The first thing that comes to my mind is not working, turning on (or off) light switches, no television, avoiding cooking, etc.

Chores should be finished before sundown on Friday night and paused until Saturday’s sun has set.

A practitioner’s time is focused on family, catching up on sleep, and perhaps a stroll in the neighborhood.

The World Seems to be Always “On.”

I sometimes feel that I live in a world that is always “on.”

You probably do, too.

The relentless hum of notifications, scrolling through reams of information, and the constant stream of notifications can sometimes leave me feeling frazzled and disconnected.

Pausing, reflecting, and renewing help me immensely.

Welcome to my piece on embracing the Shabbat spirit.

And no, I am not just talking to those who observe religiously, but to anyone, regardless of their religious background, seeking a deeper connection to themselves, loved ones, or the world around them.

Exiting the High-Speed Race With No Finish Line

I recently learned about Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath.

Followers observe 25 hours of rest and rejuvenation from Friday sundown to Saturday nightfall.

I am not Jewish, but take this lesson away: I need time to disconnect from the world’s demands.

I want to focus on relationships and simply be.

But Michael, you ask, what are you turning to Torah teachings when you are not Jewish?

Shabbat has no deep religious significance for you, right?

But here’s the thing: Its core principles resonate with me, given my desire to lead a more balanced and meaningful life.

I want to build a pause in my life’s rhythm, reclaiming time for what is truly important to me.

You may or may not be religious, but a designated period of reflection may give you a much-needed respite from your always-on world.

Creating a Pause to Uplug and Reconnect

I constantly engage with technology at work and home.

I read a book every week or two on my Kindle. I blog most Fridays and Saturdays. I subscribe to the Seattle Times, New York Times, and Washington Post. I use my computer to study Japanese and Italian languages. You get the picture.

One of the most striking things about Shabbat is unplugging from technology.

Will I put away my phone, laptop, and other devices for 25 hours?

Frankly, no.

But can I do it in the morning or the evening on a weekend? Sure.

Disconnecting has made me realize how constant streams of information and notifications can leave me a little overwhelmed and anxious.

There is always one more blog to read or one more cancer management article to read.

Without digital distractions, I create space for deeper inner connections and better connections to my loved ones and the world around me.

No devices means sharing a meal with my family or walking in nature. It can also be a moment for quiet reflection.

Without digital distractions, we create space for deeper connections with ourselves, our loved ones, and the world around us.

Whether it’s sharing a meal with family, spending time in nature, or simply enjoying a quiet moment of reflection, Shabbat encourages us to cultivate meaningful experiences that nourish our souls.

Embrace the Beauty of Simple Being Present

Shabbat invites us to embrace the beauty of slowing down and simply being present.

It’s a time to release the pressure to be productive and to allow ourselves to rest and recharge.

“To gain control of the world of space is certainly one of our tasks. The danger begins when in gaining power in the realm of space we forfeit all aspirations in the realm of time. There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord. Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath

I have written about how a leisurely walk helps me find stillness. Quiet contemplation promises greater perspective, clarity, creativity, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Let’s examine some practical ways to pause your life’s rhythm. I guarantee you will cultivate a deeper sense of peace, joy, and connection.

Creating A Pause (How I Embrace the Shabbat Spirit)

Here are a few simple ways to incorporate its principles into your own life:

• Designate a rest day. Choose one day a week to unplug from technology, slow down, and focus on what truly matters. I am not there yet, but trying to carve out a morning or afternoon.
• Create rituals. Whether lighting candles, sharing a meal with loved ones, or spending time in nature, establish meaningful rituals that mark your day of rest.
• Practice mindfulness. Take time each day to be present and fully engage in whatever you’re doing, whether eating, walking, or simply breathing. Yes, mindfulness eating!
• Connect with others. Make time for meaningful interactions with loved ones, friends, and community.

In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, the spirit of Shabbat offers an oasis of stillness.

By embracing the wisdom of this ancient practice, regardless of our religious orientation, we can reclaim our time, nourish our souls, and cultivate a more balanced and meaningful life.

Thank you for reading “Pause, Reflect, Renew: Embracing the Shabbat Spirit.” I hope you have a joy-filled day.

The post More Than Just Matzah Balls: Finding Meaning in the Modern Shabbat appeared first on Medika Life.

The schedule for the two-day gathering, which attracts 1,200 people, is jam-packed with sessions that range from an overflowing mainstage room to roundtables featuring four to five panelists who are at the top of their fields and could occupy a mainstage and dynamic, edgy topics breakout.

