Legacy isn’t for Later
Why purpose-led people need to plan for longevity, not just launch.
The people we work with love a launch moment—the build up, energy and engagement fuels momentum. Often the enterprises and artists we work with are working towards an event or exhibition, and the bigger organisations we support have strategies that include conferences, or project launches, often tied to funding announcements. These moments are great for scaling reach and awareness raising. But what comes after the hype?
Mend, Tend and Change the Future is our event happening in June 2025 in Manchester. Its for Enterprises, creatives, founders and decision-makers and we want people to come for inspiration, and leave with energy, new connections and tools to change the future. Its a launch moment for sure, in fact we are launching Kerry’s book, Healing-Centred Transformation at the event. But its also a place for legacy building, there will be people there showing how its possible to transform pain into power, sharing how difficult life experiences can fuel sustainable change and how our creative and community strengths can resource justice.
Have you ever experienced burnout? We think burnout creeps in when we give everything to the early stage (of a project, a relationship, family or work) assuming sustainability will come later. But at A Brilliant Thing, we’ve seen how vital it is to build with the end in mind. Our work with social enterprises, public sector and VCSE organisations shows that legacy isn’t just about scale and reaching lots of people—it’s about impact and creating value that lasts. That means legacy has to be in mind in the way you live, work make decisions, nurture your team, and embed your values into systems.
For the procrastinators out there this might feel personal. Anyone who has put off defining clearly their end goals, you can start with how you create the small wins. Creating a process and practice around how you sustain and develop your health and wellbeing, can create rhythms and habits that open the door to thinking about your bigger work destiny. Maybe you want to scale, focus on mission achievement, work towards spreading learning or inviting replication. One of the most profound comments I have heard in a workplace wellbeing workshop was someone considering out loud, how they could be a ‘good ancestor’ through their work.
How can you create legacy in an workplace? With Healing-Centred Design, we help organisations craft cultural toolkits that last. We create rituals that sustain wellbeing, reflective practices that build wisdom, and roadmaps that extend beyond the initial direction. Legacy isn’t a vanity project, it’s a survival strategy. So ask yourself: what will your work leave behind? What can you do now that the future will thank you for?
A more radical question might be how can you design yourself out of the picture? If you achieve your mission, will your work be needed here any more? What opportunities might that idea open up?
Its time to think with the future close. Legacy starts now, in the small moments of everyday, not at the very end of your to do list.
Come to our brilliant event and join a network of people who care, making things that matter.
