Latest / Something Extra / Navigating the Future of Philanthropy w/ Betsy Cohen

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Navigating the Future of Philanthropy w/ Betsy Cohen · Something Extra

• 0:01
  Betsy Cohen: So the field of futurism is usually in the business and the government
• 0:06
  Betsy Cohen: arenas where there are people who are futurists.
• 0:08
  Betsy Cohen: And as a corporate futurist in one of my roles, what your goal is
• 0:12
  Betsy Cohen: to look ahead to see what is happening in the world, what's happening with
• 0:16
  Betsy Cohen: business, what's happening with technology, what's happening with the environment, what's
• 0:20
  Betsy Cohen: happening with new ideas that are coming in the next ten years, and
• 0:24
  Betsy Cohen: then how do you prepare yourself?
• 0:26
  Betsy Cohen: What are the scenarios, and how do you maybe put a little bit of
• 0:29
  Betsy Cohen: money or resources or time into these new ideas that are coming
• 0:33
  Betsy Cohen: so that you are prepared?
• 0:38
  Lisa Nichols: It takes something a little more to lead with impact.
• 0:42
  Lisa Nichols: I'm Lisa Nichols, author of Something Extra, and this podcast
• 0:46
  Lisa Nichols: was inspired by our daughter, Allie, whose additional chromosome has shaped
• 0:50
  Lisa Nichols: how I see people in leadership.
• 0:53
  Lisa Nichols: Each episode features conversations with inspiring leaders from around the world
• 0:57
  Lisa Nichols: about what truly defines how they lead and serve others.
• 1:01
  Lisa Nichols: If you enjoyed today's conversation, please consider leaving a five star
• 1:06
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• 1:06
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• 1:09
  Lisa Nichols: And if you'd like to go deeper, my book, Something Extra, is available on
• 1:13
  Lisa Nichols: Amazon and through other major book retailers.
• 1:17
  Lisa Nichols: I'm thrilled to have Betsy Cohen on the show today.
• 1:19
  Lisa Nichols: Betsy is a philanthropic futurist at the consultancy, Future Good.
• 1:23
  Lisa Nichols: Well, Betsy Cohen, I am so delighted that we can make this work today.
• 1:28
  Lisa Nichols: I just told you, I just I really adore you.
• 1:30
  Lisa Nichols: I just do.
• 1:31
  Lisa Nichols: You are just such an amazing human being, and you've accomplished a lot.
• 1:35
  Lisa Nichols: But more than that, you're just an amazing person and encouraging.
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  Lisa Nichols: And I'm just so excited to have you on the show and get to
• 1:42
  Lisa Nichols: share you with our listeners.
• 1:44
  Betsy Cohen: Wonderful.
• 1:46
  Lisa Nichols: Well, let's talk about this.
• 1:48
  Lisa Nichols: And so you're not originally from Saint Louis.
• 1:50
  Lisa Nichols: You're originally from Chicago.
• 1:52
  Betsy Cohen: I was born in Chicago, but, really, most of my growing up years were
• 1:55
  Betsy Cohen: in Saint Louis.
• 1:56
  Betsy Cohen: I moved here when I was in sixth grade, and my family has been
• 1:59
  Betsy Cohen: here for generations.
• 2:00
  Betsy Cohen: So I really am from here.
• 2:03
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 2:04
  Lisa Nichols: Well, I know your dad was an executive at Sears,
• 2:08
  Lisa Nichols: really, so that makes made sense.
• 2:10
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
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  Lisa Nichols: But you've had multiple careers.
• 2:13
  Lisa Nichols: You've had multiple you had multiple careers within a career at
• 2:18
  Lisa Nichols: at, Ralston.
• 2:20
  Lisa Nichols: You were there for thirty three years.
• 2:21
  Lisa Nichols: You did a whole lot of stuff.
• 2:22
  Lisa Nichols: I wanna talk about that a little bit.
• 2:24
  Lisa Nichols: You know, Mosaic.
• 2:26
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, now you're doing something totally different.
• 2:28
  Lisa Nichols: Yo, Betsy, when somebody asks you today, what do you do, Betsy?
• 2:32
  Lisa Nichols: What do you say?
• 2:35
  Betsy Cohen: Well, I've always been a connector of new ideas and people
• 2:39
  Betsy Cohen: and having an impact.
• 2:41
  Betsy Cohen: And if that was a corporate impact or a nonprofit regional impact
• 2:45
  Betsy Cohen: or now it's impact with people and their purpose and their
• 2:49
  Betsy Cohen: money and and how do they translate their lives into
• 2:53
  Betsy Cohen: purpose.
• 2:54
  Betsy Cohen: So it's really about those connections and making a difference.
• 2:58
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
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  Lisa Nichols: I would say that that is that's spot on for you, just making a
• 3:02
  Lisa Nichols: difference.
• 3:04
  Lisa Nichols: You know, in this current season that you're in, what is bringing you the
• 3:07
  Lisa Nichols: most joy?
• 3:10
  Betsy Cohen: The joy comes from hearing what people care about.
• 3:14
  Betsy Cohen: And I think that that is really so interesting because as
• 3:18
  Betsy Cohen: each person, talks about what they do or what their foundation
• 3:22
  Betsy Cohen: does or what their nonprofit does, I get to know more deeply what
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  Betsy Cohen: people care about and then see how that links to other things that are
• 3:30
  Betsy Cohen: making either our region or our country better and stronger.
• 3:35
  Betsy Cohen: Certainly, there are many things that are dividing people, But when I hear people
• 3:39
  Betsy Cohen: talk, I see many more connections and try to build on those positive
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  Betsy Cohen: aspects of the things we all share and not the things that maybe
• 3:48
  Betsy Cohen: are different in the way we might think.
• 3:50
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 3:50
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 3:51
  Lisa Nichols: No.
• 3:51
  Lisa Nichols: That's good.
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  Lisa Nichols: Searching for the commonalities rather than just the differences.
• 3:55
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
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  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 3:58
  Lisa Nichols: Well, you talked a lot about wisdom work, Betsy.
• 4:03
  Lisa Nichols: You know, how is wisdom work different from achievement driven
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  Lisa Nichols: work that maybe earlier in your career, maybe it was from achievement,
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  Lisa Nichols: now it's wisdom?
• 4:13
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
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  Betsy Cohen: I think that we all have different ways that we want to
• 4:17
  Betsy Cohen: lead our lives.
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  Betsy Cohen: And one of the things that I learned from my mom, who was pretty
• 4:22
  Betsy Cohen: much a single working mom for for most of my life, because my dad
• 4:25
  Betsy Cohen: died when when he was young and we were young, is that, you know,
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  Betsy Cohen: you need to be the CEO of you.
• 4:31
  Betsy Cohen: And so for me, being the CEO
• 4:35
  Betsy Cohen: of me meant having financial security for myself and my career.
• 4:39
  Betsy Cohen: And so certainly I was very devoted to work in
• 4:43
  Betsy Cohen: the for profit world and being a rising
• 4:48
  Betsy Cohen: manager and then an executive at Ralston Purina and then Nestle Purina
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  Betsy Cohen: was important because it used my business skills, but it also
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  Betsy Cohen: met my goals for building my financial security and
• 5:02
  Betsy Cohen: saving money and being able to invest money and build for for the future
• 5:06
  Betsy Cohen: of myself and for my family.
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  Betsy Cohen: And so to me and often I recommend that people need to have a
• 5:12
  Betsy Cohen: good understanding of what is at their core and how do they meet their
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  Betsy Cohen: goals.
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  Betsy Cohen: And for me, first, it was to have both work that I
• 5:20
  Betsy Cohen: cared about, but also to meet all my financial goals.
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  Betsy Cohen: And after doing that, it allowed me to then branch off into
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  Betsy Cohen: work that was more about purpose and impact and
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  Betsy Cohen: community.
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  Betsy Cohen: And that then in turn led me to really now in my third career
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  Betsy Cohen: to say, what are the best things that I do with what
• 5:40
  Betsy Cohen: I know and what I can give?
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  Betsy Cohen: I'm a fan of Arthur Brooks from strength to strength, who's a
• 5:46
  Betsy Cohen: Harvard Business School professor and author.
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  Betsy Cohen: And he talks about the fact that as we get older, we have the
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  Betsy Cohen: ability, to certainly earn money if that's important.
• 5:56
  Betsy Cohen: But in addition to earning money, we have the ability to do work
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  Betsy Cohen: that leverages the mentoring, the wisdom, the knowledge we have, because
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  Betsy Cohen: that's something that we do get as we get older.