The expected question from someone who has not attended a “Summit” is, do the conversations lead to outcomes? The short answer is “Yes.”  The longer answer is found in the volume of partnerships among corporate attendees in forming coalitions and consortiums that draw in not-for-profit attendees. In many situations, company executives recognized that to “make things happen,” collaboration is required with third parties dedicated to a common concern. 

Aside from the set program, plenty is happening during the coffee and lunch breaks.  Attendees rub shoulders with leaders such as Candace Dixon from Command Shift, a national consortium advocating for strategies that inspire the advancement of young women of color in tech careers; Laura Wlling, Esq from Goodwill Industries International, whose societal contributions encompass a vast range of services – from employment training to supporting sustainable communities that reduce landfill and offer affordable consumer goods to struggling households.  

There are also incredibly compelling stories that magically appear over lunch. One young woman who will be a national inspirational speaker, Aliscia Brorman, spent her childhood shuttling from foster home to foster home. Foster Love sponsored Aliscia to attend the Social Innovation Summit. As an attendee, she mesmerized her lunch table with her journey of overcoming challenge after challenge. Foster Love arranged for Aliscia to complete a college degree.  Here’s an interview that traces her journey from an abandoned child to a societal role model:

Who is Behind the Social Innovation Summit

Landmark Ventures is the magic behind the Social Innovation Curtain.  An investment banker and strategic consultancy, Zeev Klein, chief executive officer, expresses his passion for the Summit, calling it “The organization’s contribution to conversations that can change society for the better.” Unlike other curators and high-tier meetings, Klein can be seen among attendees, usually chatting and seeking to help people make connections.  He does not step to the main stage for applause.  Gratification comes from advancing the Summit’s mission.

Klein recalls that the original Summit meetings were hosted by the United Nations and even once held in the General Assembly room.  He and his senior team attend the Summit looking to introduce and make connections among the attendees, including many significant health, consumer, and high-tech manufacturing companies with edgy start-ups and NGOs.

Waves of Inspiring Leaders and Stories

Story after story unfolds at the Summit.  For example, with nearly one billion people living without access to reliable electricity, families in poverty spend up to 30 percent of their income to light their homes.  They sacrifice food, medicine, and education to function in the dark. Watts of Love Founder Nancy Economou is equipping people with the resources they need to end the cycles of poverty with a simple, sustainable solution that has an immediate impact.

Through a financial literacy program combined with a patented solar light, Watts of Love empowers women and families and puts them on a path to economic sustainability.

“I am invigorated by the energy and enthusiasm of the Social Innovation Summit and feel privileged to be part of the conversation. Surrounded by others committed to promoting solutions to social challenges, we are reminded of our shared responsibility to be catalysts for positive social change, says Economou. “The Summit’s focus on fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and highlighting innovative approaches to creating positive social impact is truly inspiring.”

Learn more here about Watts of Love:

Post-COVID lockdowns, accelerated online shopping continues, and a new ” wardrobing ” trend is growing. E-commerce customers purchase multiple clothing items to return most items after trying them on at home. Retail returns doubled from 8% in 2019 to 16% in 2022, generating 24 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 alone. Carbon emissions are linked to significant environmental issues and public health challenges. 

An advanced live virtual try-on (LVTO) technology platform, GEENEE, serves major fashion brands, behemoth SHEIN, luxury eyewear conglomerate Luxottica, and global beauty brands such as L’ORÉAL to reduce emission-producing product returns.  GEENEE tackles the fragmented device ecosystem dilemma, where mobile phones, laptops, and desktops have different camera modules with varying focal lengths and specs.  Data show that 40% of product returns are due to the customer’s dissatisfaction with the product’s look and style.

After trying GEENEE’s product firsthand, I saw how fast products instantly appear and how far the tech has evolved since pockets of early adopter brands introduced the public to online VTO experiences nearly a decade ago.    

Ultimately, GEENEE CEO Cory Grenier states, “Whatever the technical tools applied—AR, AI, ML or others—these are just features, not products. GEENEE’s product and service is ‘personalization.’ Personalized product experiences speak to customers because people are served products that align recommendations with their expectations, leverage purchase history, save time, and eliminate frustration. Personalization can also help make our environment healthier by reducing rampant returns.”   

Partnerships Are the Currency of Success at the Social Innovation Summit

Curt Ellis, Co-Founder and co-CEO of FoodCorps, is partnering with Alex Amouyel, CEO of the Newman’s Own Foundation, to host a SIS roundtable on food justice. FoodCorps currently taps into more than 520,000 students in its work, helping them experience food as a daily source of joy and power in school. Through its AmeriCorps direct impact program, its power-building work with students, families, and BIPOC school nutrition leaders, and its policy and advocacy work, FoodCorps is pursuing a bold 2030 goal: achieving a future by the end of this decade where every child has access to food education and free, nourishing meals in school.

