more

Kim Clark:

do you want from us? We said it. Exactly. And I

Kim Clark:

really appreciate that, because that's part of the habit is

Kim Clark:

being habitual, not just on the surface level of talking about

Kim Clark:

it, but actually showing the work because one of the one of

Kim Clark:

our superpowers as communicators is visibility can drive

Kim Clark:

accountability.

Unknown:

Yeah, exactly. And I think that, you know, it's, it's

Unknown:

sad, because what we've seen as a result of the way companies

Unknown:

have handled this so far, is you know, they're releasing

Unknown:

performative communications that at times even contradicts the

Unknown:

company values and their track record completely. But

Unknown:

ultimately, you know, you can get backlash from your your

Unknown:

customers, your employees because they see through this

Unknown:

and not only have you lowered, you know, their trust and their

Unknown:

confidence in the validity of the work you say you're doing or

Unknown:

the causes you say you care about, but it's also a discredit

Unknown:

to you know, ESG and dei work as a whole people see it as

Unknown:

Toothless when over and over. This is the trend

Kim Clark:

I really am so glad that you pointed out. While

Kim Clark:

everything that you've been saying in specifically, the

Kim Clark:

investment of political campaigns on research, what do

Kim Clark:

people care about? How do we message to that? What's gonna

Kim Clark:

win us that election. So if our executives, if our CEO was that

Kim Clark:

politician, to, you know, align with employees and customers at

Kim Clark:

that level, the level of research and understanding our

Kim Clark:

employees and what's important to our employees, what's

Kim Clark:

important from a values based because that's what you're

Kim Clark:

talking about is the values of this of the base that they're

Kim Clark:

trying to move, persuade influenced vote for that person.

Kim Clark:

It's an it's like, any relationship where every day we

Kim Clark:

need to have them choose their partner every day, we want

Kim Clark:

employees to choose that job. And every time that we're doing

Kim Clark:

political campaign messaging, we want that person to choose

Kim Clark:

ultimately, that candidate when it comes time to vote, but that

Kim Clark:

we're, I haven't seen a lot of that Mariam where there's this

Kim Clark:

level of investment in understanding that we have to

Kim Clark:

understand our employees so well, to understand what's

Kim Clark:

genuinely important to them, the months of research, the

Kim Clark:

dedication, the the importance of understanding, the

Kim Clark:

connection, which is the objective of communication is

Kim Clark:

that connection between sender and receiver, we're seeing it

Kim Clark:

from a political standpoint, they understand what's at stake,

Kim Clark:

millions of dollars are spent, right. But we don't see a

Kim Clark:

similar commitment and process within companies, that to your

Kim Clark:

point, we could really learn from

Unknown:

under percent, and I think it's actually, you know,

Unknown:

employees, you know, that, that is that is what the value of a

Unknown:

company, you know, they lose their employees, they have

Unknown:

nothing. But I think, you know, especially for folks who if

Unknown:

you're expecting anyone in your company, to actually feel

Unknown:

committed to what you're saying, and to maybe even be in charge

Unknown:

of rolling it out and doing some, some work for you, so that

Unknown:

it isn't just, you know, hey, a statement, and then that's it.

Unknown:

Those people need extreme, you know, they need to be bought in

Unknown:

like no other, they need to see that you're invested, they need

Unknown:

to see that this goes all the way up to the top. And you also

Unknown:

need to be thinking about, you know, different the different

Unknown:

audiences that you have, and the information that they need a

Unknown:

different cadences to be successful and to be kept in the

Unknown:

loop. It's not the same for everyone, and you are going to

Unknown:

be talking to, you know, your customers about the work that

Unknown:

you're doing for black lives matter what have you very

Unknown:

differently than the folks who you're expecting to launch some

Unknown:

type of, you know, campaign around and have the company say

Unknown:

this is the work we're doing and expect them to execute on it.

Kim Clark:

You know, obviously, we are in quite a historical

Kim Clark:

moments, were given the social context, you were just talking

Kim Clark:

about that referring to the climate that we're in, where do

Kim Clark:

you see communications needing to go? And understanding the

Kim Clark:

importance of of communications as a key component of any kind

Kim Clark:

of successful efforts of diversity, equity inclusion

Kim Clark:

within organizations? Where do you? Where do you see thing, you

Kim Clark:

know, organizational communications needing to go in

Kim Clark:

order to show up and step up? In this incredible time in history?