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  Betsy Cohen: We don't have as much quick memory that we have when we're younger, but
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  Betsy Cohen: we have crystallized knowledge is what he calls it.
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  Betsy Cohen: And crystallized knowledge is all those connective
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  Betsy Cohen: ideas that we know because our judgment has come together.
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  Betsy Cohen: And those are things that we can leverage and impart, whether it's
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  Betsy Cohen: informal from family members or community members,
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  Betsy Cohen: business members as a mentoring, or if it's work we do, which is what
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  Betsy Cohen: I'm doing now, that I see as wisdom work because I I understand
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  Betsy Cohen: the interplay between business, government, nonprofits, foundations,
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  Betsy Cohen: wealth creators, financial advisors.
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  Betsy Cohen: So I can pull that wisdom together in a way that is unique
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  Betsy Cohen: because I have lived this, and it's something that I do now
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  Betsy Cohen: that someone who is much younger is not going to be ready to do.
• 6:58
  Betsy Cohen: Mhmm.
• 6:59
  Lisa Nichols: Well, it's so beautiful, Betsy, because you're exactly right.
• 7:02
  Lisa Nichols: You know, when we're younger, maybe we have the energy,
• 7:07
  Lisa Nichols: but we don't have necessarily the wisdom.
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  Lisa Nichols: We may have intelligence, but the wisdom comes over time, right, with
• 7:13
  Lisa Nichols: experiences that we've had.
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  Lisa Nichols: And, I love that, you know, because I think it's really important
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  Lisa Nichols: to be sharing that wisdom with with the world.
• 7:22
  Lisa Nichols: I want to go back.
• 7:24
  Lisa Nichols: You had mentioned your mom.
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  Lisa Nichols: So I know that you lost your dad at age ten, and I wanna
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  Lisa Nichols: say he was something like thirty eight.
• 7:32
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
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  Lisa Nichols: Like, thirties.
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  Lisa Nichols: Right, Betsy?
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  Lisa Nichols: Which had to be so difficult.
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  Lisa Nichols: You know?
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  Lisa Nichols: I'm I'm sure for both you and your mom, and you had two brothers
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  Lisa Nichols: as well.
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  Lisa Nichols: So your mom had a lot lot on her plate there.
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  Lisa Nichols: You know, what did that season teach you about
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  Lisa Nichols: resilience?
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  Lisa Nichols: And you've already said that financial security was, you know, something
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  Lisa Nichols: that you took away from that, right, and a strong work ethic.
• 8:00
  Lisa Nichols: And I think, if I recall, I think your mom did your mom even
• 8:04
  Lisa Nichols: go back during that time to get her master's?
• 8:07
  Betsy Cohen: She did.
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  Betsy Cohen: So, you know, we, moved.
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  Betsy Cohen: We were living in New York for my dad's career.
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  Betsy Cohen: And when he died at thirty eight, my mom folded the tent and moved
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  Betsy Cohen: us to Saint Louis where all her family, all of our
• 8:21
  Betsy Cohen: cousins and her her parents were.
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  Betsy Cohen: So we moved to Saint Louis, and she really had to reinvent herself and
• 8:27
  Betsy Cohen: our lives here.
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  Betsy Cohen: And she went back to work being a working mom with,
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  Betsy Cohen: three of us that were ten, eight, and five.
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  Betsy Cohen: And, I really did see
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  Betsy Cohen: her have to
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  Betsy Cohen: pull her strength together to make a life
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  Betsy Cohen: for us, going forward and for her to be the best parent
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  Betsy Cohen: she could be, as one parent and to see how she
• 8:52
  Betsy Cohen: built that life and was so devoted to what we all had to do
• 8:56
  Betsy Cohen: together.
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  Betsy Cohen: And I think that that resonated for me with what you talk about with
• 9:01
  Betsy Cohen: that something extra, because one of the things that I saw with my mom
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  Betsy Cohen: was she was working, but she also
• 9:10
  Betsy Cohen: really cared about us and she cared about other people.
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  Betsy Cohen: But we had some really significant learnings, which I think is when in
• 9:19
  Betsy Cohen: that era and sometimes now when someone is, in her case, a single
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  Betsy Cohen: mother, a single woman,
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  Betsy Cohen: people that were married just didn't reach out to her, even people she'd known
• 9:30
  Betsy Cohen: her whole life.
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  Betsy Cohen: They're just busy.
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  Betsy Cohen: And so and she wasn't married.
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  Betsy Cohen: And so, she was marginalized.
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  Betsy Cohen: And and that was very hard.
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  Betsy Cohen: And so, you know, from that, she cared about others and reached out to
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  Betsy Cohen: others that were single and and found a a network
• 9:47
  Betsy Cohen: of people.
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  Betsy Cohen: But it really made me aware that, you know, I have an obligation
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  Betsy Cohen: to look out for people that are marginalized.
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  Betsy Cohen: And so in my friend circle, when we get together, we have friends that
• 9:58
  Betsy Cohen: are divorced or widowed.
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  Betsy Cohen: And it's like, I don't only think about, like, who are the couples?
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  Betsy Cohen: I heard a funny saying once they said, are you coming to dinner or
• 10:07
  Betsy Cohen: to mate?
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  Betsy Cohen: I mean, in the answer, you're having people to dinner.
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  Betsy Cohen: But, yeah, people only think about couples and they don't think
• 10:15
  Betsy Cohen: about that person
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  Betsy Cohen: single.
• 10:19
  Betsy Cohen: Yes.
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  Betsy Cohen: So I'm always reaching out and thinking about who
• 10:23
  Betsy Cohen: might be,
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  Betsy Cohen: not normally included and whether that's people that are
• 10:29
  Betsy Cohen: more similar to me or if it's other people in the community or my
• 10:32
  Betsy Cohen: work with our immigrant community or other
• 10:36
  Betsy Cohen: parts of our community that are not the same, that
• 10:40
  Betsy Cohen: have, you know, different abilities, who are
• 10:44
  Betsy Cohen: differently abled, who are differently
• 10:49
  Betsy Cohen: brought together here.
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  Betsy Cohen: So I have always felt deeply moved by
• 10:54
  Betsy Cohen: what I saw her experience, and it really caused me to think
• 10:58
  Betsy Cohen: about my connections to people differently and to make that one of my
• 11:03
  Betsy Cohen: personal mantras.
• 11:05
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, well, I mean, I think our listeners can
• 11:09
  Lisa Nichols: see why I really like Betsy Cohen.
• 11:12
  Lisa Nichols: She I mean, that shaped you, Betsy, watching your mom go
• 11:16
  Lisa Nichols: through that.
• 11:17
  Lisa Nichols: And, I mean, that's that's why, you know, even today, I mean, I
• 11:21
  Lisa Nichols: see you reaching out, you know, to to people who, you know, may
• 11:25
  Lisa Nichols: not have that network or you know?
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  Lisa Nichols: I I just remember recently you and I were on a call, and it
• 11:30
  Lisa Nichols: was really not at all about you.
• 11:33
  Lisa Nichols: And you're just like, Lisa, how can I help you?
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  Lisa Nichols: And, you know, that's really rare.
• 11:38
  Lisa Nichols: It's rare to find people like that, but, definitely a go
• 11:43
  Lisa Nichols: giver.
• 11:43
  Lisa Nichols: Well, you know, let's talk about this.
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  Lisa Nichols: So I know that you worked at Rosslyn for thirty three years.
• 11:49
  Lisa Nichols: You rose through the ranks.
• 11:51
  Lisa Nichols: You were
• 11:52
  Lisa Nichols: vice president of many you started at Beck and Decker, but then you,
• 11:56
  Lisa Nichols: went to Rosslyn.
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  Lisa Nichols: And, you were a business futurist
• 12:01
  Betsy Cohen: Yes.
• 12:02
  Lisa Nichols: Even at Rosslyn.
• 12:03
  Lisa Nichols: So for our listeners that maybe what is a business futurist?
• 12:07
  Lisa Nichols: Tell us more about that, Betsy.
• 12:09
  Betsy Cohen: So the field of futurism is usually in the business and the government
• 12:14
  Betsy Cohen: arenas where there are people who are futurists.
• 12:16
  Betsy Cohen: And as a corporate futurist in one of my roles, what your goal is
• 12:20
  Betsy Cohen: to look ahead to see what is happening in the world, what's happening with
• 12:24
  Betsy Cohen: business, what's happening with technology, what's happening with the environment, what's
• 12:28
  Betsy Cohen: happening with new ideas that are coming in the next ten years, and
• 12:32
  Betsy Cohen: then how do you prepare yourself?