“The Social Innovation Summit brings together the dreamers and partners we need to realize our ambitious vision for shifting the school food system on behalf of the 50 million kids who show up in school every morning needing not only to learn but to eat,” says Ellis.

Investing in Global Health from the Ground Up

Plenty of attendees addressed the very granular health and environmental issues faced by people in developed and emerging countries. Moderated by FINN Partners’s Amy Terpeluk, a social impact pioneer, The World Shoe shared insights at a roundtable conversation tackling an overlooked problem – the dangers of 600,000,000 going shoeless.  Without suitable footwear, more than one billion people face deadly diseases due to bacteria, insects, and unhealed sores.

“This first day at SIS was a great reminder of the WHY behind all our work for collective betterment. Building with other disruptive minds moves us from healthy competition to coop petition is infectious. The dynamic solutions being shared have increased my desire to push the envelope of change with what we are doing with World Shoe,” shares Astor Chambers, vice president of marketing at World Shoe.

Chambers is no stranger to footwear. Prior to World Shoe, he helped rally consumers to mega-sport shoe brands such as Nike and Adidas. At NIKE, Inc., he drove the overall strategy and leveraged all three basketball brands within the “Just Do It” giant.  He’s now making it happen for tens of millions of people.

Police with a Heart

Police2Peace is a transformational program geared to change law enforcement culture for police and sheriffs by reframing officers as “peace officers.  Its mission is for every cop in America to deliver policing that’s practical, empathetic, and just. The five-year-old, DC-based nonprofit does police culture training for cities and states and is a federal government contractor. Its training also includes compassionate mental health, homeless and domestic violence response. 

Lisa Broderick founded the organization after a 30-year stint as a high-tech executive.  Broderick’s career began at Apple Computer as a student at Stanford in the 1980s. Then she realized the words “peace officer” could be a disruptive technology for policing, and she believed the term “peace officer” could change how the public saw “cops” and how “cops” see themselves.  Some 80% of states historically refer to their law enforcement officers as “peace officers” in state statutes—while none use the term as a label when describing the cops to the public.  Lisa, community members, and police leaders set out to change that mindset.  

“America wants to see the heart behind the badge,” said Broderick.  “And cops can be on the lookout for the heart behind the person,” referring to the need for compassionate police response in tough situations like mental health-related calls for service.  “It’s a win-win.”

Journey to the Stars – a Summit Launch

The meeting is oversubscribed, but societal needs—from making caregiving accessible and ensuring a working wage to pursuing sustainable manufacturing best practices to women’s rights and realizing the terror of the penitentiary system to paving the way for talented people like Katya Echazarreta, the first Mexican-born woman to travel to space—ignites the imaginations of millions to pursue life journeys filled with purpose. It’s all magically happening at the Social Innovation Summit.

The post The Social Innovation Summit is the Other UN Changing the World appeared first on Medika Life.

This year is no exception. Thought leaders, innovators, philanthropists, and community activists from around the globe, united in their quest for solutions, will meet in Chicago on June 4-5^th. An impressive roster of C-Suite and policy leaders are delivering keynotes and moderate roundtables, including Dr. Chelsea Clinton, vice-chair of the Clinton Foundation, and Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois, both well-known for their longstanding commitment to social impact efforts.

Landmark Ventures follows a unique model combining business development services, investment banking, and special events, also hosts the CIO Summit, which convenes business, technology, venture capital, and innovation leaders. These two gatherings enable Landmark to bring diverse voices together to advance needed change.

Spirit of Collaboration

The Summit’s true power lies in assembling participants from diverse sectors, each bringing their perspectives and expertise. Entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas, non-profit leaders with deep community insights, corporate executives bringing resources and economic clout to the table, and policymakers able to effect change converge, contributing to a tapestry of perspectives and complementary skills. The resultant cross-pollination of ideas leads to innovative solutions that would likely not emerge in more homogenous settings.

Beyond buzzwords, inclusivity and diversity are the essence of the Summit’s ethos. The complex, multifaceted problems our world faces require input from a broad range of stakeholders, and those who attend believe that every voice, regardless of its size, matters and contributes to the collective impact the gathering seeks. 

