An In Good Company podcast with Laura Chase, Chief Commercial Officer, WeAre8
How to make a career change
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to leave an established career and join a start up? And not just any start up, but one aiming to differentiate themselves by having a clear social purpose in a sector already full of well-established global names?
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Laura Chase did just this when she joined WeAre8, the latest social media app battling to find a space on our phones. Laura’s conversation with Dan ranges from how easy is it to have an organisational purpose, to human-centric change, to asking whether social media can truly be a force for good?
How important is an organisational purpose?
"I looked at what the word purpose actually means, and I would say it’s the reason something exists in a person's sense of resolve and determination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Working for an organisation that is driven to make change in the world does great things for a business and a culture and all the people in it. I get up in the morning with different levels of determination and I see that through all my team as well. We're brought together for a greater good, which is to transform social media and get ad revenue back to the places that need it most."
What does a human-centric organisation look like?
"You’ve got to walk the walk as well as talk. If sustainability is important, if kindness is important, if mental health is important, you have to make sure it’s felt every single day. So we think about it with everything we do: the suppliers that we work with, the office environment that we create, how we want people to go about their day-to-day jobs, how we want people to engage with our own clients. And the thing that stands out for me is that the network that you build and grow when you're in this space is just phenomenal."
Can social media be a force for good?
"When we think about social media as it stands right now, there are some good things in its purpose in the world. But the technology that's been built to do those good things – to connect us, to bring us joy, to inspire us – is harming us. It's doing a lot of damage: it’s damaging people's mental health, it's damaging the planet, and its damaging democracy. I look at my two little kids every day and I think we all deserve better. Future generations deserve better. WeAre8 have been working so hard to build something that is healthier, fairer, better for the world and everyone in it. We are a social media platform for the love of people and our planet, who don't tolerate hate."
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021: Leading organisational change with Darren Evans, CEO, Calder Stewart
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023: Wellbeing, resilience and mitigating burnout with Sahar Muhsin Laufman, Equity Alchemy
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