Ordinary People Extraordinary Ideas
Positive Action

The Impossible Network began as an experiment in serendipity to grow a network. It quickly evolved to focus on telling the stories of curious-minded, purposeful people, driving positive change for social good.

Now the next chapter is underway. Besides telling the stories that need to be heard of these amazing people, we are now engineering connections and random collisions that bring together curious and creative problem solvers from across the arts, business, science, and technology to form action engines and collaborate to solve some of our more pressing problems.

We have enough think tanks. This is the time for action.

The Back Story

The Impossible Network began as an experiment in serendipity. We started by interviewing three people we knew and asked them who do we interview next?

It resulted in us interviewing a diverse range of people, all living extraordinary lives, creating social impact, confronting social inequity, or working to solve big problems.

This led us to ask the question “How powerful and impactful could this network become if we connected the guests together?” We will soon find out.

Engineering Random Collisions

We have become more intentional with the scope of our guests to include what we are calling The Storytellers, The Difference Makers and the Domain Experts. They range from curious-minded creative problem-solvers, branding and communication experts, activists and artists, social impact entrepreneurs, and philanthropists to scientists and engineers. They are all working in their own manner, hyper-locally, or globally, to accelerate innovation and positive impact.

Whilst we still aim to inspire through sharing their personal stories, we have recognized the untapped potential of connecting these guests together. As a result, we have started to engineer random collision events and design thinking workshops where we bring diverse minds together to focus on a defined problem or challenge. The alchemy of combining their experiences, insights, and imagination enables what may currently feel impossible, actually be possible. Through exploration, discussion, and debate, we unearth unexpected ideas and innovations that result in smart actions to address some of our more pressing societal or brand challenges and problems.

Latest Episode

The Impossible Network

The Impossible Network

Ep 208: Phil Adams - Applying First Principles Thinking And Storytelling to Solve Brand Problems and Reimagine Democracies

00:00 / 01:53:13

Popular Guests

Carmen D'Alessio

‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that is why we call it the present.
Co-Founder, Studio 54

Michael McElroy

‘And we tried to see the inequities in our industry and it was out there for all the world to see at a time when we could not smoke and mirror it.’

Tony Award Winner

Sana Mustafa

‘My father was forcibly disappeared by the Assad regime in 2013…it was the moment that changed my life’ Author and Activist

Carmen D'Alessio

‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that is why we call it the present.
Co-Founder, Studio 54

Michael McElroy

‘And we tried to see the inequities in our industry and it was out there for all the world to see at a time when we could not smoke and mirror it.’

Tony Award Winner

Sana Mustafa

‘My father was forcibly disappeared by the Assad regime in 2013…it was the moment that changed my life’ Author and Activist

Alessandra Lariu

‘It’s not the end result but the journey that matters.’
Founder, She Says

Courtney Rennicke

‘Have the integrity to act in the world consistent with your emotional truth.’
Founder, Rennicke & Associates

Kathryn Finney

‘I might not be the prettiest, the smartest, but I will outwork you…and that work ethic came from my family’ Founder, Entrepreneur, Investor

Alessandra Lariu

‘It’s not the end result but the journey that matters.’
Founder, She Says

Courtney Rennicke

‘Have the integrity to act in the world consistent with your emotional truth.’
Founder, Rennicke & Associates

Kathryn Finney

‘I might not be the prettiest, the smartest, but I will outwork you…and that work ethic came from my family’ Founder, Entrepreneur, Investor

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Instagram post 17974968275167882

Instagram post 17974968275167882

Phil Adams, an independent brand strategist, consu

This MLK quote remains a universal truth that the

This MLK quote remains a universal truth that the pursuit of justice is a universal responsibility, and that we cannot simply ignore injustice because it is happening to someone else. For if we don’t fight injustice, we are allowing it to continue, and risk it eventually spreading and affecting others as well.

From civil rights to economic to environmental justice, and it continues to be a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in promoting justice and equality for all people. It takes courage and resolve to stand up for justice and recent guests like @david.e.risley @_lenoreanderson and Sana Mustafa @asylumaccessglobal are living examples.

