Power, Narrative, and Influence: Van Jones and Promise CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

Van Jones is a political commentator, author, and former Obama White House advisor. Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is founder and CEO of Promise, a software company transforming how governments deliver services to people in need. They joined the Village Global team to discuss what founders building in complex sectors need to know about power, narrative, and influence. 

Takeaways:

• Political people often operate on emotion and relationships, rather than rationality. When selling to the government, demonstrating genuine care matters more than demonstrating expertise.
• Relationships precede transactions. Government buyers want to feel like partners in solving a problem, not targets of a sales pitch. Staff them like a colleague, not a customer.
• Authenticity cannot be manufactured. Know your (and your company’s) deep "why" and let it show. People can always tell when you're running a script on them.
• Fame and brand are a hack for time. Walking into a room where people already know and trust you changes everything about the conversation that follows.
• Your founding story is a strategic asset. People want to belong to something meaningful. A compelling origin story turns government contacts into advocates who champion you behind closed doors.
• Find the sliver of alignment. Working with someone you disagree with on nine out of ten issues can still yield results if you're aligned on the one thing that matters. Principled, narrow partnerships can achieve what ideological purity cannot.
• For mission-driven companies, revenue is how you measure impact. If your product serves the mission, making more money means helping more people.
• Choose investors like you'd choose a spouse. Turning down better terms to work with people you trust pays off. When a crisis hits or you need to pivot, those relationships let you make the best decision for the company without panic.

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