An Interview With Edward Sylvan
My hope is that because of the actions we encourage here, organizations will be able to foster the kinds of workplaces that truly let everyone thrive so that we can literally change the world.
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Deanna Singh.
Deanna Singh is the Founder and Chief Change Agent of Flying Elephant, an umbrella organization for four social enterprises with a mission to shift power to marginalized communities. Deanna is described as a trailblazer and dynamic speaker who is at the forefront of social change. She is an award-winning author, educator, business leader, and social justice champion who speaks to over 50,000 people annually, giving audiences the tools and courage to imagine, activate, and impact the world as agents of change.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I was very fortunate to be the firstborn of an amazing couple. My mother is an African American woman and my father is Sikh. They married after knowing one another for just three months and have been married for over 40 years now! On paper, their union did not make sense. They grew up in very different places; my mother in Milwaukee’s projects and my father in a small village in Punjab, India. They also ate different food, had different religions, and didn’t even speak the same language! But they were able to still find a way to build a family together. I often say that my parents built this amazing bridge to one another, and as a child, I was able to run across that bridge freely, jump on it, and test its strength!
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
When I was a little girl, I loved to read. I would hide in my closet at night with a flashlight just so that I could read some more. I was a voracious reader and still am.
But even though I was reading all of the time, I felt invisible most of the time between all of the pages because I never saw a little girl of color in any of my books. That is until I was an eighth-grader and read Roll of Thunder and Let the Circle be Unbroken by Mildred Taylor. When I read those books, I couldn’t put them down. I would check them out again and again until finally, my librarian told me to just keep them. I still have the books on my bookshelf decades later.
Stories are important and powerful. Seeing someone in the pages of a book who looks like you, dresses like you, talks like you, eats the same food as you, or has the same passions as you can help create deeper connections, provide feelings of belonging, and can even be life-changing. I loved those books so much that I would sleep with them in my bed. There was a time when I could recite whole passages of the books with no prompts.
You would think that the world of literature has changed in the past few decades, but the truth is, it hasn’t changed much. Children of color are still woefully underrepresented in children’s literature. It is what prompted me to start writing children’s books. I wanted to be a part of changing the narrative.
I wanted to be a part of the solution.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?
There was a time when I was recruiting middle schoolers. I was doing all of the traditional things, such as putting out ads and hanging up flyers. But I was not seeing major shifts in applicants. Then one day, when I was looking out my office window, I saw the ice cream truck coming through the neighborhood. Children and their parents came out and started running after it to get the truck to stop. It was an aha moment for me! Instead of waiting for the students to find me, I need to create something that would be appealing to them. So, I literally rented an ice cream truck and drove it around for a summer handing out free ice cream (and a flyer). Not only were we able to recruit more children, but I also got a chance to meet so many amazing people! I learned that the way we “always” do things isn’t necessarily the only or even the best way to do things.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
In my work as a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner, I have had the chance to work closely with small non-profits and Fortune 100 companies. One of the common themes I witness every day is that people want to create more inclusive workplaces, but they don’t know what that means on a practical level. They don’t know what they would do differently. Actions Speak Louder helps people turn their aspirations around inclusion into action! I believe that all of the world’s solutions already exist; we just have not created the kinds of environments where those who hold the solutions are able to show up fully. My hope is that because of the actions we encourage here, organizations will be able to foster the kinds of workplaces that truly let everyone thrive so that we can literally change the world.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
All of the stories shared in the book are interesting. Or at least I hope so! I think the one that I open the book with is incredibly important. I share a story of how my great-great-grandfather was lynched, essentially for being too entrepreneurial. This story serves as a basis for readers to see how exclusionary practices were intentionally woven into the business world in the past and therefore, we will need to be intentional about ridding ourselves of those practices.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
I was asked to make an investment in an organization. After a lot of due diligence, I choose to not only make the investment but to give more than a million dollars above and beyond what they asked for. The last step in the process was to get board approval from the investee organization. I shared the final deck with my counterpart at the other organization for feedback before I presented it to her board. She said, “This is the best work that this board has ever seen. This is our future.”
I asked if there was anything else I needed to do for the meeting.
“Deanna, you need to bring a white man with you.”
She went on to explain, “If you want them to hear you and you want them to vote with you, you have to bring a white man with you. There will be over 20 old white men there, and they need to see someone who will make them comfortable.”
I went home deflated and told my husband what happened. He was making dinner and had his phone out — I thought it was to follow a recipe. He said, “It’s kind of like that other time…” and reminded me of another time in my career when I was implicitly told the same thing. Which reminded me of yet another time, and another time. We went back and forth like this for about 45 minutes. And then he walked over to me and handed me his phone. He was not looking at a recipe at all. He had documented the incidents we had just been recalling in a list.
There were 27 of them.
That is when I realized that I wanted to write this book. I wanted to change the trajectory of workplace culture so that other people would not experience all of the exclusionary things I have — and still do — in my career.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
I have the opportunity to see this every day. People are always reaching out to say that in sharing my stories and strategies around inclusion they are able to more clearly see themselves and how they can play a part in changing workplace culture. One of my favorite stories was when a CEO of a company called me, completely distraught. He had put a lot of effort into recruiting for more senior-level women in his office, and he had succeeded. However, he was starting to see a high turnover and he didn’t want to lose all of the talented people they had brought in. He said he had no idea why the women were leaving.
