I didn't plan to write this

While working away on my laptop at a cafe today, someone dressed in full FIFA World Cup volunteer gear came up to me with a little notebook (after asking about which matcha I got).

It was an invitation to share your best advice. She has been asking people to choose a page and write a message in her notebook. Something positive or hopeful. She will read them on her birthday, apparently.

So I ended up writing something. Part of what I shared was encouragement to keep her positive energy and enthusiasm, even when others don’t match it. All of the cafe staff contributed too, and seemed really honoured to be asked (they first asked for time to think about their answers to make it meaningful).

If you’re waiting now for an epic lesson or takeaway about marketing or business, that’s not what this is for.

Instead, I think it’s a great reminder to be open-minded, willing to learn from others, and to stay open to connection (and do something that’s not on your screen).

Everyone has worthwhile advice to share.

What would you write?

Speaking of writing, I wrote a draft of this week’s newsletter on Wednesday, but felt it was too long and technical to be shared here right now. Instead, I curated a few things below that I’ve been speaking about and sharing elsewhere over the past week or so.

Let me know what’s most valuable to you!

Welcome to The Intersection.

Everything is becoming a video platform

Firstly, haven’t posted about this one anywhere yet, but I may do a full newsletter about it. There was an ADWEEK event yesterday, and I watched the recording based on the topic “How HubSpot Built a 50-Million-Person Media Engine Inside a Software Company. As part of an in-depth interview, HubSpot’s VP of Media, who also runs their publication The Hustle, said that:

A point that I think brands should be paying attention to, as most are not. His reasoning is simple: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn are all becoming video platforms. But the bigger shift is how people are finding information. They are not always turning to search engines or traditional media brands. Increasingly, they are turning to people.

“People inherently trust people,” he said, which you’ve heard me say for years. That’s why HubSpot is investing in people on camera, podcast hosts and individual creators. It is also why YouTube has become its largest source of audience growth, demand growth and recurring revenue growth.

Video is not simply another content format. Done well, it becomes a distribution strategy, a trust strategy and a demand-generation engine at the same time.

Sidenote: I also heard this week that Meta is making Instagram available in longer form, landscape (wide format content) instead of vertical, for your TV…

Speaking of video, last week, I wrapped up another round of lessons, insights and moments of clarity filming Clarity Content's Moment of Clarity series, which launched in April.

We’re now 23 conversations into the series, where we capture the stories and lessons that have transformed companies, careers and communities. I’m grateful to the latest leaders, founders, marketers and agency owners who’ve shared so much value. Eventually, I’ll do a recap of the takeaways from all of these conversations.

If you’re curious about seeing the short episodes as they roll out, subscribe to Clarity’s YouTube or mailing list, The Signal.

Experience isn’t the same as capability.

The more experience you have, the more capable you are, right? As in, the longer you’ve been somewhere, the more qualified you are to solve the next problem… at least that’s what org charts have shown for decades.

When I heard Sinead Bovell challenge that assumption in her talk in Toronto at Homecoming, I immediately wrote down some thoughts.

We’ve heard enough about AI replacing jobs.
This is about the job itself as a concept.

For something like 150 years, work had been organized into stable containers: job titles, departments, functions, and career ladders. But when the systems underneath the work are changing every few months, those containers feel less permanent:

The organizational chart is being compressed.

Rather than moving vertically through more and more senior roles, Sinead says organizations will become more fluid. That means people moving laterally based on skills, adaptability, and the ability to solve a particular problem.

As a founder and an educator, I see implications on both sides, and this talk inspired some epic questions:

For businesses, the question becomes: What economy are you building for? If you’re building products for specific departments or functions, what happens when those boundaries become less defined?

For students and professionals, it may mean thinking less about a job title and more about building a portfolio of skills that can be applied across different contexts.

Rather than predictions, we’re left with a big question:

If we were designing work from scratch today, what would we build differently?

What comes after jobs? You can watch Sinead’s full talk here:

Is your team leveraging a content ecosystem?

I recently shared what I call "The Content Ecosystem with a room of marketers at SocialWest. It’s the framework I developed for Clarity Content. I’m happy to share with you here.

It starts with the leader still, but the strongest marketing teams build a content ecosystem around them. Here’s a quick summary of how it works:

1. The leader or founder brings the point of view — what they believe, teach and see.

2. The team and company bring the proof — how the work gets done, what is being learned and what is changing.

3. Customers and community create momentum through their questions, feedback, stories and referrals.

4. Influencers and partners add validation by extending trust, reach and shared context.

When these parts are connected, content becomes much more than a stream of posts from one visible person. It becomes a system that captures expertise, demonstrates credibility and gives the entire organization more ways to earn attention and trust.

That is the opportunity for marketers: Capture the signals already happening across the ecosystem, connect them and turn them into stronger company content and leader visibility.

The leader may be the most visible part of the system, but the ecosystem around them is what makes that visibility believable.

Here’s the video clip with a visual (just part of the longer talk explanation)

Gathering with purpose

There’s a community of people and organizations who’ve been working for years to imagine and build new economic models that work for people and the planet.

Many of them are part of the CSI community, whether in person or virtually. Last week, some gathered there for Purpose Economy Coffee. And I rushed from my workout class to be there for the last one of the season.

It was great to learn about what others are working on in this space, and to share what’s coming up with The Good Growth Company. I got to share that this fall, I’m hosting the Together for Impact Summit this fall right here at CSI Spadina. (Earlybird tickets are available until the end of the month here).

It’s so aligned with the reason behind our Summit. Given how many people and organizations were involved in hosting this, the collaboration theme is strong.

A morning event full of good energy and people doing good work is a nice place to drop in, especially when it’s in your neighbourhood. (Of course, I brought my own matcha 🍵 as a non-coffee guy). I love what CSI’s CEO Tonya Surman said:

This gathering was a collaboration itself. Purpose Economy Coffee was co-founded by the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) alongside the Canadian Purpose Economy Project, B Local Ontario, Greater Purpose, Doughnut Economics Collective Toronto (DECTO), and many more.

My approach to teams has evolved

If you’re curious, in a short candid video shared on the Daniel Does Consulting LinkedIn page here, I talked about my collaborative approach and how I now choose who I work with.

PS — A great Giveaway for business owners

As you may have seen in past editions of this newsletter, my team and I at Clarity have been creating content for Huumans — but this week, we took to the streets to speak with some founders. It was one of my suggestions on how to get the word out about the My Canada, My Story Giveaway they are running now until July 1 here.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition!

Have an awesome weekend.