Meet Lan Phan, the force behind Community of Seven. Hers is a story, inspired and shaped by challenge. The bright idea behind the Community is the union of the most successful people in the world and their alignment around a common purpose: to change the world. Phan does not think small!
When you roll the inception of the Community back, it’s no coincidence that the bright light of change was borne of Phan’s darkest day. Undaunted, she stayed strong, “Every hardship that you go through, every mistake that you make, leads you to who you are.”
Employed by Fortune magazine, Phan leveraged her expertise in marketing and operations to drive high growth. Around one year ago, the executive team at Fortune tasked her with mobilizing a team to launch a new business – within six months. A formidable task on a good day made impossible with the onset of a pandemic.
Phan ramped up quickly, rapidly hiring and expanding her team. Then, without warning, barely out of the gate, Phan was given her 30-day notice and told to release her new team. Devastated, she questioned everything, “Whenever I tried to use other people’s models, I’d get stuck.” So she realized that she needed to stick to her own advice, “Focus on your values. Focus on your purpose.” To recalibrate, Phan anchored herself in her four core values: family, friends, faith and helping people.
The pandemic started and I had my a-ha moment: I realized that I needed to focus on my values.
Lan Phan, founder of Community of Seven
Turning things around, when asked how people can help Phan, she requested that people sign up for events at Community of Seven and to join in the conversation. Participating in the dialogue can spur innovation. Collaboration with other community members can drive change. Phan shared that her life-long philosophy was at the core of her new venture. “My philosophy has always been that people are like raindrops; what we do seems small and inconsequential but when we come together, we become the ocean. And the ocean creates ripples and the ripples create waves. This is how movement happens and how things change.”
Lan Phan shared her journey, her insights and her message of inspiration on our Grit Daily Like a Boss podcast. Find it anywhere content is streamed. It’s snappy, informative – and uplifting.
