Social Impact Authors: How & Why Maggie Z Miller and Hannah Nokes of Magnify Impact Are Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
We hope to leave a legacy of abundance in our work — our vision is for every company we work with to become more purposeful, generous, and incredibly financially successful — setting off a powerful wave of shared prosperity.
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maggie Z. Miller and Hannah Nokes.
MAGGIE Z. MILLER has developed social impact solutions alongside hundreds of company leaders. Previously, she founded an international microcredit nonprofit in rural Peru serving indigenous women. A former Division I soccer player, Maggie enjoys watching fútbol with her husband―especially in their second home, Barcelona. Maggie is Chief Troublemaker for Magnify Impact.
HANNAH NOKES was inspired to help business leaders turn “love into action” while leading corporate social impact for global corporations. She founded an impact collaborative of over ninety companies in Austin, Texas, and strives to model generosity for her three young daughters. Hannah is Chief Optimist for Magnify Impact.
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?
Maggie: I come from a large, loud, friendly Chicagoland family of eight kids. My parents named us all with M’s: Mark, Monika, Mike, Mary, Mindy, Marty, Maggie, Marci — MILLER. We shared one bathroom growing up, which was our social scene. I remember wiggling around to get a spot in the mirror to blow out my 80s hair as wide as possible. My siblings and I were each other’s best competition and source of encouragement, providing a constant dance between conviction, compassion, confidence, and curiosity. My siblings had an endless list of successes as rock star achievers in law, medicine, business, education, and professional sports. We were never allowed to stop striving to succeed and lived with a true balance of tough and love. This gave rise to my desire to live the most meaningful version of life possible.
Hannah: I grew up in a family of 4 (one sister) and my roots are in Texas, but my father worked in oil and gas, and we lived all over the globe, from Scotland to Kuwait. We had a close-knit family and faith was a big component of our lives. My parent’s divorce and the subsequent diaspora of our family means that we are no longer close geographically, but I had a strong foundation.
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?
Maggie:
As a young 20-something, way back in the day, a book that set me on a trajectory for the way I wanted to live was Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. It was inspirational and spiritual and gave me a roadmap for a life of meditation, mindfulness, compassion, and acceptance. It helped me to not take for granted what you can do and to not be afraid to devote my life to a higher purpose and service to others. The warrior doesn’t give up what they love. The warrior finds the love in what they do. I always loved the idea of doing the “work of my life” instead of “going to work.” This attitude gave me the courage to join an organization in my 20s that was started by two fathers: One man’s son had killed the other man’s son for a pizza in a gang initiation challenge, yet they came together in the spirit of forgiveness to start a foundation to “stop kids from killing kids.” The resilience of these fathers and their demonstration of how to practice forgiveness by leading with love was something that changed my trajectory forever.
Hannah:
The Bible had a major place in my childhood, and I became well-versed in the stories and lessons it contained. But only in recent years has its true importance as a guidebook for my life become clear. I am reading it again with new eyes.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
Maggie:
In my large family, we are all very warm to one another and as such, hugging others has always been a way of life for us. In my 20s I also had a fairly long stint as a Grateful “Deadhead” and this led me to choose patchouli as my favorite fragrance. As a young professional, I started going to meetings to fundraise for the nonprofit organization I worked with. I remember once entering the room and hugging a man instead of shaking his hand. Unfortunately, I also got patchouli all over his clothes. A couple of minutes later he told me he couldn’t continue the meeting because the smell was so awful to him. When he left, he gently reminded me to consider my choice of fragrance and to be considerate of others. It was a very humbling lesson for me that came from a place of care and warmth. I’ve learned a lot over the years about trying to gauge what others need from me in interactions and how I can keep them comfortable.
Also, I ditched the patchouli.
Hannah:
As a young professional, I was completing my MBA while working for a global Fortune 100 company. My boss at the time, a senior executive, made a call I didn’t agree with. I told him some version of “I am getting an MBA and I know better how to handle this than you do.” That went over about as well as can be expected. I knew I needed to apologize. I may have been correct in my assertion, who knows, but I certainly didn’t know all that I thought I did. It was a good lesson to remember that, while it’s important to stand up for what you believe, there’s a time and a place to do so, and you need to pick your battles. Also, even when it’s tough, sometimes you must swallow your pride.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
Maggie and Hannah:
Magnify Your Impact is a tactical guide to help companies capture shared value — that is, how to make money and serve the world at the same time. Shared value means that you can generate economic value in a way that also produces value for society by addressing its challenges. Shared value connects company success with social progress. The call for business to play a part in addressing the world’s intractable problems can no longer be ignored. We work to help business leaders understand how to succeed in this new landscape. When done well, integrating social impact into core business strategy can grow the bottom line for companies of any size and maturity.
We hope to leave a legacy of abundance in our work — our vision is for every company we work with to become more purposeful, generous, and incredibly financially successful — setting off a powerful wave of shared prosperity.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
Maggie and Hannah:
Our book is intended to be a handbook, and includes clear, step-by-step guidance to help move a company to the next level of social impact. It’s also filled with case-studies from companies that are pursuing shared value. One of our favorite examples is Chobani Yogurt. Their meteoric rise to dominate their category is incredible and tied closely to how they imbue purpose and values in every aspect of their business. The yogurt company launched in 2005 in a market dominated by Yoplait. They held fast to their stated purpose (“Better Food for More People”) and combined it with authentic action. By 2017 Chobani overtook Yoplait to become number two in the overall US yogurt category. Today they are the number one brand in Greek yogurt in the US with more than half the market, estimated at $8 billion annually.
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?
