January Culturati Magazine

It’s not the first time our country has lost its innocence, but it seems so to most of today’s generations. It is the worst and closest to a successful attempted coup against the legislative branch of our government by the executive branch. Our nation’s Capitol was stormed by an insurgent mob intent on disrupting the certification of our election of the 46th US president.

Recriminations are flying and facts are emerging from the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Acting US Attorney for District of Columbia, Michael R. Sherwin.

Today the House of Representatives will impeach Donald John Trump, a second time, for issuing false statements of fraud in the elections, threatening government officials demanding they overturn election results, and inciting violence against the legislature to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 Presidential election.

It is a solemn time in America. In addition to sedition, impeachment of our president, and the 389,621 deaths to COVID-19, we expect at least another 100,000 COVID deaths. And . . . there is a vaccine, two actually, approved for emergency use in this country. 5.9 million Americans have been vaccinated.

We are emerging from what (let’s hope) are our darkest times. There is reason to be optimistic — the vaccine, our resilience during the last 10 months, the opportunities that await us in this emerging world, in our emerging economies . . . it really will be a new world, with new work places and practices, the advancement of distance, learning and collaborative tools which will save us money and toil. We’ve developed new habits — many we won’t give up easily — rebalanced priorities and spent extraordinary time with family. Maybe we’ve even gotten to know each other a bit better.

My friend and our Culturati Summit 2021 co-chair Albert Swantner writes about divisions and challenges, optimistic that we can role model working together and getting stuff done in the workplace, in this month’s Culturati Magazine article, “To Be or Not To Be.”

And, our friend Jason Dorsey will remind us, for most of us, inform us of the challenges we face communicating between generations.

We’re launching Culturati’s new year with this very special guest, a renowned speaker and researcher, Jason Dorsey, as my guest on Culturati: LIVE this Tuesday, January 19th at noon. He’ll discuss the generational challenges leaders are facing today. How leaders navigate these challenges will determine team members’ enthusiasm, innovation, engagement, and loyalty. This has never been more important to get right than right now — yet so much of what is said about generations is not true. In this powerful program, Jason Dorsey will share brand new insights, surprising discoveries, and practical actions you can use right away. You can register for Culturati: LIVE here.

The Frederick Douglass speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” made a huge impact on my friend and often mentor Brett Hurt during his journey to realizing the power of diverse teams. He’s generously shared his essay, “An open letter to tech CEOs and leaders on the importance of diversity.”

There is much being written about the increased challenges of women during this time of COVID (global job loss 1.8x that of men, the potential permanent loss of 4.5mm childcare slots in America, the burden of which will fall disproportionately on women). I thought it was important to include Caribou Co-Founder Christine Simone’s Chrunchbase article on “The on Fundraising, Bias and the Pandemic’s Toll on Women” in this issue of Culturati Magazine. It reports an expected drop in women founded business fundings and highlights the need for a greater commitment to the ecosystem for women founded businesses.

learn your Austin ABC’s and become a super-connector

There is much being written about the Silicon Valley exodus to Silicon Hills. Actually, I abhor the nickname Silicon Hills, let’s just call it Austin! It’s part of a greater exodus from America’s largest, most expensive, higher taxed urban centers to more tax progressive communities where it’s easier to raise families and — in our case—to start and run tech companies. My dear friend, colleague and partner Joshua Baer is compiling a directory of who to know for those moving to Austin, “Learn your Austin ABC’s and become a local super-connector.”

Point of personal privilege — Main Street Hub co-founder, Andrew Allison, Jim Wick, Laura Hernandez Holmes and I have been joined by 100 leadership committee members and co-chairs Tom Meredith, Robbie Ausley, Jehmu Greene, Ali Khataw and Nelson Linder in launching Austinites for Progressive Reform, a campaign to make Austin the most pro-democracy city in America — to change our election schedule so that the most citizens participate in electing Austin’s mayor and council, trying a new, broader approach to campaign finance reform, and moving from a Strong Manager form of government to a Strong Mayor/Strong Council city. Tyson Tuttle, Brett Hurt, Barbary Brunner, Joshua Baer, Josh Jones-Dilworth, Liz Coufal, Paul Huggins, Erin Defosse, Kelli Mason and Joah Spearman have also joined our leadership committee. Brett was a Steering Committee member and helped write the charter amendments. You can learn more about the four proposed City of Austin charter amendments on our website AustinProgress.org. Feel free to reach out to me to get involved or learn more.

Culturati Summit 2021 is scheduled for April 6th, 7th and 8th from 10am to 2pm each day. It will take place virtually with three tracks: 1) Empowering Frontline & Middle Managers, 2) DEI Leadership and 3) Mental Health & Wellness. We’ll include programming on each track and two keynotes daily — not expecting attendees to tune in for all, but for what best addresses current pain points. We’re excited that Arianna Huffington will deliver our Mental Health & Wellness Keynote. Josh Jones-Dilworth and I are super excited that Albert Swantner and Janice Omadeka have joined us as co-chairs this year. Stay tuned for more news and information.

Sending you wishes for, literally, a New Year — one with fewer deaths, fewer tweets, more gatherings and prosperity for you and yours.

Eugene

Eugene Sepulveda is the co-founder of Culturati? as well as the CEO of the Entrepreneurs Foundation, a director & partner in Capital Factory, an Advisor to Notley Ventures and as Treasurer & a Sr. Advisor to Austin Mayor Steve Adler. Eugene’s long played at the intersection of business, politics, and community in Austin, in Texas and nationally. He can be reached at [email protected]