• 12:34
  Betsy Cohen: What are the scenarios?
• 12:35
  Betsy Cohen: And how do you maybe put a little bit of money or resources or
• 12:38
  Betsy Cohen: time into these new ideas that are coming so that you are prepared?
• 12:43
  Betsy Cohen: And that when I was a corporate futurist, I was looking ahead at
• 12:47
  Betsy Cohen: technology, and, actually, I'm the person that registered Purina dot com,
• 12:51
  Betsy Cohen: if you can believe that.
• 12:53
  Betsy Cohen: Oh, that's amazing.
• 12:55
  Betsy Cohen: I have I have an early note that
• 12:59
  Betsy Cohen: was written to the leader saying, I'd like to show you the Internet
• 13:03
  Betsy Cohen: and what this means, and we should register purina dot com.
• 13:06
  Betsy Cohen: And then I worked later on identifying environmental areas, and then
• 13:10
  Betsy Cohen: I was asked to lead that when we worked on how do we minimize
• 13:14
  Betsy Cohen: packaging and lower water, lower energy.
• 13:16
  Betsy Cohen: So futurists are looking ahead and then bringing that back
• 13:21
  Betsy Cohen: to what can a government or a business do to be prepared.
• 13:25
  Betsy Cohen: And so that's something that as I was thinking in the last,
• 13:30
  Betsy Cohen: you know, two years about what would my next chapter be about,
• 13:34
  Betsy Cohen: I thought back to that skill set and how much I love my future
• 13:37
  Betsy Cohen: as work.
• 13:39
  Betsy Cohen: And I wanted to do something that involved that again Mhmm.
• 13:43
  Betsy Cohen: As well as my experiences with government and nonprofits.
• 13:47
  Betsy Cohen: And then I, ran into Trista Harris, who runs FutureGood,
• 13:51
  Betsy Cohen: who is a philanthropic futurist.
• 13:53
  Betsy Cohen: And I was like, I wanna be Trista.
• 13:55
  Betsy Cohen: And so I, you know, sought her out and said, how can I join
• 13:59
  Betsy Cohen: with you
• 14:01
  Betsy Cohen: to bring the skills of futurism to foundations, nonprofits
• 14:06
  Betsy Cohen: and family offices, people who have money?
• 14:09
  Betsy Cohen: How can I bring these skills like you have done that had previously been
• 14:13
  Betsy Cohen: in the business government world?
• 14:14
  Betsy Cohen: And how can I bring those to these other causes and
• 14:19
  Betsy Cohen: communities that need to have these skills?
• 14:21
  Betsy Cohen: And that's really how I brought something from my past forward.
• 14:25
  Lisa Nichols: That is I love that.
• 14:26
  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 14:27
  Lisa Nichols: Well, I wanna talk a little bit more about that because you've got the
• 14:30
  Lisa Nichols: future, future good book there, and,
• 14:34
  Lisa Nichols: we can dig into that.
• 14:35
  Lisa Nichols: But let's go back, for a minute here because
• 14:40
  Lisa Nichols: you, you know, after thirty three years, you kinda took that bold pivot,
• 14:45
  Lisa Nichols: right, and kinda did something a little bit more entrepreneurial, and you were
• 14:49
  Lisa Nichols: the director for Mosaic for twelve years.
• 14:54
  Lisa Nichols: You know, so how was that pivot how was that bold
• 14:58
  Lisa Nichols: entrepreneurial pivot in your life?
• 14:59
  Lisa Nichols: What narrative did you have to tell yourself?
• 15:02
  Lisa Nichols: Betsy, was that scary, or were you like, no?
• 15:04
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, this kinda brings together all the things that you're passionate about and
• 15:08
  Lisa Nichols: your skills, and I can do Mosaic.
• 15:09
  Lisa Nichols: And tell our listeners because we have listeners that listen all over the world.
• 15:13
  Lisa Nichols: Tell them about Mosaic.
• 15:15
  Lisa Nichols: I know where the name came from, but tell them more about that, and
• 15:19
  Lisa Nichols: then I've got a lot more questions for you.
• 15:21
  Betsy Cohen: So as I was leaving my corporate career, I put out
• 15:25
  Betsy Cohen: in the notice and talking to people that I wanted to do something that
• 15:28
  Betsy Cohen: had to do with civic leadership or something because
• 15:33
  Betsy Cohen: I had been on the board of the United Way and the Saint Louis
• 15:35
  Betsy Cohen: Crisis Nursery.
• 15:36
  Betsy Cohen: And as I was leaving my corporate career, I was putting out the word
• 15:39
  Betsy Cohen: and networking saying, what is going on in the region where a leader
• 15:43
  Betsy Cohen: is needed?
• 15:44
  Betsy Cohen: And I was very open to working in many different ways, full
• 15:48
  Betsy Cohen: time, part time, contract.
• 15:50
  Betsy Cohen: And as it turned out through my networks, I learned that
• 15:54
  Betsy Cohen: the World Trade Center had done two research studies that showed we
• 15:58
  Betsy Cohen: needed to attract and retain more work authorized
• 16:02
  Betsy Cohen: international people in this community, and they needed someone really
• 16:06
  Betsy Cohen: to market and attract Saint Louis.
• 16:09
  Betsy Cohen: And for me, in my corporate career, I had worked with many international people
• 16:13
  Betsy Cohen: and I had mentored many minority and international people, and I had been
• 16:17
  Betsy Cohen: a marketing expert.
• 16:18
  Betsy Cohen: So I came forward and said, I think I'm the right person
• 16:22
  Betsy Cohen: to become the first founding executive director of
• 16:27
  Betsy Cohen: what was an immigration initiative that we then named the St.
• 16:30
  Betsy Cohen: Louis Mosaic Project.
• 16:31
  Betsy Cohen: And so for me, I saw a need in the community that
• 16:35
  Betsy Cohen: I had a skill set that I could bring forward.
• 16:38
  Betsy Cohen: I had also been running something called the Pet Lovers Coalition when I
• 16:42
  Betsy Cohen: had been at Purina as one of the things which was a regional initiative
• 16:45
  Betsy Cohen: in St.
• 16:46
  Betsy Cohen: Louis to have fewer unwanted pets and more pets
• 16:50
  Betsy Cohen: adopted, unless euthanasia,
• 16:53
  Betsy Cohen: needed.
• 16:53
  Betsy Cohen: And so I had run a regional initiative, which was a skill set that
• 16:57
  Betsy Cohen: I would need to do the Mosaic project.
• 17:00
  Betsy Cohen: I was a marketing person, and I brought that skill set into something new
• 17:04
  Betsy Cohen: and I could create it.
• 17:05
  Betsy Cohen: I've always been a visionary.
• 17:07
  Betsy Cohen: And so I saw an opportunity in the region, and they saw that opportunity
• 17:11
  Betsy Cohen: in me to have someone who knew a lot of leaders in town,
• 17:16
  Betsy Cohen: knew a lot of people, had been proven as a regional coalition leader
• 17:20
  Betsy Cohen: and a marketing leader to bring that skill set to
• 17:24
  Betsy Cohen: the nonprofit World Trade Center, which is within the Saint Louis Economic Development
• 17:28
  Betsy Cohen: Partnership, which is actually governmental.
• 17:30
  Betsy Cohen: So it was a leap of faith on their part and my part, but
• 17:33
  Betsy Cohen: it ended up being extremely rewarding, successful,
• 17:38
  Betsy Cohen: and we had a very audacious goal.
• 17:41
  Betsy Cohen: The goal was for our region to be the fastest growing major metropolitan area
• 17:46
  Betsy Cohen: for foreign born people.
• 17:48
  Betsy Cohen: And in twenty twenty four, we hit it.
• 17:50
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 17:51
  Betsy Cohen: And by hitting it, that actually was one of the reasons that made me
• 17:53
  Betsy Cohen: think about what would be next for me because I had really achieved something
• 17:57
  Betsy Cohen: that I had set out to do in twenty thirteen.
• 18:00
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 18:01
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, that is so beautiful.
• 18:02
  Lisa Nichols: Well, and I know it's personal until you do.
• 18:05
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 18:05
  Lisa Nichols: Betsy, because your family, your ancestors came from Czechoslovakia, I think, like, in eighteen
• 18:10
  Lisa Nichols: mid eighteen hundreds.
• 18:11
  Betsy Cohen: Correct.
