The following organizations have authenticity at the root of who they are and provide support for like-minded individuals. Each one provides a unique way to gain inspiration from others who are on the same journey as you. Listening to each other’s stories, even stories of failure, provides a learning opportunity. Authenticity takes intention and work when building businesses. It requires digging deep and exposing ourselves to discomfort, but also to the wisdom of others.
Tugboat Institute
The Tugboat Institute is committed to supporting the leadership and teams of Evergreen companies. While they decline to call themselves experts, they provide support to companies through recognition, curation, and resources.
Evergreen companies are private, profitable, stand out in their industry, and have the intention of making a long-term impact on the world. These businesses prioritize purpose over profit. They abide by the 7 Ps of purpose, perseverance, people first, private, profit, paced growth, and pragmatic innovation.
Preference for membership to the Tugboat Institute is given to those nominated by an existing member, however, any company can fill out the pre-application. If you are not yet ready to take the leap into certification and membership, the Evergreen Journal provides plenty of resources to learn more about being an Evergreen company.
FuckUp Nights
The name is bold, but for good reason!
It all started in Mexico City. A group of friends were having a drink together (maybe they had one too many!) and realized that they were tired of only hearing success stories. Spontaneously, they decided to share their failures. The gathering was so inspiring that they wanted to do it again! So they invited a group of friends and Fuckup Nights was born.
Turns out, people want to hear stories of failure. The Fuckup Nights movement has spread across the world rapidly. There are now chapters on every single continent (except Antarctica, naturally) and in over 300 cities.
If you’re yearning to be more authentic, this is a great way to become more comfortable with owning your failures. Look for a meeting in a city near you. There are also options to create chapters specific to your company or to host a private event. Each meeting features 3-4 speakers who share their stories of professional failure in 7 minutes with 10 slides.
In addition to their events, Fuckup Nights offers an extensive video library, blog, and their research arm, Fuckup Knowledge.
WHY Discovery Course
“Fulfillment comes when we live our lives on purpose.” When we take time to discover our WHY. Simon Sinek, the author of Start With Why, offers a course grounded in science to help you discover and put into words what truly inspires you.
Fulfillment is a right, not a privilege according to Sinek. When you contribute to something that matters to you, that is bigger than yourself, you feel fulfilled. Balance is key to this fulfillment by bringing clarity of purpose, discipline in how we do things and consistency in what we do. This course will enable you to articulate your why in clear terms and understand what decisions can be taken to contribute to your purpose, cause, or belief.
Small Giants Community
Inspired by Bo Burlingham’s book Small Giants, Paul Spiegelman created the Small Giants Community, bringing together like-hearted business leaders who put people and values over profits. The Small Giants Community is a place where leaders share stories, learn from each other, and generate ideas they can integrate into their own organizations. There are three primary ways to be a part of the Community: the year long Leadership Academy teaching leaders how to become purpose-driven leaders, the annual Summit bringing together small giants to share stories, attend workshops, and learn from each other, and virtual peer groups providing mentorship, shared resources and peer support. Additionally, the Small Giants website offers a wealth of resources, including their blog, the Growing with Purpose Podcast and their series of ebooks.
Building businesses energized by a strong sense of purpose, and a deeply felt responsibility to your employees takes dedication and work. We’d like to help you grow your company and make a difference. Get in touch with the 100Ninjas team.
Founder at 100Ninjas.
Bananagram Master. Smoothie Mixologist. Seeker of the cozy. Art lover.