I asked him to do a simple thing. I challenged him to make tick marks on his notepad for one week every time a woman was talked over during a meeting, every time someone took a woman’s idea and elevated it as their own, and every time a woman was asked to do the “chores” in a meeting. He did not last even 24 hours before calling me back. He did not even say hi when I picked up the phone. Instead, he proclaimed, “Why would women work here, this is awful!” That simple little test helped him see what was happening around him all of the time. It was so powerful to see how much perspective can change when we are intentional about looking through a new lens.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
YES! We love the work that social justice leaders are doing to create more equity. We believe that they are the ones leading the charge on how we address policies and laws that directly impact marginalized communities. Their main audiences are the community and politicians. We distinguish our work by talking about how we focus on the workplace. There is, of course, significant overlap, but how we help people understand the distinction is by saying that diversity, equity, and inclusion focuses on what happens in the cubicle next to us, while social justice leaders are focusing on what is happening outside of the building. We could not do our work successfully without both of those facets working towards change together. If we do not change things from both within and outside of institutions, it will not be sustainable.
How do you define “leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
I think that true leaders are grounded in their purpose and service to others. I define purpose as what are you uniquely positioned to do in the world. I wrote a leadership book, Purposeful Hustle, that further explains why I think that this is so critical for every leader to have clarity on. I define my purpose as shifting power to marginalized communities. It is how I make both small and big decisions about where to show up. It is what motivates me when I am tired or after a big failure. It is also the way I measure the impact I am having on the world.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1. You don’t have to wait for permission to live in your purpose. I thought that it was irresponsible to follow my passions. Passion is often characterized as a luxury but I have come to learn that it is a necessity. I have learned that it is actually irresponsible not to. Because when you live in your purpose, you give other people the room to do that too! You become a model and that is an amazing ripple to start.
2. Don’t take yourself so seriously. There is always going to be something urgent that comes up. There will always be another thing that is demanding your attention. You have to learn how to move fluidly. Be a river, not a dam.
3. Let failure be your market differentiator. Everyone fails, but not everyone does it well. Those who do it well-meaning they share their failures with others, learn and grow from them, and use them to propel them closer to their goals rather than get stuck — they are the real changemakers.
4. Find your crew. Being a leader can be very lonely, so be intentional about finding your crew and spending time with them. They will be the ones who help you stay grounded and provide you with a safe haven when you need it most. One of the things I often say to calm myself down when I am trying something new or scary is well, even if this fails, my husband, kids, and crew will still love me. And that always works to give me the confidence I need to take that big leap!
5. Don’t waste too much time thinking about how things currently are. Instead, focus on how things could be. That is where you get to create and be innovative. It is also what will be required if we are going to make a substantive impact!
Can you please give us your favorite “life lesson” quote? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My mother used to always tell me to carry a little party around. She stressed to me that I needed to be able to find joy inside of myself and not rely on external factors. That has always stuck with me. Even on the hardest days, I always try to recenter around joy. I often say that joy is my operating system — it is where all of my circuits originate from! I think that has allowed me to move into heavy spaces and make them lighter. It has given people the confidence to confide in me and it has just made things way more fun!
Is there a person in the world or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would really love to meet Michelle Obama. I feel like we have a lot in common. Like her, I am a mother to two children, a former attorney, and someone who believes strongly in creating a more inclusive world. When I read her book, I felt seen in a way that reminded me of reading those Mildred Taylor books when I was a child. I have so many questions about how she is able to do what she does and with so much grace.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I am most active on LinkedIn. I would also love for readers to sign up for our weekly newsletter at www.upliftingimpact.com.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own, and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.
In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.
Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.
With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.
At Sycamore Entertainment he specializes in print and advertising financing, marketing, acquisition and worldwide distribution of quality feature-length motion pictures, and is concerned with acquiring, producing and promoting films about equality, diversity and other thought-provoking subject matter which will also include nonviolent storytelling.
Also in 2020, Sylvan launched SEGI TV, a free OTT streaming network built on the pillars of equality, sustainability and community which is scheduled to reach 100 million U.S household televisions and 200 million mobile devices across Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV and others.
As Executive Producer he currently has several projects in production including The Trials of Eroy Brown, a story about the prison system and how it operated in Texas, based on the best-selling book, as well as a documentary called The Making of Roll Bounce, about the 2005 coming of age film which starred rapper Bow Wow and portrays roller skating culture in 1970’s Chicago.
He sits on the Board of Directors of Uplay Canada, (United Public Leadership Academy for Youth), which prepares youth to be citizen leaders and provides opportunities for Canadian high school basketball players to advance to Division 1 schools as well as the NBA.
A former competitive go-kart racer with Checkered Flag Racing Ltd, he also enjoys traveling to exotic locales. Sylvan resides in Vancouver and has two adult daughters.
Sylvan has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times and has been seen on Fox Business News, CBS and NBC. Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Deanna Singh of Flying Elephant Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.