• 18:12
  Lisa Nichols: And, and and you saw, you know, what that was like for them
• 18:16
  Lisa Nichols: to come to a a country and build a new life.
• 18:18
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 18:19
  Lisa Nichols: So very personal there.
• 18:22
  Lisa Nichols: You know, what do you think was scarier to be the first woman VP
• 18:26
  Lisa Nichols: at Nestle or to jump into this entrepreneurial
• 18:31
  Lisa Nichols: world?
• 18:32
  Betsy Cohen: I think that, you know, all of us as we move forward,
• 18:36
  Betsy Cohen: the world keeps evolving and, there always are new challenges.
• 18:41
  Betsy Cohen: So sometimes you are the first or for you as, you know,
• 18:45
  Betsy Cohen: a woman founder, CEO,
• 18:48
  Betsy Cohen: the leader of the organizations that you have chosen to be a leader for
• 18:53
  Betsy Cohen: that, you know, times change and then you have to put on new
• 18:57
  Betsy Cohen: skills and then reinvent for the new world that we keep becoming
• 19:02
  Betsy Cohen: part of.
• 19:02
  Betsy Cohen: So, each time it's a challenge and you wonder, you know, what will that
• 19:06
  Betsy Cohen: be like and, you know, can I really do it?
• 19:09
  Betsy Cohen: I mean, we always have those moments of of doubt.
• 19:12
  Betsy Cohen: And then you say, well, I'm gonna give it my best, and Yes.
• 19:16
  Betsy Cohen: I'm gonna work with other people.
• 19:17
  Betsy Cohen: And we'll have a team of us that are official and unofficial, and we
• 19:21
  Betsy Cohen: will figure it out.
• 19:22
  Betsy Cohen: And so you you just keep moving forward.
• 19:24
  Betsy Cohen: And I I know that that's something that you have done, which is why
• 19:27
  Betsy Cohen: so many people watch you and admire you and you're a role model
• 19:31
  Betsy Cohen: because they see that you keep taking on new things, whether it's your
• 19:35
  Betsy Cohen: business world, your community work, writing a book.
• 19:38
  Betsy Cohen: And again, I wrote a book doing a TED talk, which I did that,
• 19:42
  Betsy Cohen: you know, when you challenge yourself and that inspires other people to challenge
• 19:46
  Betsy Cohen: themselves and you can mentor them and other people have mentored me.
• 19:50
  Lisa Nichols: Right.
• 19:50
  Lisa Nichols: For sure.
• 19:51
  Lisa Nichols: Well and, Betsy, I think too, once you do a few of these things,
• 19:55
  Lisa Nichols: and I always say you you'll do it and you'll be like, okay.
• 19:58
  Lisa Nichols: I did not die.
• 20:00
  Lisa Nichols: I did not die doing this.
• 20:02
  Lisa Nichols: It gives you the confidence, right, to and the courage, I
• 20:06
  Lisa Nichols: think, to go try something else.
• 20:08
  Lisa Nichols: So you know?
• 20:09
  Lisa Nichols: But don't make no mistake.
• 20:11
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, I'm sure Betsy's had times in her life where you're I know
• 20:14
  Lisa Nichols: I have, where I've said, I don't know if I can do this or
• 20:17
  Lisa Nichols: not.
• 20:18
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 20:18
  Lisa Nichols: What if I can't?
• 20:19
  Lisa Nichols: You know, when we started our podcast in twenty eighteen, none of us knew
• 20:23
  Lisa Nichols: what we were doing, seriously, but we just jumped in there.
• 20:26
  Lisa Nichols: And, again, surrounded by really smart people
• 20:30
  Lisa Nichols: like Jenny and, you know, our editor and, you know, people like that, it's
• 20:34
  Lisa Nichols: like, no.
• 20:35
  Lisa Nichols: We'll figure it out together.
• 20:36
  Lisa Nichols: And, you know, so, yeah, don't be don't be afraid
• 20:40
  Lisa Nichols: to live in the land of the uncomfortable.
• 20:42
  Lisa Nichols: And I've got a good friend, Dan Roberts, who says, you know, growth never
• 20:46
  Lisa Nichols: happens there.
• 20:48
  Lisa Nichols: It never happens in the land of the comfortable.
• 20:50
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 20:51
  Lisa Nichols: So
• 20:51
  Betsy Cohen: Yes.
• 20:51
  Betsy Cohen: And I also think that, you know, we other people really don't think
• 20:55
  Betsy Cohen: about us like we think, oh, what are people gonna think?
• 20:58
  Betsy Cohen: And the answer is they don't.
• 20:59
  Betsy Cohen: Everyone is absorbed in their own worlds.
• 21:01
  Betsy Cohen: And so, you know, if you take a risk or a chance,
• 21:05
  Betsy Cohen: if it works out, that's great.
• 21:07
  Betsy Cohen: And if you pivot and it doesn't exactly work out the way you thought
• 21:10
  Betsy Cohen: it would, that's okay.
• 21:11
  Betsy Cohen: You dust yourself off and you find the next path, and
• 21:16
  Betsy Cohen: the rest of the world keeps going.
• 21:17
  Betsy Cohen: And, everyone's trying to find their way with lots of unknowns.
• 21:22
  Lisa Nichols: That's so true.
• 21:23
  Lisa Nichols: That is so true.
• 21:24
  Lisa Nichols: And listen, I always say in technology too, without experiment, you're
• 21:28
  Lisa Nichols: gonna fail, fail forward.
• 21:30
  Lisa Nichols: When you fail, learn something from it, pick yourself up, and keep going.
• 21:34
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 21:34
  Lisa Nichols: So, I think anybody that you would talk to would say, hey.
• 21:38
  Lisa Nichols: I've had a lot of those times in my life.
• 21:41
  Lisa Nichols: You know, I used to tell when I taught JA junior achievement because I
• 21:45
  Lisa Nichols: sat on that board for many years and loved teaching, junior achievement.
• 21:50
  Lisa Nichols: But the whole story about Walt Disney, you know, when he had
• 21:54
  Lisa Nichols: this idea, this harebrained idea for an amusement park, I think he
• 21:58
  Lisa Nichols: went to five hundred over five hundred banks, Betsy, before he found a
• 22:02
  Lisa Nichols: bank that said, okay.
• 22:03
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 22:04
  Lisa Nichols: I'll give you the capital to start this.
• 22:06
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 22:06
  Lisa Nichols: Can you imagine if he'd stopped at four hundred and ninety nine?
• 22:10
  Lisa Nichols: We wouldn't have Disney World.
• 22:12
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 22:12
  Lisa Nichols: So,
• 22:14
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, just do it afraid.
• 22:15
  Lisa Nichols: Do it afraid.
• 22:17
  Lisa Nichols: Well, now you like to say that time is precious, and it is you
• 22:21
  Lisa Nichols: know, how did that awareness change the way you make decisions?
• 22:25
  Lisa Nichols: When we think time is precious, time is you know?
• 22:28
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, there's a limited amount of it.
• 22:31
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 22:32
  Lisa Nichols: How does that change how we make decisions?
• 22:35
  Betsy Cohen: I think being mindful of what your values are
• 22:40
  Betsy Cohen: and what are the things that you want to be
• 22:44
  Betsy Cohen: accountable for to yourself and to your family and to those close to
• 22:48
  Betsy Cohen: you.
• 22:49
  Betsy Cohen: I make a list every year, like for twenty twenty six.
• 22:52
  Betsy Cohen: I have twenty six things,
• 22:55
  Betsy Cohen: large and small, from personal health to time spent
• 22:59
  Betsy Cohen: with family, friends, trips,
• 23:02
  Betsy Cohen: community.
• 23:03
  Betsy Cohen: And so, you know, I look at my list of things that I want
• 23:06
  Betsy Cohen: to do, which are, you know, it's not the biggest buckets, but there's a
• 23:10
  Betsy Cohen: number of things that I want to make sure I do that I focus
• 23:14
  Betsy Cohen: on.
• 23:14
  Betsy Cohen: So I remind myself one of them has to do with, you know, I
• 23:18
  Betsy Cohen: have several friends that are facing some personal challenges and they're listed there
• 23:22
  Betsy Cohen: is, you know, I want to make sure that I, you know, pay attention
• 23:25
  Betsy Cohen: to them.
• 23:26
  Lisa Nichols: I don't
• 23:26
  Betsy Cohen: let that fall by the wayside.
• 23:28
  Betsy Cohen: So, I try to think and be thoughtful
• 23:34
  Betsy Cohen: about the way I spend my time for my work, for
• 23:38
  Betsy Cohen: my family, for my friends, for the community.
