🔥 Migration of meaning: In Community #96

Your weekly boost of positive energy centering leaders, creators, and culture-makers from the rising majority

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“...most of us have the true gift of identity, and the power to express ourselves, the power to speak out for those who cannot for themselves, and the power to uplift one another.” – Gigi Hadid, founder, designer, & model

Who carries meaning — and where does it go?

Over the years, I’ve sat in rooms where decisions were made that would go on to shape global narratives — about beauty, belonging, identity, power. Most of the time, I was the only one who looked like me or came from a background like mine.

The only one who knew what it meant to not just market to culture, but to live inside it.

That double consciousness — strategist and insider, brand lead and cultural outlier — taught me something: meaning doesn’t stick just because it’s polished. It sticks when it’s carried by community.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve remixed. We’ve killed the noise. We’ve designed magnetic conviction.

This week, we explore Migration of Meaning — not just how it moves, but who moves it. Because values don’t live in decks. They live in people. And the people are the path.

The brands that matter now aren’t just heard. They’re held — by people, networks, systems that can move meaning farther than any single campaign or department ever could.

Meaning travels when community moves it

The most unique creative, the most cross-channel campaign, the boldest brand platform — none of it means anything if it doesn’t move. Not just across media, but across hearts. Across systems. Across communities that will interpret, reshape, and repurpose that meaning in ways we can’t always control.

And that’s the point.

The role of a leader now — especially those of us who’ve fought for a seat at the table — is not just to protect the brand. It’s to prepare it for cultural migration. And to do that, we have to put community at the center, not just as an audience, but as the engine of movement.

The job isn’t just about translating community to the brand or business. It’s to help the brand or business become part of the community’s movement.

Gigi Hadid’s words remind us that identity is a gift and a responsibility. To express, to speak out, to uplift — these aren’t just ideals but practical calls to action for how we lead with intention. Whether it’s by carving out space for new voices, anchoring brand values in lived experience, or building platforms that empower, the work starts with humility and courage.

✴️ A Note to the Builders

If you’re still reading this, it’s probably because — like me — you’ve had to carry more than just ideas. You’ve carried the weight of representation. Of cultural translation. Of making sure we’re not just “included” in the story, but that we help write it.

That’s why I built this. To connect with others doing the invisible labor of building brands with backbone, values with velocity, and meaning that moves.

  • Live sessions with peers stewarding community-centered brands

  • Useful playbooks or toolkits

  • A network of practice where strategy meets humanity

➡️ Join us here. Because we don’t carry this alone.

3 ways to design meaning that migrates — with community at the core

  1. Identify your cultural carriers. Not influencers — interpreters. The people already living the values you claim. Internal teams. Brand fans. Community leaders. The ones who’ll carry your message into rooms you’ll never enter — if you let them.

  2. Create systems of co-authorship. The community doesn’t just want a seat. They want a say. Invite feedback not just after launch, but before ideation. Make the work porous. Give them room to remix it. When we share the pen, we build collective credibility.

  3. Build infrastructure for trust, not control. Cultural migration is unpredictable. But trust is how you survive the chaos. That means consistent engagement, transparent mistakes, and deep listening — especially when it’s uncomfortable. Your brand becomes a container that evolves, not a statement set in stone.

Questions to lead with this week:

👉🏽 What meaning is your brand trying to migrate — and who’s carrying it?
👉🏽 Where might you be controlling too much out of fear?
👉🏽 How are you investing in the people and communities doing this labor with you — not for free, not for optics, but as true co-creators?

We can’t afford to stay stuck in place. Culture moves. And our communities are already leading. Isn’t it about time to walk beside them?

📊 Poll: Where is your brand feeling stuck in the cultural migration process?

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👋🏽 Before you go, can you think of one person you know who’d gain something from seeing this week’s newsletter? Maybe a different perspective or some additional support to sell in an idea? Make sure to fwd this onward to them and let them know they can subscribe here for more directly in their inbox. 🔁 

In community,

Fahad