Unknown:

Yeah, you know, I think we have started seeing some

Unknown:

companies really reflect and take a look at themselves and

Unknown:

say, you know, what, instead of just releasing a statement on

Unknown:

some headline that we know, everyone is upset about and

Unknown:

expects to say something on, you know, how have we either

Unknown:

contributed to the solution or the problem, you know, and

Unknown:

owning that and really saying, hey, you know, if we're speaking

Unknown:

about LGBTQ rights, then, you know, if we need to look at

Unknown:

ourselves and say, Do we have a track record, to contributing,

Unknown:

you know, we're lobbying for candidates, we're the ones

Unknown:

passing these measures, and, you know, really kind of taking a

Unknown:

step back, taking the PR lens off of things, and just being

Unknown:

real with people because at this point, you know, trust is key,

Unknown:

and like you said, I think there, there has been a lot of

Unknown:

trust lost just in the way that these instances have been

Unknown:

handled by companies. And it's really time to just say, you

Unknown:

know, let's, let's just be real, we know that we have things to

Unknown:

work on. And then speaking about what you're planning on doing.

Unknown:

And, you know, I will say, I think this is a difficult time,

Unknown:

given, you know, being in the Bay Area, we know, tech

Unknown:

companies have laid off, you know, 10s of 1000s of employees.

Unknown:

We're market conditions are kind of uncertain. And I think it's

Unknown:

understandable to not constantly have results to show. And that's

Unknown:

why it's even more important to just say, okay, you know, maybe

Unknown:

we have had to pause the work that we were so public about,

Unknown:

and so proud of when we launched in 2021. But being honest, and

Unknown:

saying, you know, what, this is where we're at, here's where we

Unknown:

have to go, here's maybe why we haven't been able to make

Unknown:

change, or, you know, here's maybe even we have to lay off

Unknown:

our di t give the reasoning, talk about, you know, what are

Unknown:

we going to do once we're able to, and seeing this as as not

Unknown:

just a transactional relationship, but something that

Unknown:

you have to invest in, to regain folks trust and to get them to

Unknown:

see, nobody's perfect, but that the effort is there, and it's

Unknown:

real.

Kim Clark:

Great, thank you so much. There's quite a few things

Kim Clark:

that went through my head as you were answering different kinds

Kim Clark:

of conversations I've had with clients. And where I will go is

Kim Clark:

towards something that we're ramping into, which is the next

Kim Clark:

United States presidential election, where there are

Kim Clark:

candidates who have created a narrative, tapping into the

Kim Clark:

values of their base, using language that creates division

Kim Clark:

creates an us versus them, you know, language such as work, you

Kim Clark:

know, being very committed to anti woke culture, when woke

Kim Clark:

isn't a thing, you know, So language is being weaponized in

Kim Clark:

such a way that it is manufacturing problems, and

Kim Clark:

stirring people up firing people up all for the political gain of

Kim Clark:

the person getting additional, you know, these candidates,

Kim Clark:

additional power. And so it's often you know, said that when

Kim Clark:

candidates invent a culture war, or tap into a low lying culture

Kim Clark:

war, and then bring it to the surface and add a lot of fuel to

Kim Clark:

the fire, they don't have any other kind of political plan, or

Kim Clark:

social impact kind of plan. What are we doing about jobs,

Kim Clark:

climate, health care, you know, what we're going to talk about

Kim Clark:

not having bathrooms available for transgender people, you

Kim Clark:

know, and that's, that's where the millions of dollars of

Kim Clark:

donations are going to and that these are the biggest problems

Kim Clark:

is making sure that there's not drag queens near kids, which is

Kim Clark:

a classic political move is like, we have to protect the

Kim Clark:

kids that Stokes this fear. So language is being weaponized in

Kim Clark:

a political system that is driving division within our

Kim Clark:

society, but also within our businesses. So it's an

Kim Clark:

interesting time to just not just watch, we have to do

Kim Clark:

something. And I'd love to hear if you have some advice for

Kim Clark:

organizations who are on the effect or the impact impacting

Kim Clark:

side of these, the rhetoric of this narrative, where I know as

Kim Clark:

a dei communicator when someone says, you know, everyone keeps

Kim Clark:

talking about they don't want this woke culture and I said, it

Kim Clark:

doesn't exist. It's it's, it's an illusion. And so this battle

Kim Clark:

of words that we're seeing play out created from a political

Kim Clark:

standpoint for political power and gain, but organizations are

Kim Clark:

to your earlier point, reactive right now, they are woefully

Kim Clark:

unprepared for handling the narrative and regaining the

Kim Clark:

narrative to get to that point of withstanding, if you will, do

Kim Clark:

you have any advice on that as we enter into probably the most

Kim Clark:

contentious presidential election in recent history?

Kim Clark:

Yeah,

Unknown:

thank you for that. It's a very interesting

Unknown:

question. You know, typically I'm in you know, kind of

Unknown:

processing Oh, like, what should if I was still in politics, you

Unknown:

know, where do I think the messaging and where do I say If

Unknown:

there are missed opportunities that need to be addressed, and

Unknown:

people don't usually ask about, you know, hey, as a as a private

Unknown:

sector, you know, business, how should I be responding to these

Unknown:

things? And I think it does go back to looking at yourself, you

Unknown:

know, we've, we've had this conversation of, we're seeing

Unknown:

these companies, with all these statements. Meanwhile there, if

Unknown:

you go and look at their, you know, lobbying their donation

Unknown:

history, we know, not only are they not doing anything for the

Unknown:

cause they're speaking out, they're actually a part of the

Unknown:

problem. And I think that companies like that need to take

Unknown:

a hard look at themselves. And there, there may be companies

Unknown:

who say, you know, what, we're taking a political stance on

Unknown:

this, we donate to these candidates, that's the values

Unknown:

that we're going to uphold. And that should be a very clear sign

Unknown:

to anyone who is or is planning on working there. To say, Are

Unknown:

these my values is this an environment I want to be in?

Unknown:

Maybe not. And knowing that, you know, out the gate before

Unknown:

accepting that offer, I think for you know, companies who

Unknown:

maybe have their heart in the right place, but are nervous to

Unknown:

take a stand. It's really, like you said, it's about stepping

Unknown:

back and realizing that basic language has been weaponized.

Unknown:

basic human rights have been, you know, turned into partisan

Unknown:

issues. And you don't have to, you know, choose Democrat or

Unknown:

Republican, as a company, to be able to take a stand on these

Unknown:

things. If you care about your employees, you know, what we

Unknown:

always hear all these companies have values like, trust, and,

Unknown:

you know, compassion, and inclusion, or even going so far

Unknown:

to say, we're a family, which is its own thing. But you know, I

Unknown:

think,

Kim Clark:

yeah, I have thoughts on that as well, for another

Kim Clark:

time.

Unknown:

Watching it, that's a healthy alternative. But I think

Unknown:

that, you know, the, a lot of these companies have been around

Unknown:

for decades, maybe even centuries, and the fundamental

Unknown:

company values shouldn't be compromised, because they don't

Unknown:

want to take a stand on a partisan issue, period. If you

Unknown:

care about your employees, and you live up to your company's

Unknown:

mission, and everything that you've always said you stand

Unknown:

for, you shouldn't have to worry about that you should be there

Unknown:

to defend and create space where everyone at your company feels

Unknown:

like they belong, you know, feels represented, and and

Unknown:

doesn't have to worry.

Kim Clark:

Yes, completely, completely agree. So, in your

Kim Clark:

opinion, from your perspective, what does communicating like you

Kim Clark:

give a damn look like or sound like?