• 23:41
  Betsy Cohen: And, don't let it escape.
• 23:44
  Betsy Cohen: I you know, I'm really mindful about it because, you know, I don't
• 23:48
  Betsy Cohen: want to have regrets where I say to myself, oh, I wish I had
• 23:52
  Betsy Cohen: focused on something different.
• 23:54
  Betsy Cohen: But, I feel and partly, you know, when you, you know,
• 23:58
  Betsy Cohen: lose your father very young, it makes you very aware that time
• 24:02
  Betsy Cohen: is a gift and you wanna use it wisely.
• 24:04
  Betsy Cohen: So I think about that a lot.
• 24:06
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 24:07
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 24:07
  Lisa Nichols: I was gonna ask you that.
• 24:09
  Lisa Nichols: So thank you for bringing that up.
• 24:10
  Lisa Nichols: That was one of my questions for you.
• 24:12
  Lisa Nichols: I love this idea that you you work on your life
• 24:16
  Lisa Nichols: plan every year.
• 24:18
  Lisa Nichols: And you said you don't put it in a drawer.
• 24:20
  Lisa Nichols: You keep it right there next to you, and you you review it.
• 24:23
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 24:24
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 24:25
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 24:25
  Lisa Nichols: There's such intentionality there, Betsy, living with
• 24:29
  Lisa Nichols: intentionality.
• 24:31
  Lisa Nichols: Because here's the thing.
• 24:33
  Lisa Nichols: You know, if you don't if you're not intentional about that, it's kinda like
• 24:37
  Lisa Nichols: what you said.
• 24:38
  Lisa Nichols: Things are just gonna fall by the wayside.
• 24:39
  Lisa Nichols: You don't wanna be on autopilot.
• 24:41
  Lisa Nichols: You don't wanna be you want to be intentional.
• 24:43
  Lisa Nichols: And and, obviously, sometimes, maybe the things that we put down
• 24:47
  Lisa Nichols: don't happen because there's extenuating circumstances and things that come in our life that
• 24:51
  Lisa Nichols: we can't control.
• 24:52
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 24:53
  Lisa Nichols: Maybe like a a sick loved one or something like that.
• 24:55
  Lisa Nichols: But at least you have been intentional,
• 24:59
  Lisa Nichols: you know, in in the beginning, I'm sure some of those things you're gonna
• 25:03
  Lisa Nichols: be able to accomplish.
• 25:04
  Lisa Nichols: So I love that.
• 25:05
  Lisa Nichols: I'm so glad, to know that you do that.
• 25:08
  Lisa Nichols: Well, we do need to take a quick break, and we'll be right back
• 25:11
  Lisa Nichols: with Betsy Cohen on Something Extra podcast.
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• 25:43
  Lisa Nichols: Alright.
• 25:43
  Lisa Nichols: Welcome back, everyone, to the Something Extra podcast with my friend,
• 25:47
  Lisa Nichols: Betsy Cohen.
• 25:48
  Lisa Nichols: So, Betsy, you you kinda talked to us a little bit.
• 25:51
  Lisa Nichols: You left at Mosaic.
• 25:52
  Lisa Nichols: You were there for twelve years, did incredible work.
• 25:56
  Lisa Nichols: But in twenty twenty five, you became
• 26:00
  Lisa Nichols: a philanthropic futurist,
• 26:03
  Lisa Nichols: and you've been doing this since, March of twenty twenty five.
• 26:06
  Lisa Nichols: You're the second in the country.
• 26:08
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 26:09
  Lisa Nichols: Trista is the first, and Betsy's the second.
• 26:12
  Lisa Nichols: So tell our listeners about, what a
• 26:16
  Lisa Nichols: philanthropic futurist, what do you do, and tell us more about future
• 26:21
  Lisa Nichols: of good.
• 26:21
  Lisa Nichols: You've got or future, future good.
• 26:24
  Lisa Nichols: You've got the book behind you.
• 26:26
  Lisa Nichols: I wanna hear more about that.
• 26:28
  Lisa Nichols: And then we've got a lot more questions.
• 26:30
  Betsy Cohen: So as a philanthropic futurist, I work with visionary
• 26:35
  Betsy Cohen: leaders of nonprofits and foundations,
• 26:39
  Betsy Cohen: family offices, and financial advisors about
• 26:43
  Betsy Cohen: several different issues.
• 26:44
  Betsy Cohen: One is visioning for their strategic plans and having
• 26:48
  Betsy Cohen: really a long term vision of where are they going?
• 26:51
  Betsy Cohen: And then what does that mean in terms of an operating plan for the
• 26:55
  Betsy Cohen: next three years?
• 26:56
  Betsy Cohen: We do scenario planning, thinking about what are several of
• 27:00
  Betsy Cohen: the possible scenarios that a foundation and their grantees or
• 27:05
  Betsy Cohen: a nonprofit is going to be facing?
• 27:07
  Betsy Cohen: And then how do they prepare themselves for a different future so they can
• 27:11
  Betsy Cohen: continue to serve the people that they serve going forward?
• 27:15
  Betsy Cohen: Another part of that is being hired to speak on the future of
• 27:19
  Betsy Cohen: philanthropy.
• 27:21
  Betsy Cohen: What is happening with people who have money and what they're giving
• 27:25
  Betsy Cohen: to and why are they giving and how are they giving?
• 27:28
  Betsy Cohen: Are they using technology now to do their giving?
• 27:31
  Betsy Cohen: Are they doing more online?
• 27:32
  Betsy Cohen: Are they doing more with certain kinds of vehicles for
• 27:37
  Betsy Cohen: their financial future?
• 27:38
  Betsy Cohen: But also, if you're a nonprofit or a foundation, what does that mean
• 27:42
  Betsy Cohen: in terms of how are you receiving money?
• 27:45
  Betsy Cohen: How are you deploying your money?
• 27:47
  Betsy Cohen: What are those future trends?
• 27:49
  Betsy Cohen: So, for example, as technology changes, what does that mean for nonprofits?
• 27:54
  Betsy Cohen: What does it mean for foundations?
• 27:56
  Betsy Cohen: How are they going to have to change their operations
• 28:00
  Betsy Cohen: and maybe even change their staffing?
• 28:02
  Betsy Cohen: What is AI going to mean as they incorporate this into areas such
• 28:06
  Betsy Cohen: as developing grants, evaluating grants,
• 28:10
  Betsy Cohen: applying for grants, spending the money for grants?
• 28:14
  Betsy Cohen: So we bring forward what are these trends in the future?
• 28:18
  Betsy Cohen: And then what is that going to mean today for how an organization
• 28:22
  Betsy Cohen: is going to operate.
• 28:24
  Betsy Cohen: The other thing is working with the financial advising firms.
• 28:28
  Betsy Cohen: Many of them understand that they have wealthy clients.
• 28:31
  Betsy Cohen: Some of them who may or may not be really understanding
• 28:35
  Betsy Cohen: fully how they could have both pleasure and impact if they give
• 28:39
  Betsy Cohen: more of their money to nonprofits or universities
• 28:43
  Betsy Cohen: or other charities that they believe in.
• 28:46
  Betsy Cohen: Sometimes they just aren't, as thoughtful as they might be if they had
• 28:50
  Betsy Cohen: some more education or motivation or conversations
• 28:54
  Betsy Cohen: about how they could do that, both for tax benefit and then for the
• 28:57
  Betsy Cohen: emotional and the dopamine pleasure of actually giving to causes
• 29:02
  Betsy Cohen: that they care about.
• 29:03
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 29:03
  Lisa Nichols: Oh, that's so good.
• 29:05
  Lisa Nichols: Now what what are some of the trends that you're seeing?
• 29:08
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, you already mentioned AI definitely with technology, but,
• 29:13
  Lisa Nichols: you know, I mean, hey.
• 29:13
  Lisa Nichols: You've been studying this.
• 29:15
  Lisa Nichols: You've been doing this.
• 29:16
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, are there trends that you're seeing?
• 29:18
  Lisa Nichols: And then also, like yeah.
• 29:21
  Lisa Nichols: Betsy, how do you think about generational generosity?
• 29:25
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 29:25
  Betsy Cohen: So there is a shift of generational generosity as we
• 29:29
  Betsy Cohen: look toward, those that are more mature, and the kinds of areas
• 29:34
  Betsy Cohen: that they have traditionally given to.
