To build bridges and tear down walls.
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Through his passion for people and the community that he serves, Adrian uses his creativity to connect people in meaningful ways to produce impact and resolve across the various business, social and diverse cultural landscapes of his city (Tallahassee, FL) and abroad.
LAUNCHING INNOVATIVE RECONCILERS
Common Ground
Common Ground is a three-pronged approach to help people discover, develop, and deploy positive, measurable impact and change in the space of inclusion, diversity, and distributed equity equality.
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Addressing what we have found to be the three primary areas of personal development that require intentional, and deliberate work to tackle this challenge is the foundation of Common Ground.
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Common Ground is designed to equip teams with the tools and resources needed to discover, develop, and deploy positive, measurable impact, and change in the space of inclusion, diversity, and equality. While this is the chief aim of our work, Common Ground is a tool with deep reaching tentacles that creates long-lasting change at the root of an organizations culture.
“To achieve Common Ground, an organization, or more importantly, the individuals within the organization, MUST be willing to do the tough work of
self-discovery, getting real about bias’s, and tapping into their personal well of empathy.”
-ADRIAN CRAWFORD
Black & Mild Podcast
At a time when most media outlets cater specifically to one ideology or a specific segment of the population, the Black & Mild podcast is unique in that it is committed to providing space for real authentic conversations that take differing points of view into consideration. While the topics span everything from hip hop culture to sports and entertainment, the focus for much of 2020 has been on America’s reckoning with racial injustice and inequality, and the divisive politics that are limiting our nation’s progress at every turn.
Our hosts — Adrian Crawford, Corey Simon, and Ira Schoffel — come from very different backgrounds and share their experiences as leaders in the sports world, the clergy, and media. Crawford was raised in Akron, Ohio, and played Division-I college basketball at Florida State University before competing professionally in Spain. He now is pastor of Engage Church in Tallahassee, Fla. Simon grew up in South Florida before enjoying an All-America college football career at Florida State University. Simon went on to become a first-round pick of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and would earn Pro Bowl honors before retiring and focusing on civic and business opportunities. Schoffel also grew up in South Florida and has nearly 30 years’ experience in journalism. He has served as a reporter and editor at various newspapers and websites in Florida, Georgia, and Maryland.
the new rules movement
New Rules Manifesto
We recognize that individuals have been endowed, by our Creator, with unique talents, abilities, and purpose. This can only be fully discovered by truly knowing the One who created us.
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We will not define our success by job title, salary, material position, or by anything other than using our gifts to do meaningful work on this earth. Whether we are called to be firefighters, sanitation workers, CEOs, or a stay at home moms, it doesn’t matter. What matters is adding production and value in whatever we do, wherever we are.
Our work will not be solely about us. Our primary aim is not for personal achievement, but for the betterment of people, communities, and companies. We will be centered around adding value to the places and spaces we inhabit.
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We will jump off cliffs. Being safe is for cowards! We must be more afraid of not trying than afraid of failing.
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We will position integrity to lead all of our endeavors. We may be tempted to take short cuts, quit when it gets tough, and allow pressures of life to compromise our values - New Rule makers are value-driven.
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We will be misfits, revolutionaries, and rebels. We will not allow the status quo or complacency to define us. We will be the ones who create a new way, even when they say it can’t be done.
