What sex, soap and alcohol taught me about making an impact | Myriam Sidibe

0:00With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about. In a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank. Capital One N.A. Member FDIC. You have the vision for your business. You have the plan. And you just got handed a huge opportunity. But is your business connectivity reliable enough to make a move?

0:39Spectrum Business delivers fast, reliable internet, phone, TV, and mobile services. So you're always connected when it matters most. Get connectivity packages built for your business with savings that keep your budget in check. And with fast, reliable internet and 100 % U.S.-based customer support, you'll stay connected and ready to bring your vision to life. Learn more at spectrum.com slash business. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas.

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1:58So stop the guesswork and start scaling with the proven choice. Go with a company whose financial infrastructure is trusted by nearly half a million customers. Ready to talk with an expert? Visit bill.com slash proven and get a$150 gift card as a thank you. That's bill.com slash proven. Terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details. I've been talking about the importance of a diverse and inclusive workplace for a long time. And not just talking about it, but researching questions like, why do people have certain expectations of what a leader should look like? Or how does diversity affect decision making in groups?

2:40So I have to tell you, after dedicating decades of my life to this subject, it's been really discouraging to witness the boom and bust cycle of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Everybody rushed in when DEI was trendy, then everybody rushed out when it was vilified. It's enough to make someone's head spin. Mine certainly has. However, as we acclimate to this new normal, it's important to remind ourselves not to abandon efforts related to social impact. True social impact makes a proven difference, but it takes time, it takes determination, and it takes true commitment.

3:18I'm Madhupa Akinola. This is TED Business, a podcast from TED. Miriam Sidibe is the founder of Brands on a Mission. She's been working at the intersection of public health and global brands for decades. and her work improving health outcomes for people around the world has shown her how real impact defies trends. Today, Miriam is sharing her playbook for how to make that change happen and how the most unexpected combination of factors helped her make her mark. Then after the talk, I'll discuss where those conversations start. But first, a quick break. This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn.

3:58in. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire can cost you time, money, and momentum. A good hire, they can help grow your business. But finding great talent isn't easy, especially when you don't have the time or resources to sift through piles of resumes to find the right fit. That's why LinkedIn built HiringPro, your new hiring partner that screens candidates for you, so instead of sorting through applications, you can spend your time talking to candidates who are actually a good fit. With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence knowing you're getting the best talent for your business.

4:37In fact, according to LinkedIn, those hiring with LinkedIn are 24 % less likely to need to reopen a role within 12 months compared to the leading competitor. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash tedbiz, spelled B-I-Z. Terms and conditions apply. This episode is brought to you by PACA. The best pieces are effortless, the ones that just feel right every time you put them on. The layer you reach for, whether you're heading out the door or settling in for the night. Lately for me, that's been my Paka hoodie. I wear it all the time now, and I think once you try it, you'll get why.

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6:09That's www.pakaapparel.com.

6:19And now Miriam Sidibe takes the TED stage. Everyone talks about building a better world. But let me tell you, without a business model designed to get us there, it's just wishful thinking. In the private sector, we've seen retreats, DEI diluted, ESG scaled back. Brands that were once bold are afraid of being called woke. It was like a purpose gold rush. They all rushed in, dug around for a bit, thought it was hard, and they're moving on. And I say, stop! Your business models are failing you. Your business models are failing society and they're failing us. And you know what? And just as the private sector is retreating, aid is disappearing.

7:12Progress on everything from women's health, climate change, education, isn't just stalling, it's reversing. Yet the needs have not shrunk. They have grown deeper, louder, more urgent. Now, the key question is, how are we going to reduce the gap between what is really needed and what's being done? The answer isn't more philanthropy. And it isn't finger-pointing. We need to fix business models. And the way we will fix business models is together. because we need to create new kinds of value for people, planet, and profit. And this is what I came to speak to you about. I've been working at this space for decades at the intersection of public health and global brands.

8:10I'm an author, a longtime campaigner on ethical business. And you know what excites me the most? It's when I get companies to dream up their mission in a way that they can help solve a global problem. whilst being great for their business. And let me show you how that's worked. So first, I never expected to be working in a corporation trying to solve a global problem. I grew up at dinner table, where the main course served was justice. Me and my younger siblings were raised between refugee camps and UN report briefing. and every night was a lesson in inequality and possibility. This is us living in rural Mali, next to Timbuktu.

9:03And it is in places like this that I grew my conviction that I wanted to make a difference for the most vulnerables in this world. Years later, when I went on to do my doctorate in public health, I came across a staggering fact. over one million people could be saved by something as simple as hand washing with soap, and mostly children under five. And yet only one person in five washed their hands after the toilet. Oh well, and a massive opportunity for a bar of soap. So fueled with all this conviction and this desire to save lives, I joined the world's largest soap manufacturer, Unilever. In countries like India and Bangladesh, where child mortality was obscenely high, soap was already in 8 out of 10 households.

9:56And the iconic bar of soap, Red Lifeboy, was in the market leaders. So what was the problem? The technology was there. Obviously, the challenge was behavior change at scale. Because soap on shelves doesn't save lives. Behavior change does. So we reimagined our business model around three things. We committed for the long haul because behavior change takes time, trust, and trial. Two, we put the impact need at the core of our business model. LifeWise mission became Help a Child Reach Five. And that single focus enabled us to think about product innovation, marketing, and market expansion very differently.

10:40Three, we embrace radical collaborations. Collaborations with government, foundations, NGOs, even our competitors. We didn't just attract partners. We built believers. And you know what happened? Well, we co-created the largest hygiene program in the world. We changed the behavior of one billion people. Let me repeat that. One billion people. That's the equivalent of one in seven people. And LifeWay did become a$1 billion brand. Proof that what's good for society can be great for business. I spent 15 years of my career working on LifeWay, and this is what I've learned through persistence, failures, and belief.

