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Whats the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word personal branding? Does it make your mind brim with possibilityor make you roll your eyes? Weve been conditioned to think of personal branding as the domain of influencers, LinkedIn gurus, or people who refer to themselves in the third person. But what if your personal brand wasnt an online gimmick? What if its something deeper, an insight into what makes you valuable and engaging? Brands, especially personal ones, are built on trust and positive association. Think about celebrities. Since the dawn of marketing, companies have used them to sell products. Whether its athletes launching shoe lines or musicians turning into moguls, its not the endorsement itself that holds power: its the intangible trust theyve cultivated over time. The same dynamic is available to you, too. When done well, a personal brand transcends your current role or business. It shapes how people describe you when youre not in the room. It opens doors you didnt know existed. It creates compounding returns in credibility, connections, and opportunities. And in todays AI-driven age, where digital presence speaks before you do, its important to get it right. According to LinkedIns annual global talent trends report, about eight in ten executives plan to hire this year. Their top priority? Soft skills: problem-solving, critical thinking, and team leadership. Where do you think decision-makers look for evidence of these? Online, in your ideas, interactions, and network. So, here are my top three ways to start cultivating your secret growth leveryour personal brand. Treat Your Online Presence as your 24/7 Résumé If someone Googled you right now, would they find something that makes them say, We need that person? This isnt about chasing likes or follower counts. Its about being credible and memorable. Whether its LinkedIn, Substack, or your website, people are forming impressions of you based on what they findor dont. Engagement isnt the only metric. In my own career, I once went for a job interview, heard nothing back, and four years later was invited to coffee by the same person. It turns out they had silently followed my work the whole time. You never know whos watching. Your digital footprint is your passive nudge to the world: Im here, Im an expert at this, and I care. Have a Memorable Answer to What Do You Do? Most people dread this question. Dont default to something bland like Im a strategist. Thats a missed opportunity. Instead, start with your strengths, link them to what you do, and finish with what you care about. For example, heres how I pitch myself: Let me start with what I am good at, what I do, and why. I build trust quickly across all groups. I also have a commercial mind that grows companies, but understands how human behavior gets in the way. With my skills, I build great places to work which are aligned and profitable, with a high-performing culture. Smart companies hire the best over bias, and that decision creates a ripple effect, reducing inequality and domestic violence. See how I am bidding for connection, then a transaction, but also outlining my expertise? I care about their profit, and I share why I do. Now thats more interesting than Im a strategist, right? Build Beyond Your Usual Network Once upon a time, I believed that if I worked hard, my workplace would see my brilliance. But people are busy. Exhausted, even. If youre only known inside your current bubble, youre invisible elsewhere. This is where weak ties become powerful. Sociologist Mark Granovetters well-known paper explains how opportunities often come from acquaintances, rather than your inner circle. Why? Because they connect you to different networks. When I pivoted into the technology sector, I knew no one. But I started showing up eager to learn, at events, online, in conversations. I carried a standout briefcase that sparked curiosity. Eventually, I was invited to speak, something Id never done before. If Id stayed in my old circles, those doors would never have opened. Yes, it can be awkward. But over time, youll see how generous and wonderful people can be. You dont need to do all these things perfectly. Just start. Trust builds over time. And consistency is your compound interest. Ask yourself this: if someone else with a stronger personal brand, but half your capability, gets the opportunity you wanted, how will you feel? It happens all the time. Weve all seen average products with better marketing outperform the good stuff. So, if youre job hunting, pitching, or looking to grow, remember: youre the product. And your brand? Its the story that sells.