I have talked about the imperative of taking actio

I have talked about the imperative of taking action, however small, to address systemic injustice, whether social, climate, economic, or criminal. Lenore Anderson is one such action-taker on a grand scale. Having interviewed Lenore, it is clear that for many folks in the US, the criminal justice system is a travesty of justice, where victims are often more victimized by the system than helped.
So what is the solution? In high-crime areas plagued by runaway violence, a strong police presence and incarceration are necessary interventions and essential components of any realistic public safety strategy. But the answer is not as simple as redirecting funds spent on the existing justice system to community services, but to increase funding for community services by increasing the priority on such services in the overall budgeting allocation process (a topic in itself) to provide resources to the communities most affected by crime and violence. This could include trauma recovery centers, improved housing and healthcare, and therapeutic interventions.

Lenore Anderson is Co-founder and President of All

Lenore Anderson is Co-founder and President of Alliance for Safety and Justice, one of the largest reform advocacy organizations in the US, that combines smart policy reform with grassroots organizing to replace reliance on incarceration with more effective public safety solutions.
With deep domain experience in law, policy, and justice reform, Lenore has recently published In Their Names - a book that not only provides historical insight into, and indictment of how the victims’ rights movement warped the American justice system but created a cycle of trauma. However, Lenore also provides a roadmap to breaking this cycle of trauma, and a future vision for justice, healing, and creating safer communities and society.

Angela Davis has been a major inspiration to many

Angela Davis has been a major inspiration to many civil rights movements. She has been awarded numerous awards, honorary degrees, and medals in recognition of her work. Davis’ dedication to justice and freedom remains a model for activists today, and her words and teachings continue to inform and inspire us.

Davis has been a major influence for women's rights. She has spoken up about issues such as abortion and is a prominent figure in the fight for gender equality. Her writings and speeches have been extremely influential in the fight for increased recognition and rights for women, and she continues to be a major source of inspiration for women’s rights activists.

Check out this weeks podcast with Criminal justice reform activist and advocate Lenore Anderson, following in Davis’s footsteps.

Finally, a tool to help identify effective impact

Finally, a tool to help identify effective impact initiatives. It’s fair to say that most business leaders feel increasing pressure to contribute to our collective global issues such as climate change, pollution, poverty, social injustice, and rising inequality. The imperative to make a positive impact while still delivering profits may seem paradoxical, but it is possible. My guest this week, Melanie van de Velde, PhD, MBA, MSc. has solved this.
The Van De Velde IMPACT WHEEL © is a thought-leading framework based on award-winning research to help businesses create powerful social and environmental impact strategies. Grounded in the UN’s SDGs, its four pillars help focus businesses around ‘empowering people’, and delivering ‘just payments’ while also creating a ‘positive impact on the planet’ and improving ‘human health and well-being.’ It’s a simple, easy-to-adopt methodology that bypasses some of the complexity of the UN’s global goals and can be work-shopped around any business. Check out the interview - link in the comments or sign up for Melanies free live 30-minute webinar on 29 March - link in comments. Thanks to the wonderful Jennifer Lindsay for connecting us.

So many guests are examples of what is possible wh

So many guests are examples of what is possible when you focus your attention. J. Krishnamurti. “You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing, and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.”

This week's domain expert guest is Marianna Koval.

This week's domain expert guest is Marianna Koval. Marianna is the Director of Invest NYC, SDG at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. Invest NYC SDG is a multi-year initiative that aims to build a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economy in New York City by using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to drive private sector engagement and financing in six primary areas. Those areas are sustainable mobility, the built environment, climate resilience, renewable energy, food and health, waste and circular economy.

In this episode, Mariana discusses how she and her team are creating transportation equity and economic opportunity through the Equitable Commute Project, an e-mobility access program in New York’s Bronx neighborhood.

Anyone interested in sustainable cities, e-mobility, e-bikes, electrification, building coalitions, economic transformation, or sustainable business should listen to this episode.

Be shocking. Be noticed. Be remarkable.

Be shocking. Be noticed. Be remarkable.

Barbara Daoust has lived a transformational life.

Barbara Daoust has lived a transformational life. From acting, directing, and storytelling, she is now an internationally respected Author, Speaker, Success Coach, and Business Growth Accelerator.

Barbara understands how our minds are coded and how to unlock the changes people desire, unleash their creative potential and imagination to change their personal reality, and unlock dreams.

As Barbara says, 'she helps people get out of their own way, break up with procrastination, say goodbye to perfectionism, and stop postponing the life of their dreams.’ #business #growth #creative #storytelling #change #success #people Thanks to Jennifer Hutchins

This quote makes remember Joshua Holland and his m

This quote makes remember Joshua Holland and his mantra of if you want to change your body and mind you must change what you do most of the time. This is recoding your brain and something my other guests Josh Spodek, Jan Roessner and Barbara Daoust know only too well.

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