We’ve been honored to go behind the scenes with global brands and with entrepreneurial companies charting their course. We’ve found that all the companies we work with have one thing in common: a love for the people that make up the organization, and the community where they live and work. What is often lacking is a plan for how to effectively help people and communities in a way that also supports the growth goals of the company. We knew we wanted to share that plan and the best practices we’d learned with companies that may not have the opportunity to work with us.
In spring 2020, as the coronavirus shook the world, we observed that companies that were well-prepared and had a strategy in place were much nimbler in their response to the needs of their employees, customers, and neighbors. It quickly became very clear that companies more than ever needed a guiding set of principles to create proactive, effective social impact plans for their unique set of stakeholders. We decided to act on this intuition and start the process of writing the book, and the months that followed have proven that companies are seeking this kind of guidance now more than ever.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
We are fortunate to witness company cultures transform when they are intentional about putting their purpose into action in the form of social impact. But company cultures are made up of individuals, and there is typically one person who is responsible for putting a company’s social impact strategy into action.
One of our client’s employees was assigned to lead the company’s community engagement initiatives, and we advised her in this new position. We saw her transform in her leadership abilities as she galvanized hundreds of volunteers, led committee teams, delegated with authority and held others accountable. While the company’s social impact results are impressive, we are most proud of seeing this woman grow into her role as a corporate citizenship leader.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Our sincere hope is that business leaders begin to grow in awareness of their unique and privileged position to support the needs of those around them. At the same time, helping others doesn’t have to be a purely sacrificial exercise — but, when done well, can strengthen stakeholder relationships, and, ultimately, profitability.
We would love to see communities and nonprofit organizations partner with companies, in a broader sense of the word — looking at ways to collaborate to solve problems together and consider how a company’s product and service can help address issues more effectively.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is guiding people to their purpose and values and removing obstacles to putting those purpose and values into practice. The leader’s job is to serve others by helping them become the best versions of themselves in their work and lives. To do so, it’s the leader’s job to ensure everyone in an organization knows where they are headed, and their unique role in helping bring the strategy to fruition.
As Patrick Lencioni says, “The leader must be a constant, incessant reminder of the company’s purpose, strategy, values, & priorities. You’re not only the CEO, you’re the CRO: Chief Reminding Officer.” Once everyone is aligned, it’s critical that leaders serve their teams by helping eliminate roadblocks to progress.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- Ask people what they are passionate about to unlock the compass of their hearts. Our American society starts many conversations by asking people: “What do you do?” We’ve found that whoever you are talking to, on any level, asking, them instead of what they are passionate about opens an entirely different conversation and relationship. This is a great way to cultivate conversations with others and put your relationship on a totally different level.
- Last year I (Maggie) lost both of my parents. Death unlocks many emotions in people. In our large family, there were a lot of divergent opinions and hurt. I think one of the best life lessons in any context is that forgiveness is everything. Forgiveness is a process that is constant, it is a muscle and must be “worked on” every day, it must be exercised. It is the grail for a blissful Life. Forgive again, and again, and again. Forgive the desire to really despise the idea of even forgiving. Watch the sharp edges wash away. And watch this forgiveness give rise to Unalterable Love. Otherwise, a lack of forgiveness is a slow demise.
- Value yourself. As women in business, it is a process; but it is an important one. Of course, you must humbly learn from others, put your time into the process of growth. Women are very hard on themselves and sometimes we put ourselves down. But it is important that you stay true to your personal strengths and celebrate all that you bring to what you are doing. You can communicate compassionately, honestly, and ask for what you need to succeed.
- Don’t strive for an easy life, devoid of problems. Life inherently is full of challenges. When we embrace that, it takes a lot of the pressure off. The book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck,” by Mark Manson is a must-read.
- Fiercely protect your energy. The pandemic has shone a light on the need to stop/reduce doing things that deplete our energy and joy. Now we are more careful about what we say “yes” to because we realize our business and families need us to be present for the important moments.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Maggie:
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
When I was starting my international microcredit NGO in Peru, funding $100 loans for women in poverty to start small businesses, I heard many people scoff at the phrase “be the change” as if it was unobtainable. I didn’t and still don’t see it that way. We have opportunities to change this world every day. Changing the world is possible and easy for all of us — it means you follow your bliss by giving your greatest strengths to the world moment by moment. When you do this, others do everything in their power to help you succeed because they are magnetically drawn to you. This means you inspire everyone you know to do the same, as they want this same feeling for themselves. Then, they create their own paths and draw people to them. All of this equates to affecting countless people who are just like us. We change the world together. Trusting this vision has framed my life with transformative and positive power. There is a famine of encouragement and hope in this world right now. I truly believe peace comes through purpose. Thousands of families changed through believing that we can be the change and I’ll never regret my belief and trust in this.
Hannah:
“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family” (Mother Theresa). We are all uniquely placed in a position to help those around us — starting with those in our own homes. I have three daughters and I feel honored and accountable every day to mold them into strong, loving, creative, problem-solving women. In that I can leave my biggest legacy.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Maggie:
Being a former NCAA College soccer player, and coming from a family of serious soccer players, I have been a lifelong fan of soccer leagues all over the world. I’d choose Leo Messi, who is the most decorated #10 “footballer” in the world. We’ve flown all over the world to catch games to see him play. We even live half-time in Barcelona, Spain and lucky for us, most of his career and home has been there. I’d love to chat with him about how it feels to be the greatest influence on the game to date. Soccer is an international language that brings people and nations together.
Hannah:
Right now, I’d say, my father. I haven’t seen him in too long, as he lives in Thailand and travel hasn’t been possible because of the pandemic. He’s taken up the hobby of roasting his own coffee, so I’d love to try a cup of that with our breakfast.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Visit us at magnify-impact.com for more on our work and the book. Follow us @magnifyimpact on Instagram and Twitter to connect to our journey.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Maggie Z Miller and Hannah Nokes of Magnify Impact Are Helping To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.