Fostering Innovation and Driving Impact

Innovative ideas that lead to action are the lifeblood of the Social Innovation Summit. The event serves as an incubator, providing a platform to present ideas in motion and receive feedback from a policy- and business-savvy audience. This supportive environment can help refine concepts into viable, effective solutions.

The Innovation Showcase, a Summit highlight, offers startups and social enterprises an opportunity to pitch their projects to a receptive panel of judges and an audience of interested investors and potential partners. The showcase provides high-level exposure, valuable feedback, and a chance to secure funding essential for scaling solutions.

Social Innovation Summit impacts reverberate well beyond the event itself. Discussions and connections often lead to collaborative projects that effect change, from local community initiatives to global movements. This is the Summit’s greatest strength. Collaborations that took root at the Summit have led to education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability initiatives, benefiting underserved communities worldwide.

According to Barb Short, senior director, Corporate Social Responsibility at Sanofi, who is attending her third Summit and speaking at a Day One Roundtable titled HEALTH EQUITY & ACCESS: “The Social Innovation Summit has always been my go-to to learn from changemakers who are not only bold, but also are sleeves-rolled, connecting across sectors to understand nuance and innovate new collaborative methods toward meaningful movement.”

Models for Success and Agents of Change

The Summit also spotlights successful social innovation models, providing practical examples for others to follow. These case studies demonstrate how meaningful change is achieved, providing a roadmap for replicating or adapting successful strategies in other communities.

A notable success story: a not-for-profit social enterprise that developed a low-cost water purification system for use in developing countries attracted investors and partners during the Summit, leading to partnerships that drove broad adoption of its technology. Today, millions have access to clean drinking water thanks to conversations and connections made during the two-day meeting.

Empowerment is also a key theme at the Summit. Participants gain the skills and confidence to drive community change through workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking opportunities. This is vital for young leaders and emerging social entrepreneurs, who often face significant barriers to achieving their goals.

The Leadership Lab, one of the Summit’s standout sessions, provides intensive training and mentorship to these emerging leaders. Participants learn about project management and social impact strategies, which equip them with the tools to lead successful initiatives. Many alum have gone on to create successful projects in their communities, underscoring the Summit’s lasting influence.

Systemic Challenges

While celebrating individual innovations, the Summit recognizes the need to tackle systemic challenges, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. It provides a forum for discussing these broader issues and developing strategies for effectively tackling them.

The Summit facilitates dialogue between different sectors that must be involved in addressing systemic change. For example, a panel might bring together policymakers, business leaders, and activists to discuss strategies for reducing income inequality. By fostering these cross-sector dialogues, the summit helps build the coalitions needed to address challenges of the greatest possible scope.

Is it a Meeting or a Movement?

Finally, the Social Innovation Summit serves as a powerful platform for advocacy. The summit shapes public discourse and influences policy by spotlighting critical social issues, exploring innovative, collaborative solutions, and—critically—building the foundation for empowered advocacy. Many speakers use their platform to serve as agents for change, raising awareness and mobilizing support for worthy causes addressing the most important issues of our time.

For example, a recent Summit speaker used their platform to call for criminal justice reform, highlighting the need for systemic changes to more comprehensively address the challenges of mass incarceration. This speech raised awareness and inspired participants to advocate for change, demonstrating the Summit’s ripple effect.

The Social Innovation Summit in Chicago is more than an event; it’s a movement driving societal change. By uniting diverse participants, fostering innovation, and addressing systemic challenges, the Summit’s impacts reverberate. Its emphasis on inclusivity, collaboration, and empowerment ensures that a wide range of voices are heard and that innovative solutions receive the support they need to succeed.

As the Summit continues to grow and evolve, its influence will only increase, inspiring more individuals and organizations to join the movement to work toward social good. In a world that faces complex, interconnected challenges, the Social Innovation Summit stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in creating a better future for all.

Attending the Summit with a story to share on how this gathering has influenced your purpose and social impact efforts – reach out!

[Special thanks to John Bianchi for his review of this preview piece and to the Landmark Ventures team for inviting Medika Life to attend this inspiring gathering of changemakers.]

The post The Social Innovation Summit: Catalyzing Societal Change appeared first on Medika Life.

Jim Collins, who penned the leadership classic Good to Great, suggested businesses adopt a BHAG, the acronym for “Big Hairy Audacious Goal.”  While Collins had extraordinary business performance in mind when he thought of BHAGs, it’s clear today that employees, whether at corporations or non-governmental organizations, want their leaders to be bold and rally them toward a purpose that achieves a greater good.

