🔥 I have concepts of a plan: In Community #45

👉🏽 ICYMI: The idea of “concepts of a plan” just got meme-ified. And let’s not kid around – the one-liner is a setup and the punchline all in one.

Like most memes, there’s a truth behind them, and this one’s truth is resonating across cultures and communities.

Last week, I wrote about how shifts in routine can shift us altogether or be the anchor to hold us steady. As we try to stay steady and find our place at work, we look to our leaders for direction and support. When we don’t find it, it’s easy to question ourselves.

I’ve felt this ✨ so deeply ✨ at times when navigating a new company or team – especially when I was the only one who looked like me in the room. I’ve let others take credit for my wins, and I’ve struggled to express my value.

But this week, I’m taking a page from Jessica Alba and Trevor Noah’s conversation.

Alba, the pioneering founder of The Honest Company (and actress we’ve seen in movies and TV for decades), disrupted an entire industry when she launched her company. As a post-MBA, consumer goods leader deeply entrenched in that industry at the time, I remember its impact vividly. Her vision was clear, but the path wasn’t.

She was told no at every turn. She was given advice by people whose paths and lived experiences had little in common with hers. But the company went on to reach a $1+ billion valuation and go public, in the process redefining what listening to consumers and the public can achieve at scale.

She tells the story of her father’s attempts at assimilation and how he and her mother tried to protect her from the stereotypes that restricted him because of his Mexican heritage – and she touches on how walking through the world being truly you can help you to stand in your power.

It takes time though.

We don’t all have to be social justice warriors who decide to start a company and lobby on Capitol Hill, but ask yourself this:

👉🏽 What does standing in your power look like for you?

👉🏽 How can you move yourself forward with a clear vision in mind?

👉🏽 How can you bring others along to make things better for more of us?

Take some inspiration from this week’s Need to Know, and if you’d like an opportunity to be spotlighted in a future issue, reply to let me know how you’d answer these questions for yourself.

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Need To Know

💥 Why do some Latinas not feel Latina enough? Jenna Ortega and Carolina Reynoso’s viral clip is a healing moment for the “no sabo” kids.

💥 Sade partners with nonprofit Red Hot to release her first new song in six years. She's featured alongside Andre 3000, Yaeji, and more on an album supporting trans visibility.

💥 For TikTok-famous chef Cassie Yeung and her mom, food is personal. In so many of our Asian cultures, it's an expression of love.

I want to hear from you! Who are the leaders, creators, authors, entrepreneurs, or execs who deserve to have their stories featured in a future issue of In Community?

Reach out with your ideas by replying to this directly or sending a note to [email protected].

In community,

Fahad