• 29:36
  Betsy Cohen: Bank of America has done a big study, and some of the information talks
• 29:40
  Betsy Cohen: about the fact that the older generation has tended to favor,
• 29:45
  Betsy Cohen: giving their money to, larger institutions, faith based
• 29:49
  Betsy Cohen: universities, culture,
• 29:52
  Betsy Cohen: some of the environmental larger traditional recipients,
• 29:57
  Betsy Cohen: Younger donors that are kind of the under forty five year old donors, they
• 30:01
  Betsy Cohen: really view it differently.
• 30:02
  Betsy Cohen: They are looking at more of sustainability, sometimes social justice.
• 30:07
  Betsy Cohen: They're looking at the world differently.
• 30:09
  Betsy Cohen: They often maybe give to global issues for women.
• 30:13
  Betsy Cohen: They're looking at giving money toward digital equity, digital
• 30:18
  Betsy Cohen: access.
• 30:19
  Betsy Cohen: They also the, under fifty year old donors, they're
• 30:23
  Betsy Cohen: more likely now leaning toward donor advised funds that they can give money
• 30:27
  Betsy Cohen: to and then designate it later.
• 30:30
  Betsy Cohen: They wanna volunteer first often before they give money.
• 30:33
  Betsy Cohen: They wanna give money with their friends, and they're more likely to do,
• 30:38
  Betsy Cohen: a trivia night or a group activity where they give money toward
• 30:42
  Betsy Cohen: something they care about and they're less likely to go to galas.
• 30:46
  Betsy Cohen: They want smaller projects that they can see more impact.
• 30:50
  Betsy Cohen: They want scoreboards and scorecards and dashboards.
• 30:53
  Betsy Cohen: And then the older generation is more trusting and will give to a bigger
• 30:57
  Betsy Cohen: legacy organization.
• 30:58
  Betsy Cohen: So having conversations with organizations about how do you lean into
• 31:02
  Betsy Cohen: these trends is something important.
• 31:05
  Betsy Cohen: And foundations have a lot to do with that too, because they are looking
• 31:08
  Betsy Cohen: now some of them are doing what's called trust based philanthropy where
• 31:12
  Betsy Cohen: they're trusting more in the leaders of the nonprofits that they give to.
• 31:17
  Betsy Cohen: And so they're requiring less, reporting, let's say,
• 31:21
  Betsy Cohen: because reporting takes a lot of time and energy.
• 31:24
  Betsy Cohen: They're all considering multiyear gifts to these organizations because
• 31:28
  Betsy Cohen: if you start giving a one year gift and then immediately they've gotta reapply
• 31:32
  Betsy Cohen: again and they don't even have results.
• 31:34
  Betsy Cohen: So there are these trends that foundations and family offices
• 31:38
  Betsy Cohen: and donors are considering, And it's important to think about the trends and
• 31:42
  Betsy Cohen: whether they are something that can impact how both the recipients
• 31:46
  Betsy Cohen: and the donors think about their generosity going forward and the kind
• 31:50
  Betsy Cohen: of impact they wanna make.
• 31:52
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 31:53
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 31:53
  Lisa Nichols: No.
• 31:53
  Lisa Nichols: That's that's good.
• 31:55
  Lisa Nichols: It's it's important for us to understand on both sides, right, kind
• 31:59
  Lisa Nichols: of what those trends are.
• 32:01
  Lisa Nichols: You know, is there a weak signal that you are seeing at
• 32:05
  Lisa Nichols: all that leaders are ignoring, that we shouldn't be ignoring
• 32:11
  Lisa Nichols: and giving?
• 32:13
  Betsy Cohen: No.
• 32:13
  Betsy Cohen: I don't think there's a weak signal.
• 32:15
  Betsy Cohen: I I think that a lot of people have
• 32:19
  Betsy Cohen: the means to do more, but they get busy with everything else.
• 32:23
  Betsy Cohen: And so they just don't take the moments they could or they keep giving
• 32:28
  Betsy Cohen: to the groups they give to, and they don't think about how they could
• 32:31
  Betsy Cohen: maybe add a few other maybe smaller organizations where
• 32:35
  Betsy Cohen: their money would make a huge impact.
• 32:37
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 32:38
  Betsy Cohen: And they might have more personal pride and feeling of connection if they
• 32:43
  Betsy Cohen: added to their current giving with some maybe local smaller organizations
• 32:48
  Betsy Cohen: where it would make a world of difference to, have that impact.
• 32:52
  Betsy Cohen: So I think it's just encouraging people to, be more
• 32:56
  Betsy Cohen: thoughtful and understand.
• 32:58
  Betsy Cohen: The needs are so great and are you know, there's a lot of needs.
• 33:01
  Betsy Cohen: There's a lot of, uncertainty right now by some of the traditional
• 33:05
  Betsy Cohen: funders, governmental and others.
• 33:06
  Betsy Cohen: So, if you care about an issue, think about how you
• 33:10
  Betsy Cohen: could continue to do maybe a little bit more than you did in the
• 33:14
  Betsy Cohen: past.
• 33:14
  Betsy Cohen: Often, people's portfolios have grown greatly over the last
• 33:18
  Betsy Cohen: few years, but maybe their giving hasn't kept up.
• 33:21
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 33:23
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 33:23
  Lisa Nichols: That's those are really good points.
• 33:25
  Lisa Nichols: You know, to your it just reminded me, Betsy.
• 33:28
  Lisa Nichols: So we have our corporate social responsibility program.
• 33:31
  Lisa Nichols: It's called LIFT.
• 33:33
  Lisa Nichols: I'm kind of a big acronym person.
• 33:35
  Lisa Nichols: I love acronyms, and it stands for Lives Impacted Futures Transformed.
• 33:40
  Lisa Nichols: And I can remember,
• 33:42
  Lisa Nichols: a few years ago, there was an amazing organization
• 33:47
  Lisa Nichols: that was serving children in undeserved areas.
• 33:51
  Lisa Nichols: So, like, because their parents, a lot of times, would have two and three
• 33:55
  Lisa Nichols: jobs.
• 33:56
  Lisa Nichols: And it was, you know, this this this school
• 34:00
  Lisa Nichols: basically would stay open, like, from six AM to midnight.
• 34:05
  Lisa Nichols: And think about it.
• 34:06
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 34:06
  Lisa Nichols: You know, when, when somebody's working two shifts,
• 34:11
  Lisa Nichols: they what do you do?
• 34:12
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 34:13
  Lisa Nichols: When that second shift starts.
• 34:14
  Lisa Nichols: And so, anyway, we just we love the the the founders
• 34:18
  Lisa Nichols: and the leaders of this and just love their mission.
• 34:22
  Lisa Nichols: And we gave a little gift, a little gift, and I just remember
• 34:26
  Lisa Nichols: them coming back to us later and saying how
• 34:30
  Lisa Nichols: meaningful that little gift was to them.
• 34:33
  Lisa Nichols: Because if it had not have been if we had not given that gift,
• 34:37
  Lisa Nichols: they would not have been able to keep the lights on.
• 34:40
  Betsy Cohen: Yes.
• 34:40
  Betsy Cohen: You know, large organizations are extremely important
• 34:44
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 34:45
  Betsy Cohen: For the communities.
• 34:46
  Betsy Cohen: But for a small organization, it can mean all
• 34:50
  Betsy Cohen: the difference in the world and your personal gift and personal
• 34:54
  Betsy Cohen: connection to that can be even more meaningful.
• 34:57
  Betsy Cohen: But it doesn't mean that there's any less need for the large legacy
• 35:02
  Betsy Cohen: institutions.
• 35:02
  Betsy Cohen: They certainly, are so worthy and need the continued support as well.
• 35:06
  Betsy Cohen: And that's critical as they keep finding ways to
• 35:10
  Betsy Cohen: show their impact as well.
• 35:12
  Betsy Cohen: But you're right.
• 35:13
  Betsy Cohen: When you get touched, when your heart is touched by a certain
• 35:17
  Betsy Cohen: need, or a certain organization or a leader that you really feel inspired
• 35:21
  Betsy Cohen: by, it's such a gift to be able to give a gift and
• 35:26
  Betsy Cohen: help them be successful because, you know, your job is to do the things
• 35:30
  Betsy Cohen: you do.
• 35:30
  Betsy Cohen: But when you give money, it allows others to do things that we are
• 35:33
  Betsy Cohen: not equipped to do, but they can do.
• 35:35
  Lisa Nichols: For sure.
• 35:36
  Lisa Nichols: Absolutely.
• 35:37
  Lisa Nichols: And that is a reason Greg and I have always said if we can
• 35:40
  Lisa Nichols: just you know, we work to do better as a company.