Pressing Problems Cannot Be Ignored

Around the globe, we face pressing population health challenges. Non-communicable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mental health issues become more common and continue their destructive trajectories. To add to the dangers, some 16 million Americans – the most vulnerable – may soon be without Medicaid-related health coverage when COVID emergency coverage comes to an abrupt end.

As a result, our medical system may soon be overwhelmed by the public health and access-to-care burdens society will soon face. Providers, payers, patients, and product health communications within the health ecosystem must recognize that the collaborative search for solutions is in everyone’s best interests.

Climate change is also putting our health at risk. The increase in floods, drought, extreme heat, wildfires and hurricanes could cost the American economy $2 trillion a year by the end of the century, according to the Office of Management and Budget – that is a 7.1% hit to earning power.  We have yet to come to terms with the reality that our health and the well-being of future generations are dependent on the earth’s ability to sustain us.

People Seek and Want Deeper Connection

We cannot tackle climate change alone, nor can we overcome and discover cures for disease as individuals. Businesses can make a big contribution here, effecting change and providing the purpose that employees increasingly seek. Leaders have the opportunity to drive collective action that engages their employees, rallying them to work together toward something more meaningful than their daily punch list alone.

Companies are organized and geared toward selling products and services for profit. Their leaders are in turn measured by return on investment and shareholder value.  While they pursue organizational goals, companies must consider how they align business interests to social issues no longer hidden from sight.  By doing so, they create stronger market relevance by bonding with their employees and customers and supporting policymakers who define the business environment in which they operate.  Purpose is a win-win-win proposition.

Here are five important considerations – mindsets – for creating communities of purpose that can enable leaders to rally their people to take on shared societal challenges:

1. Cultivate Collaboration: Organizations often set out to construct identities for themselves, but it’s not marketing that makes a company significant, it’s shared values. The test of a culture is how willing your people are to put everything aside during adversity and ask, “How can I help, and what do you need?” That culture of collaboration creates the mindset that together, everything is possible. Collins recognizes President Kennedy’s call to action to land a man on the moon as a spur that required American engineers, mathematicians, and computer and medical scientists to collaborate to succeed.  

2. Abolish CYA (Cover Your) …Behavior: Who among us hasn’t had an experience with a coach, manager, or leader who used blame, shame, and threats to motivate? It might work for a short time, but it’s abusive and wrong. The result is a CYA culture in which no one takes risks, and people become experts in not having the finger pointed at them. No one does outstanding work; even the organization’s stars don’t stick around long.

Influential leaders don’t waste time looking to blame. They seek to understand, share learnings, demonstrate empathy, and get people back on track. While punitive leadership buries progress and purpose, an enduring commitment to creating the best possible place to work opens people to dreaming, thinking, and working big.

3. Be a Learning Organization: So, you made a mistake. Don’t feel intimidated or upset; share what you’ve learned. The greatest thing we can do to foster knowledge is to share information. We are all each other’s teachers, and in sharing successes and failures equally, we make a higher level of achievement possible. In learning organizations, people feel valued because their risks are rewarded, they’re supported emotionally and elevated professionally, resulting in heightened performance levels.

4. Form a More Perfect Union through Diversity: An engaged workforce is a key business driver. Conversely, Gallup has estimated that the cost of disengagement—in the form of turnover, low productivity, and low morale, can come at the expense of 18% of salary. In a community with a strong culture dedicated to a shared vision, we must have many “on the bus;” as Collins has suggested, we want to make sure that everyone finds the right seat, doing what they do better than anyone else.

To rise toward perfection, we want to attain and stay true to the culture we seek to form. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are requirements for communities to thrive.  Leaders must tap varied life perspectives to enable people to drive forward together.

5.Align Doing Well and Doing Good: It is arduous to sustain a company if business fundamentals aren’t prioritized. But if it’s only about a business’s performance, for employees, work becomes “time to make the donuts,” and after the newness rubs off, it loses meaning.  Purpose does not require companies to abandon business goals.  It does not mean that effective production or service is secondary to “doing good.” If a company has strong business fundamentals in place and aligns them with goals for sustainability or social impact, it is likely to perform consistently better. 

Careers provide us with employment and a secure paycheck, but is that enough to sustain body, planet, and soul?  During his short yet powerful life, philosopher and poet Kahlil Gibran wrote: “To understand the heart and mind, look not at what he has already achieved, but what he aspires to.”

Communities united in purpose achieve results; this is the next challenge for business leaders. To create and foster high-performing employee communities, business leaders must align their people, head and heart, with greater purpose.  That is a BHAG worthy of aspiring to.

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