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E-Commerce
“I can’t believe it only took a week.” That’s what a nonprofit leader will say in 2030 after launching an AI-powered platform that reaches millions of people. Not through a huge team or a multi-million dollar grant, but with a handful of staff and volunteers, and the right AI strategy. This isn’t the melody of the future; it’s already happening. Organizations that start preparing now will hold a massive advantage, because tomorrow’s AI-native nonprofits won’t just operate faster. They’ll solve problems at a scale we’ve never seen before. The gap between AI-curious and AI-transformed Walk into most nonprofit Zoom calls today and you’ll find teams experimenting with ChatGPT for grant writing, and maybe a Zapier automation connecting their CRM to their email platform. A recent survey showed that nonprofits may be incorporating AI more quickly than private companies, as 58% of nonprofits are using it for communications (versus 47% for B2C companies). Also, 68% of nonprofits are leveraging AI for data analysis, higher than the 64% of B2C brands doing so. But there’s a canyon-sized gap between using AI tools and actually transforming how an organization works. Real transformation looks different. Take Operation Fistula, which uses predictive analytics to identify women most at risk of obstetric fistula in underserved regions. Its AI model helped target interventions five times more efficiently than traditional outreach methods. Or consider Amnesty International’s use of machine learning for satellite image analysis in Darfurtasks that previously took weeks now take hours. Yet for every success story, there are challenges that organizations must navigate carefully. Privacy concerns around beneficiary data, the digital divide that can exclude vulnerable populations, and the risk of algorithmic bias require responsible and ethical implementation strategies. 3 capabilities will define the future nonprofit workforce Imagine its 2030, and youre stepping into a social impact organization that has fully embraced AI. Not just as a set of tools, but as a new way of working, and built from the ground up with AI at its core. The most effective nonprofit teams wont be split into tech versus nontech silos. Instead, they’ll be organized around fluid, AI-enabled capabilities: Nontech specialists use general-purpose AI tools to enhance their core work-program officers who leverage AI for research synthesis, fundraisers who use it for donor analysis, and communications teams that employ it for multilingual content creation. Soft-tech builders understand workflows deeply enough to create lightweight automations within their domains. Think of a disaster response coordinator who builds an AI agent to monitor social media for crisis signals, or a volunteer coordinator who creates automated matching systems for skills-based volunteering. Tech orchestrators maintain the AI infrastructure, curate tool stacks, and develop the custom solutions that connect digital capabilities to real-world impact. These aren’t job titlesthey’re capabilities that successful organizations distribute across teams, empowering programs, fundraising, and operations alike. 5 archetypes emerging in the nonprofit landscape Looking across the sector and at more than 2,000 nonprofits registered at Tech To The Rescue (which includes over 100 AI projects), organizations are clustering into five distinct approaches to AI adoption: Pioneers are building AI-native impact organizations from the ground up. Tarjimly exemplifies this approach. Their machine learning platform scaled refugee translation services from hundreds to tens of thousands of conversations per month, serving 10 times more people with the same operational resources. Scalers are established organizations undergoing coordinated AI transformation, with dedicated roles for AI integration and systematic process redesign. Explorers are experimenting with custom toolsAI-powered demand forecasting, automated volunteer scheduling, predictive analytics for program targetingbut without strategic integration across departments. Starters represent the majority of the sector: organizations just beginning to use general-purpose AI tools but lacking internal structure or capacity for deeper transformation. Community-based organizations remain focused on direct human relationships, slower to adopt AI, but still benefitting through partnerships with tech-enabled organizations. Each archetype faces the same fundamental question: What processes to automate, and where to stay deeply human? The road to AI-native nonprofits The first wave of transformation is herenonprofits that recognized early how AI could fundamentally change their ability to serve vulnerable populations and unlock institutional knowledge at scale. Jacaranda Health demonstrates this approach: their AI-powered PROMPTS platform handles over 7,000 daily SMS messages from mothers across Sub-Saharan Africa, providing personalized maternal health guidance at just $0.74 per mother while identifying high-risk situations and triaging them to human agents within minutes. Ashoka transformed decades of institutional knowledge through AI. With nearly 20,000 pages of data from 4,000 social entrepreneur selection processes, they developed an AI tool that enables any staff member in 30 countries to explore their vast repository of social innovation insights through simple searches, rather than complex syntactic queries. Imagine the potential of organizations designed from the ground up for an AI realitywhere personalization, prediction, and automation aren’t added later, but form the DNA of every solution from day one. The implementation reality This transformation does not happen without aligned incentives and a serious acknowledgment of challenges and risks. Smart funders are shifting their approach, recognizing that organizations equipped to leverage AI effectively will create exponential impact per dollar invested. This means funding not just outcomes, but organizational capacity to transform: process standardization, team upskilling, and experimentation cyclesto ensure cross-disciplinary teams navigate the evolving AI governance landscape, manage cybersecurity risks, and ensure algorithmic fairness while maintaining community trust and data protection standards. For nonprofit leaders, the message is clear: Waiting for &8220;safe” templates is a luxury you can’t afford. Early movers aren’t just gaining operational advantagesthey’re setting the standards for what ambitious, AI-enabled impact looks like in their sectors. The future isn’t about AI replacing nonprofits; it’s about nonprofits reinventing themselves to operate at the scale our most pressing problems require. Climate change, inequality, and global health challenges need solutions that can reach millions, not thousands. The organizations that start building AI-native capabilities now will be the ones solving problems we can barely imagine today. If youre a funder or high-net-worth individual looking for leveragethis is it. AI-native nonprofits dont just need money; they need smart capital that accelerates experimentation, funds infrastructure, and backs the teams already proving whats possible. The next big leap in social impact will most probably come from funding the impact builders. Jacek Siadkowski is cofounder and CEO of Tech To The Rescue