11:36Real impact does not happen overnight. It never happens alone. And when you create value for both business and society, that's when real change happens. And any one of us can do the same, which may sound impossible. But in this playbook of not overnight, never alone, creating value in business and society, we have the playbook for success. Now, I can already hear you say, well, that's easy. It's a sub-bar. How difficult can that be low-risk, benign, functional products. But our playbook applies to any business. Now, let me take you to South Africa, where one in three women face gender-based violence, where most murders are committed by intimate partners.

12:21An unlikely ally? A beer brand? Well, Carling Black Label, long trusted by men, used that influence to confront toxic masculinity. Since 2017, they've been driving their hashtag no excuses campaign and workshops in township with grassroots organizations and redefining what manhood should be. Strength through respect. Teaching men how to drink smartly. And the results of that, 40 % of men publicly standing up against gender-based violence. and more brand love from women and men. Now, we have not solved gender-based violence. Let's just get that straight. But we've seen what can be done when unlikely allies do step up.

13:16And when brands do align with their consumer to try to shift something and change norms, real things just change. Change happens right there and then because you're not just selling a product. Our playbook has worked across the world. And here's something else that we've learned in the process. A mission isn't what one brand can and should do alone. A mission is what none of us can do alone. Let me now introduce you to someone very brave and close to my heart. Her name is Fatima. She's 15, smart, brave, curious. She's a voice. And she's built through a radical collaboration between local partners and AI.

13:56She represents millions of girls. Girls who miss school every month because of their periods. Girls who navigate and hide in shame and stigma and sometimes violence. Girls who, in the most desperate moment, will trade sex for pads. Yes, it happens. And yes, it's preventable. Now, we've gathered hundreds of stories across Africa in their own languages and soon the world. And what Fatima does is that she synthesizes their voice. not to speak for them, but to speak with them and tell us what they want, which is mental health support, contraceptive access, indignity, creative freedom, leadership skills, safe places to dream and grow and learn.

14:42Now, these stories are not just emotional, they're systemic. I always say that everything I've learned about building a mission-driven economy, I have learned from sex, soap, and alcohol.

15:01You know, strange bedfellows, yes, but they're at the front lines of inequality, culture, and transformation. And they've taught me that when you deal with what's hard and you do it ethically, then brands can be powerful engines for dignity and change. Now, we have a chance to create the world we want to live in, a world where business doesn't perform just for optics. We don't need to have many, many, many more chief marketing officer. But what I need is for each one of you to unleash this inner chief mission officer. You know, that person who's obsessed about driving positive impact for billions of people.

15:45Because that's within reach. But you can't do this overnight. Not alone. and by creating value for business and society. That's when we go from mission impossible to mission possible.

16:03This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire can cost you time, money, and momentum. A good hire, they can help grow your business. But finding great talent isn't easy, especially when you don't have the time or resources to sift through piles of resumes to find the right fit. That's why LinkedIn built HiringPro, your new hiring partner that screens candidates for you, so instead of sorting through applications, you can spend your time talking to candidates who are actually a good fit. With HiringPro, you can hire with confidence, knowing you're getting the best talent for your business.

16:45In fact, according to LinkedIn, those hiring with LinkedIn are 24 % less likely to need to reopen a role within 12 months compared to the leading competitor. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash tedbiz, spelled B-I-Z. Terms and conditions apply.

17:14With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about. In a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank. Capital One N.A. Member FDIC. You have the vision for your business. You have the plan. And you just got handed a huge opportunity. But is your business connectivity reliable enough to make a move?

17:53Spectrum Business delivers fast, reliable internet, phone, TV, and mobile services. So you're always connected when it matters most. Get connectivity packages built for your business with savings that keep your budget in check. And with fast, reliable internet and 100 % U.S.-based customer support, you'll stay connected and ready to bring your vision to life. Learn more at spectrum.com slash business. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas.

18:26That was Miriam Sinebe talking at TED 2025. Miriam's right. Real impact doesn't happen overnight. It takes years and years of true strategic alignment between public and private interests, not a brief burst of philanthropy or outreach for the optics alone. So when it comes to social impact, how do we move from a reactive approach to intentional behaviors that are baked into the DNA of everything we do? One small thing that stood out to me from Miriam's talk was how influenced she was by the conversation she had at her dinner table growing up. How that dialogue planted the seed for the kind of work she wanted to do when she was older.

19:05Those spaces were really where she could begin to wrap her head around both inequity and possibility. So when you gather with your family or with a partner or with your friends or wider community or even with your colleagues at work, I want you to start thinking of those meals as an opportunity to start sowing seeds. Once the trendy topics have been exhausted, how can you continue the conversation around the issues you care about? How can you consistently affirm and fine-tune your value system with the people who matter most to you? And how can your community keep you accountable to doing the hard work that leads to real change?

19:45That's it for today. TED Business is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced by Hannah Kingsley-Ma, edited by Alejandra Salazar, and fact-checked by Julia Dickerson. Special thanks to Maria Ladias, Farah DeGrange, Daniela Ballarezzo, Tansika Sangmanivan, and Roxanne Heilash. I'm Madupa Akinola. Thanks for listening.

20:27a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank. Capital One N.A. Member FDIC. Hi there, it's Adam Grant from Ted's Rethinking Podcast, and this episode is brought to you by ServiceNow. I get to spend my days studying how people think and what it actually takes to change our minds. It's work I find deeply meaningful. But even in meaningful work, there's still busy work. The admin, the repetitive processes, the invisible load that pulls attention away from what really matters.

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