Leave it to Dirk Beveridge, keynote speaker, best-selling author, executive film producer, and founder of UnleashWD, to reference ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus, comparative mythology expert Joseph Campbell, and Tatooine farmboy Luke Skywalker in the same conversation. When you’re in the company of this self-professed advocate of distribution and champion of positive leadership, all of the philosophical and cultural references make perfect sense. Jason caught up with Dirk to discuss his latest endeavor, Force For Good, a live virtual event created to empower every individual in distribution today, whether they work on the warehouse floor, in the customer service center, or up in the C-suite.
“I’ve had the great fortune to travel this country to different trade association meetings and keynoting some of those meetings with one of our new signature talks on being a force for good, either as an individual or a company. The message is resonating really well,” says Dirk of the motivation behind Force For Good, a day-long live, virtual event that will launch in Spring 2024.
The event, which weaves together scientific theory and experiential narratives, provides a roadmap for living motivated, purpose-driven personal and professional lives using the hero’s journey as its compass, that familiar narrative archetype in which the hero finds themself on an adventure, faces challenges, learns lessons, and wins the day. “All of these independent family-owned businesses,” insists Dirk, “are on their own hero’s journey.”
Modern-day distribution employees as protagonists on a noble quest? If the comparison seems far-fetched, Dirk’s ready with his supporting evidence: We Supply America, the multi-season film series he hosts and executive produces. “The story is not about the businesses (although there are good stories there), he says. The story is the individuals, the people, the hero’s journey that each of us is on.”
Force For Good is an interactive, immersive “first step” on a transformative journey that Dirk invites everyone in distribution to take. “When you go on a journey within yourself, you come back, you come out not just a different person, but a better person,” he says. “This event is designed to empower the individual, to fuel the growth of the individual.”
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Driving Distribution Beyond Sales
Innovate! How Successful Distributors Lead Change In Disruptive Times
National Association of Wholesalers
RECOMMENDED EPISODES
DT79: Dirk Beveridge on capturing the humanity of distribution for We Supply America
DT39: Dirk Beveridge on coming out of crisis better than before
DT22: Dirk Beveridge on innovation, leadership, and legacy
QUOTES
“I see everybody that I meet in these businesses as being heroes, on a hero’s journey embracing life, embracing the struggles, embracing the challenges, looking for that mentor, looking for that guide to help them become stronger.”
“My ambition for the fourth quarter of my career, everything that I’m focused on going forward, is to do our part to ensure that 51% of the 6 million employees in distribution are flourishing by 2051.”
“A lot of people right now are, in fact, wondering what their purpose is, and the truth is your purpose will change as you evolve.”
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Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth, and achieve personal goals.
This episode was edited by The Creative Impostor Studios.
Special thanks to our sponsor for this episode: Profit2, helping distributors charge the right price.