• 35:44
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 35:44
  Lisa Nichols: Because the better we do as a company, the more we're able to help.
• 35:48
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 35:48
  Lisa Nichols: So, it all works together.
• 35:51
  Lisa Nichols: It's all all the different components are really important.
• 35:54
  Lisa Nichols: So, you know, let me ask you this, and I
• 35:59
  Lisa Nichols: I could I could put I don't wanna put words in your mouth.
• 36:01
  Lisa Nichols: I can just surmise what you're gonna say, though.
• 36:03
  Lisa Nichols: When you were working with, Mosaic,
• 36:07
  Lisa Nichols: in Mosaic can you just tell our listeners real quickly?
• 36:10
  Lisa Nichols: Because you guys really went through and said, you know,
• 36:14
  Lisa Nichols: you're very intentional about naming it Mosaic.
• 36:18
  Lisa Nichols: And I've Betsy had mentioned earlier that she's done a TEDx talk.
• 36:22
  Lisa Nichols: I would highly encourage you to go Google that.
• 36:25
  Lisa Nichols: Go watch her, because I remember you explaining it and having the
• 36:29
  Lisa Nichols: beautiful mosaic.
• 36:30
  Lisa Nichols: But tell a little bit about where that name came from, and then I've
• 36:34
  Lisa Nichols: got another question for you about your work in a mosaic.
• 36:37
  Betsy Cohen: Well, what was important for the community as we look to
• 36:42
  Betsy Cohen: be a more welcoming, attractive place
• 36:46
  Betsy Cohen: so that we could encourage and attract more international people to come here,
• 36:50
  Betsy Cohen: I wanted to find a word or a concept as a
• 36:54
  Betsy Cohen: marketing person that was welcoming and something that is
• 36:59
  Betsy Cohen: listed as an immigrant initiative makes it sound like it's about other people, but
• 37:03
  Betsy Cohen: not about you or me.
• 37:04
  Betsy Cohen: And we actually did a brainstorming session, Kitty Radcliffe, who was
• 37:08
  Betsy Cohen: handy heading up explore Saint Louis.
• 37:11
  Betsy Cohen: Roslyn, who was the head of the International Institute, and we were looking
• 37:15
  Betsy Cohen: at the research,
• 37:17
  Betsy Cohen: and we were actually sitting under a poster of the new cathedral,
• 37:22
  Betsy Cohen: and it has these beautiful mosaics.
• 37:25
  Betsy Cohen: And so the word mosaic came up in our discussion and we said
• 37:30
  Betsy Cohen: Saint Louis Mosaic Project that that has a nice ring to it because a
• 37:34
  Betsy Cohen: mosaic is a beautiful, colorful combination for
• 37:38
  Betsy Cohen: all of us and that we all make up a mosaic.
• 37:41
  Betsy Cohen: And that is something.
• 37:42
  Betsy Cohen: And for me as a marketing person, a mosaic is a welcoming,
• 37:47
  Betsy Cohen: positive word that
• 37:50
  Betsy Cohen: would be inspiring because mosaic is something that's
• 37:54
  Betsy Cohen: positive.
• 37:55
  Betsy Cohen: And, you know, for the Saint Louis Mosaic Project, when we are
• 37:59
  Betsy Cohen: working with international students, corporations like Bayer
• 38:03
  Betsy Cohen: and Nestle that are bringing international people here, international institute
• 38:08
  Betsy Cohen: that is bringing,
• 38:10
  Betsy Cohen: legally authorized refugees from around the world, all the groups,
• 38:14
  Betsy Cohen: families that are reuniting.
• 38:17
  Betsy Cohen: We wanted to be welcoming.
• 38:18
  Betsy Cohen: And so the Saint Louis Mosaic Project had a nice ring to it.
• 38:21
  Betsy Cohen: And so we felt inspired by that language.
• 38:24
  Betsy Cohen: And that's why we called it that.
• 38:26
  Betsy Cohen: And I think it was also a way I wanted to make sure that
• 38:29
  Betsy Cohen: we had a name that when we were highlighted in news articles
• 38:33
  Betsy Cohen: around the country and around the world, it would be very clear it was
• 38:37
  Betsy Cohen: our work and not just kind of vague words.
• 38:40
  Betsy Cohen: But if it's that St Louis Mosaic and Mosaic Project, we knew that was
• 38:43
  Betsy Cohen: us.
• 38:44
  Lisa Nichols: Sure.
• 38:45
  Lisa Nichols: Well and, Betsy, as you're talking, I'm just thinking that those end I've done
• 38:48
  Lisa Nichols: a mosaic.
• 38:49
  Lisa Nichols: I've done a couple mosaics before,
• 38:52
  Lisa Nichols: and put them together.
• 38:53
  Lisa Nichols: And you've got those individual pieces, But when all those individual pieces
• 38:57
  Lisa Nichols: are put together, it makes a beautiful picture, a more beautiful picture.
• 39:01
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 39:02
  Lisa Nichols: Maybe that individual piece is beautiful in and of itself, but, boy, when you
• 39:06
  Lisa Nichols: put the whole thing together,
• 39:08
  Lisa Nichols: you know, that's when it really, takes on a whole new life.
• 39:12
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 39:13
  Lisa Nichols: So I just love that.
• 39:14
  Lisa Nichols: Well, I mean, you your work there, I mean,
• 39:18
  Lisa Nichols: how do you really what do you really teach you,
• 39:22
  Lisa Nichols: Betsy, about the word belonging?
• 39:26
  Lisa Nichols: Because we we love that word.
• 39:28
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 39:29
  Betsy Cohen: Belonging is so important.
• 39:32
  Betsy Cohen: And I think the programs that we created,
• 39:36
  Betsy Cohen: we had programs for helping international students connect with employers
• 39:41
  Betsy Cohen: for their visas.
• 39:42
  Betsy Cohen: We have programs that are for work authorized international
• 39:47
  Betsy Cohen: people to connect with people in similar work fields in
• 39:51
  Betsy Cohen: this city, in this region to network toward jobs.
• 39:54
  Betsy Cohen: We had programs so immigrant entrepreneurs could
• 39:58
  Betsy Cohen: have more support for their businesses.
• 40:01
  Betsy Cohen: So but in each case, when someone who is international
• 40:05
  Betsy Cohen: connects with local people who have expertise, they also
• 40:09
  Betsy Cohen: form a personal connection.
• 40:11
  Betsy Cohen: And that's where that belonging piece because no longer is
• 40:15
  Betsy Cohen: it a matter of you or the other, but we are in something together.
• 40:19
  Betsy Cohen: And even, for example, when I would, you know, refer someone to
• 40:24
  Betsy Cohen: technology partners, it's someone who had work authorization, had technical skills,
• 40:28
  Betsy Cohen: and we just wanna start having people feel they're connecting to their
• 40:32
  Betsy Cohen: own people and that we as a region have a lot of resources and
• 40:36
  Betsy Cohen: people who care.
• 40:38
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 40:38
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 40:39
  Lisa Nichols: That's so beautiful.
• 40:42
  Lisa Nichols: We've already talked a little bit about this, but I just I wanna drive
• 40:45
  Lisa Nichols: this home, a little bit more, on this.
• 40:49
  Lisa Nichols: But you're really known, and if people and
• 40:53
  Lisa Nichols: we've already talked about it, but you're a very authentic person.
• 40:56
  Lisa Nichols: I call you what's called a go giver.
• 40:58
  Lisa Nichols: You give first without expecting anything.
• 41:03
  Lisa Nichols: You know, showing up as your authentic self.
• 41:05
  Lisa Nichols: What do you what do you believe,
• 41:08
  Lisa Nichols: Betsy, that's showing up?
• 41:10
  Lisa Nichols: What is showing up?
• 41:12
  Lisa Nichols: Or, you know, the vernacular I use a lot is I'm for you,
• 41:17
  Lisa Nichols: f o r u.
• 41:18
  Lisa Nichols: What does that really mean to you?
• 41:22
  Betsy Cohen: I think that's a great concept, Lisa.
• 41:24
  Betsy Cohen: And I think,
• 41:26
  Betsy Cohen: you know, right now, technology
• 41:28
  Betsy Cohen: can make it easy for people to connect, but in some ways, it can
• 41:31
  Betsy Cohen: be distant versus being in person.
• 41:34
  Lisa Nichols: Yes.
• 41:34
  Betsy Cohen: And, you know, ideally, we have both in person and
• 41:39
  Betsy Cohen: virtual ways that we can be there for each other.