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E-Commerce
Five years ago, we werent so divided as a business community on supporting a broad range of initiatives. However, since January, many U.S. companies have rolled back their DEI programs, including Chipotle, Comcast, Disney, GE, GM, Google, Intel, and Pepsi. Other companies, such as Nike and JPMorganChase are delaying the publication of their impact reports. Even an industry tentpole event, like the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, this year was largely mum on DEI, when just three years ago it was the topic du jour. Reasonings ranged from legal challenges and internal pushback to economic factors and political scrutiny from the Trump administration. In the past, there was an unspoken policy that most businesses dont get politicala sentiment I dont disagree with. But the hard truth is the modern workforce is aware of whats going on in the world, and they see acquiescence or silence as being complicit. Some consumers have expressed their dissatisfaction through boycotts that have impacted major retailers such as Target, which saw a drop in sales and stock prices following its DEI rollback. Beyond the economic repercussions, companies need to realize that these sudden about-faces lead to uncertainty for their stakeholders. Instead of changing their values during times of chaos, companies need to stand true to their clarity of mission, culture, and communication. Clarity of missionstay true to your North Star At a time when organizations are being attacked from any side, companies must define what they stand for. Every ship must have a rudder and a course for a successful voyage. Thats even more important in a stormand make no mistake, we are in a storm. Its easy to get lost in balance sheets from quarter to quarterparticularly when budgets get tight. But organizations need to zoom out in terms of their business timeline. Administrations are temporary, but the goal is to court customers for life. Take Apple for example. The company has maintained its commitment that business should be a force for good by focusing on innovation, collaboration, and serving others. We believe that business, at its best, serves the public good, empowers people around the world, and binds us together as never before, said Apple CEO Tim Cook. Rather than shying away from various initiatives, Apple uses a portion of its investor relations page to highlight its work on education, accessibility, DEI, and the environment. And Apples investors agree with the companys course. Despite pressure from a conservative think tank, Apple shareholders in February rejected a proposal to eliminate the companys DEI program. It can be prudent to update methods or change tact, but companies should not change their destination or values. Cook conceded that as the legal landscape evolves, Apple may need to change some policies to comply, but the companys North Star of dignity and respect for everyone would remain. Every companys North Star is a little different, but consumers are watching for it. Clarity of cultureempower your employees and consumers The clearest way to keep your company aligned on values is maintaining its distinct culture; an organizations culture is one of the key experiential outcomes of its stated mission. While some companies are pulling back their DEI activities for fear of government or political retaliation, I would argue that customer and stakeholder sentiment is more impactful in the long run. For certain companies, like Ben & Jerrys, their customers are clear in supporting DEI initiatives. Other companies, like AB inBev pulled back its activities after the backlash and boycott following Bud Lights marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. More recently, we see companies such as Delta Airlines maintaining their DEI policies, not just because of customers, but because of their talent and business pipeline. The company has always maintained that its inclusive policies have led to business growth, talent retention, and customer loyalty. Deltas website includes updated employment demographics and showcases the work it does to nurture aviators from underrepresented groups. In response to political backlash, Delta doubled down earlier this year, maintaining its steadfast support of its DEI efforts. The company highlights the importance of a company reflecting the backgrounds of the people it servesbecause businesses dont just operate in America or in red states or blue states. And business results underscore that distinction. Companies with higher DEI rates are more likely to outperform their competitors in profitability. Clarity of communicationtalk the talk while walking the walk Through all this turbulence and uncertainty, its integral to business success for companies collaborate with their staff and communicate with their customers. Organizations must ensure that what theyre doing is aligned not just with their corporate values, but community values too. Any misalignment must be addressed. And dont be subtle about it. Pick a lane and definitely communicate what youre doing. A clear, bold message leaves no room for misinterpretation and projects a necessary confidence in your business values and goals. Despite not having a corporate public relations team, Costco has been the most vocal example of clear stakeholder communication about its values. Costco maintained the price on its iconic $1.50 hot dog despite inflation causing prices to rise. The move firmly protected the wholesale retailers consumer culture and made customers feel like the company had their back. In January, Costco went viral on social media as the counterpoint to Target when it maintained its DEI policies. And once again, the results prove clearly communicating company values to customers translates to business wins. In addition to maintaining the support of shareholders who dont want the company to bend to activist investors, Costcos sales have continued to climb through the first half of 2025. Justin Tobin is founder and president of Gather.
Category:
E-Commerce
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