I don’t know where to start – because this book has inspired me in so many ways. So maybe, let me tell you, how „Good is the new cool“ came to me:

Early this year, I was in the middle of restructuring my business. From: an established lifestyle blog HER/etiquette and my consulting business HER CONCEPT, based on the ultimate luxury (speaking about the best of the best with that special twist that will spark the extra fire in those, who’ve seen it all…) – to: something more meaningful, something that has value. Something that actually sparks the real fire “called purpose” – and creates positive impact, not only in myself but in others and our planet. 

It was natural for me to ask my mentor, friend and a role-model, Jessica Sibley, Chief Sales Officer at Forbes Media, for advice on my new concept. Just as always, she gave me the perfect advice and inspiration: by sending me Afdhel Aziz’s book „Good is the new Cool“. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. All my questions have been answered – by some of our industry’s greatest examples showcased in this book. And so, not even new inspiration has evolved, but also my initial idea, to engage in the „positive“ movement, has been strengthened.

I’ve connected with Afdhel Aziz, the L.A. based Author of the bestselling book „Good is the new cool“. And fate would have it, only 3 weeks later, we met in Zurich and chatted about purpose, impact, and how cool it actually is to work on changing the world for the good:

Afdhel Aziz and his co-Author Bobby Jones have experienced eye-opening moments that have led them to transform their way of working (which I will let you discover yourself by reading the book) – and their approach to changing the world by teaching companies to „market like they give a damn.“

Afdhel, the title of your book says it all: „GOOD IS THE NEW COOL”. What are your 5 key messages?

Businesses do well by doing good. There is this increase in consumers who want to buy from companies that do good – and on the other hand employees who want to work for companies that do good, as well as investors who want to invest in such companies. It’s a disruptive moment for capitalism and business. A new value driven approach, which is the idea for brands to lead with purpose: the higher cause of existence. The higher force of a brand beyond making money, which has a positive and social/environmental impact: 

• Know your purpose.
• Don’t advertise, solve problems.
• Think citizens, not consumers.
• People are the new media.
• Make sure you got to back-up the promise with the proof.

How would you describe the recent shift of perception in the (business) world?

People expect brands to produce things in a way that doesn’t harm the planet/people, in ethical ways. The idea of abundance says, we now have the technology to give back more than we take. Because the state of the world is so messed up right now we have to move from preservation to restoration. What this means is, brands should invest in things that leave the world better than they’ve found it. (Read more about it here, in Afdhel’s Forbes article : „Abundance is the new sustainability“.

What, in your opinion are the differences between the mindset of our generation and of the next generation?

I think the next generation is extremely worried about the state of the planet they are inheriting from us – and rightly so. I think that is manifesting itself in the work of amazing heroes like Greta Thunberg and the kids all around the world marching to raise awareness of the ‘climate catastrophe’. I think our generation needs to wake up to the problems we’ve created and take swift action to try and avoid making things even worse.

How can each of us be more conscious/do good in our every day life?

Kindness is a good place to start. It is at the very simplest level it is about to practicing kindness to the people you are surrounded with, you work with, kindness to your consumers. Kindness to the environment. You can make a tremendous amount of where you are today. You could start by putting this kindness in an active mode and positively benefit those around you.

What is your message to those, who don’t follow/believe in this movement (yet)?

There are people who didn’t believe that digital is going to be disruptive to business and didn’t invest in it. I believe that this idea of purpose is going as disruptive as digital was. I like to quote Max Lenderman: „Purpose is the new digital. You don’t have to worry about it if you don’t care. But be aware that your competition is involved in it.“

You are the Chief Purpose Officer of your company: Conspiracy of Love. Tell me more about your work. How does a typical day/project look like?

No two days are alike! Conspiracy of Love has worked with a dozen Fortune 500 brands since inception: from lifestyle brands like Adidas, Sonos, Bacardi to CPG companies like Coty, Mars and MillerCoors, to technology companies like Facebook and Microsoft.

Our work centres around Purpose in three different ways. Number one , we help brands and companies ‚Discover or Define purpose – articulating a key set of Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values which helps become the ‚North star, a rallying cry for the entire organization.

Number two, we have an offering called ‚Designing Purpose. We think that the (successful) future of marketing is by creating added value for the consumer. Products should solve problems. So sometimes the solution is to create products – at other times its to create platforms that drive brand value and social impact at the same time.

And number three is called ‚Inspiring Purpose. We help companies help their employees find purpose and link it to that of the company. Its really the most amazing and transformational work we get to do!

Thank you Afdhel. I look forward to more projects and conversations with you in the near future!

* Afdhel is the co-author of Good is the New Cool: Market Like You Give a Damn, a provocative manifesto for a bold new model of 21st marketing that helps brands ‘do well by doing good’. He is also an inspirational keynote speaker who has spoken internationally at the Cannes Lions, SXSW, AdWeek, TEDx and the Forbes CMO Summit, as well as at companies like Levi’s, The North Face Crate and Barrel, Booking.com and many others. He also writes ‘The Power Of Purpose’ column in Forbes on the topic of business and social impact.