• 41:43
  Betsy Cohen: I think it involves listening and seeing and hearing where someone really
• 41:47
  Betsy Cohen: is in their life and in their journey and
• 41:51
  Betsy Cohen: being thoughtful about what does someone need.
• 41:54
  Betsy Cohen: Do they need empathy?
• 41:55
  Betsy Cohen: Do they need a connection?
• 41:57
  Betsy Cohen: Do they need a follow-up call?
• 41:59
  Betsy Cohen: And listening clearly so you can follow-up in the way
• 42:04
  Betsy Cohen: that is most meaningful for somebody else.
• 42:06
  Betsy Cohen: Not not what I need, but what do they need and when do they
• 42:09
  Betsy Cohen: need it?
• 42:10
  Betsy Cohen: And and how can I make a note on my calendar so that I
• 42:14
  Betsy Cohen: can do that?
• 42:15
  Betsy Cohen: Write a card, make a call, send an email, follow-up.
• 42:19
  Betsy Cohen: But it's being focused on the other in a way that is,
• 42:23
  Betsy Cohen: truthful and genuine because I do care.
• 42:27
  Lisa Nichols: Right.
• 42:28
  Betsy Cohen: Right.
• 42:28
  Betsy Cohen: Care.
• 42:29
  Betsy Cohen: Many people care.
• 42:30
  Betsy Cohen: And I think when we all feel that there are others out
• 42:34
  Betsy Cohen: there, we don't feel alone and, you know, we know that physical
• 42:38
  Betsy Cohen: health and now more than ever, mental health, behavioral health is so
• 42:42
  Betsy Cohen: important that
• 42:44
  Betsy Cohen: we all feel connected and feel that there are people who care about our
• 42:48
  Betsy Cohen: well-being.
• 42:48
  Betsy Cohen: And that's just it it can only happen with a personal
• 42:53
  Betsy Cohen: connection.
• 42:54
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 42:55
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 42:55
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, you just you just reminded me, Betsy, a couple things.
• 42:59
  Lisa Nichols: One is in your TED Talk, you talk about the starfish story.
• 43:03
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 43:04
  Lisa Nichols: So we may have listeners that are sitting there and thinking, well, yeah, I
• 43:07
  Lisa Nichols: don't even know how to help.
• 43:09
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 43:10
  Lisa Nichols: But I think we all have the ability to do something.
• 43:14
  Lisa Nichols: Like you said, send a card, send a text.
• 43:17
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 43:17
  Lisa Nichols: I'm thinking about you.
• 43:18
  Lisa Nichols: I know that you're whatever it is.
• 43:20
  Lisa Nichols: You've got this big, issue at work right now.
• 43:23
  Lisa Nichols: Just telling you that I'm thinking about you.
• 43:25
  Lisa Nichols: If you wanna bounce anything off.
• 43:28
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, can you imagine, Betsy, how much better the
• 43:32
  Lisa Nichols: world would be if we would each just do a little
• 43:36
  Lisa Nichols: bit?
• 43:37
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, it's you know, do a little bit.
• 43:39
  Lisa Nichols: But the starfish story that you told, I love I've heard that story
• 43:43
  Lisa Nichols: before, and I love that story.
• 43:45
  Lisa Nichols: You know?
• 43:45
  Lisa Nichols: Because the the guy was standing there throwing them back in.
• 43:48
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 43:48
  Lisa Nichols: And then somebody said, what are you doing?
• 43:51
  Lisa Nichols: You can't help all these starfish.
• 43:54
  Lisa Nichols: And he said, well, it's gonna help the one that that I threw
• 43:58
  Lisa Nichols: back in.
• 43:59
  Lisa Nichols: Right?
• 43:59
  Lisa Nichols: So,
• 44:01
  Betsy Cohen: I think the power of one is really important.
• 44:04
  Betsy Cohen: And it's a word.
• 44:05
  Betsy Cohen: It's a text.
• 44:06
  Betsy Cohen: It's an arm on someone's shoulder,
• 44:10
  Betsy Cohen: that when you reach out to one person,
• 44:13
  Betsy Cohen: it makes a difference.
• 44:14
  Betsy Cohen: And I think we can often be overwhelmed by the
• 44:18
  Betsy Cohen: global issues, national issues, the things that are all
• 44:22
  Betsy Cohen: so big.
• 44:23
  Betsy Cohen: But I think,
• 44:25
  Betsy Cohen: I'm a fan of Stephen Covey and seven and eight Habits of Highly Effective
• 44:29
  Betsy Cohen: People.
• 44:30
  Betsy Cohen: And one of the really important concepts is the the beginning,
• 44:34
  Betsy Cohen: which is, you know, what is my circle that I can make a difference?
• 44:39
  Betsy Cohen: And then, you know, you can have a circle of concern beyond that.
• 44:42
  Betsy Cohen: But, you know, what can I control?
• 44:44
  Betsy Cohen: And whenever I feel overwhelmed, I go back down to what is in my
• 44:47
  Betsy Cohen: circle of control.
• 44:49
  Betsy Cohen: Mhmm.
• 44:49
  Betsy Cohen: I go back to what can I control then that grounds me?
• 44:53
  Betsy Cohen: And, yes, maybe I have a little more circle of influence.
• 44:55
  Betsy Cohen: But when there's things that are beyond that, some days I just have to
• 44:59
  Betsy Cohen: bring myself back down to what is very basic with what I can control
• 45:03
  Betsy Cohen: with what I do, what I say, who I interact with,
• 45:07
  Betsy Cohen: what can I do for myself, what can I do for for one other
• 45:11
  Betsy Cohen: person?
• 45:12
  Betsy Cohen: Yeah.
• 45:13
  Betsy Cohen: But go back down what's in your control, what's in my control, and make
• 45:17
  Betsy Cohen: that one gesture.
• 45:19
  Lisa Nichols: Yeah.
• 45:20
  Lisa Nichols: So good.
• 45:20
  Lisa Nichols: That is just gold.
• 45:21
  Lisa Nichols: That's gold.
• 45:22
  Lisa Nichols: Well, I have to ask you this, Betsy.
• 45:25
  Lisa Nichols: The common three line is what is the something extra that you believe
• 45:29
  Lisa Nichols: every leader needs?
• 45:32
  Betsy Cohen: I think every leader leader needs to be caring.
• 45:36
  Betsy Cohen: I think they need to be caring for the people that they have the
• 45:39
  Betsy Cohen: responsibility,
• 45:41
  Betsy Cohen: for supervising, working with, leading, and
• 45:45
  Betsy Cohen: as colleagues.
• 45:46
  Betsy Cohen: And so I think if there's empathy and care, you can have
• 45:50
  Betsy Cohen: a core connection.
• 45:52
  Betsy Cohen: And through that, you will have wonderful results
• 45:56
  Betsy Cohen: for the goals that you are working on together.
• 45:59
  Lisa Nichols: Mhmm.
• 46:00
  Lisa Nichols: I love that.
• 46:01
  Lisa Nichols: And you know what?
• 46:02
  Lisa Nichols: Here's the other thing is there's there's always a multiplication factor,
• 46:06
  Lisa Nichols: isn't there, Betsy?
• 46:07
  Lisa Nichols: You know, and a a ripple effect because you affect one,
• 46:12
  Lisa Nichols: and then what if that one gets inspired to go
• 46:17
  Lisa Nichols: affect another?
• 46:18
  Lisa Nichols: I mean, there truly is a multiplication factor there.
• 46:21
  Lisa Nichols: So I just love that, and I completely one hundred percent agree with
• 46:25
  Lisa Nichols: you.
• 46:26
  Lisa Nichols: And so I just wanna say thank you for showing up for me today
• 46:31
  Lisa Nichols: and for our listeners and being for for us and just sharing all
• 46:35
  Lisa Nichols: your amazing wisdom.
• 46:36
  Lisa Nichols: I really, really appreciate it.
• 46:39
  Betsy Cohen: Thank you, Lisa.
• 46:39
  Betsy Cohen: This has been a wonderful opportunity to, share our thoughts together,
• 46:43
  Betsy Cohen: and I'm very appreciative.
• 46:46
  Announcer: Something extra with Lisa Nichols is a Technology Partners production.
• 46:50
  Announcer: Copyright Technology Partners Inc twenty nineteen.
• 46:53
  Announcer: To learn more about this week's guest, check out the show notes at tpi
• 46:57
  Announcer: dot co slash podcast.
• 46:59
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• 47:02
  Announcer: Thank you for listening to Something Extra.