Unknown:

Yeah, communicating like you give a damn to me, I

Unknown:

think it falls along the same lines of everything that we need

Unknown:

speaking about. Again, it's, you know, building long term

Unknown:

investment, maybe communicating about it all the time, but you

Unknown:

have built, whatever it takes to get to the impact, you want to

Unknown:

see, if you're saying you care about something, let's see what

Unknown:

you've done to get to get to a better place doesn't mean that

Unknown:

you've solved the world's issues. But you know, we need

Unknown:

some continuity. And maybe, you know, George Floyd is not in the

Unknown:

headlines any longer. Maybe, you know, BLM is no longer as trendy

Unknown:

as it was. But if you said that you were going to reinvest in

Unknown:

black communities, you should still be doing that. And you

Unknown:

should still be, you know, the work should be there. You should

Unknown:

keep people updated. Even if it doesn't mean that you're

Unknown:

constantly releasing press statements, because it's no

Unknown:

longer a hot topic. But it doesn't matter if people are

Unknown:

watching. That's the point. And I think that's what makes it

Unknown:

authentic. And also the habitual piece, right, communicating what

Unknown:

exactly you're doing, and the impact that you're having both

Unknown:

internal and external audiences. And like I said, you know,

Unknown:

taking accountability, and just being real about, here's where

Unknown:

we're at, we're not perfect, this is not for PR, this is not

Unknown:

to, you know, see a cover asses. We're being honest about our

Unknown:

flaws and the good things that we're doing, because we care

Unknown:

about this issue. And it's not about making us as a company

Unknown:

look good. It's about the people we think we stand behind.

Kim Clark:

And that's really how we want the depth model to be

Kim Clark:

used is to ground people in his authenticity. And the T tailored

Kim Clark:

is specific to every organization's core

Kim Clark:

capabilities, so everybody can do something to you. earlier

Kim Clark:

point, you're not you don't you can't solve all the things. But

Kim Clark:

what is your business? What is your industry? Where do you have

Kim Clark:

influence? Where do you have innovation? There, that's where

Kim Clark:

you go, that's what you're about. And that's going to is

Kim Clark:

going to make you not only stand but withstand, and I loved your

Kim Clark:

examples. Thank you. So there's so much more I could talk to you

Kim Clark:

about, maybe we'll have you back. Because, you know,

Kim Clark:

especially as we you know, build up to November 2024. But, you

Kim Clark:

know, so how can your fascinating you're into

Kim Clark:

research? I'm always fascinated by research and what people are

Kim Clark:

what what the insights are from different kinds of research,

Kim Clark:

your dei strategists, where can people can follow you and

Kim Clark:

continue to learn from you

Unknown:

100% I am on LinkedIn, Miriam Khalifa, just type it in.

Unknown:

And you will find me there, you know, talking about the

Unknown:

importance of communications, going off about you know,

Unknown:

current events, new technology, you name it, but very much

Unknown:

through a DI lens and looking at, you know, how is this

Unknown:

impacting the folks that maybe aren't in the conversation, and

Unknown:

maybe are being overlooked by all the hustle and bustle. And

Unknown:

you can also read my Pima conscious communicator? If you

Unknown:

don't have the book already? Go get a copy. Yeah. I mean,

Unknown:

they're on these issues, you know, from Kim, and other

Unknown:

communications and VDI experts, just a wealth of knowledge. So

Unknown:

what are you waiting for?

Kim Clark:

Absolutely, I couldn't said it better myself,

Kim Clark:

you really provide a very unique and very valuable perspective to

Kim Clark:

the book. So thank you, again, for your contribution. And for

Kim Clark:

trusting me, because you had no idea really what the book was

Kim Clark:

about, but you wrote for it, and you trusted that it would be in

Kim Clark:

context of your work. And, and I hope people really see that the

Kim Clark:

highlight of your work and your contribution to the book,

Kim Clark:

overall, really, is a tangible way of how communicators can

Kim Clark:

start implementing this work within the organization. So

Kim Clark:

thank you very much for that contribution.

Unknown:

Thank you so much, Kim. It's it's been an incredible

Unknown:

opportunity to be a part of this work and, you know, to hear from

Unknown:

all of these voices, and to see some real momentum. You know, a

Unknown:

lot of folks this is kind of a hidden issue, and it really is

Unknown:

so important to get where we want to go.

Kim Clark:

I'll echo my daughter whenever she hits the high score

Kim Clark:

on the video game she likes. Let's go. Thank you, Kim.