S03 E02: How Brands Can Avoid Kindwashing with Eric Solomon, Ph.D.

Waves Social Podcast

Throughout the global pandemic and the escalating Black Lives Matter movement, we have heard from hundreds of companies expressing empathy across every known medium. For the most part, though, organizations are reacting rather than acting on their word in a phenomenon that today’s guest calls “kindwashing.” Eric Solomon, Ph.D, has held leadership positions for some of the top technology brands in the world, including YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram. Now he builds and installs Human Operating Systems for organizations and their leaders. In this episode, he shares a bit about his studies in psychology and artificial intelligence and how it led to roles at some of the biggest tech companies, as well as how he came to be involved in the early days of mobile tech, which is now the standard of how we all communicate online. Eric speaks candidly about the tragedy he has experienced in his life and how that brought him to focus more on what mattered to him and the difference he wanted to make, rather than just going for the big roles or becoming a cog in the marketing machine. One thing that stands out about this interview is Eric’s views on empathy and how it the term is overused in marketing. He has coined the term kindwashing and he goes into detail about what it means and how it has become a common brand response to conflict or crisis. Listening in, you will hear Eric turn kindwashing on its head, challenging listeners to think about how brands can “walk the walk” rather than throwing out blanket statements, to go back to the beginning and challenge companies and brands to stop talking about empathy and start acting on it. Tune in today!

Waves with Mike (@mmmiiike) and Mitzi (@mmmitzi).

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S6 - present Production by Morgan Berna, editing by Harrison Neef.