Rashaad Lambert is Leading Community Change With For(bes) The Culture

Born and raised in West Philadelphia, Rashaad Lambert is one of the best success stories. He has created a life that anyone could be proud of, despite humble beginnings and experiences. During his upbringing, he admits that although he never engaged in illegal activity, oftentimes he found himself in the wrong places that could have completely changed the trajectory of his life.

Today, Rashaad has created one of the greatest networks for Black and Brown entrepreneurs in the country and is rightfully crowned a community builder and a serial entrepreneur. Currently, he serves as director of culture and community for Forbes, founder of For(bes) the Culture, CEO of Sporty Marketing Group, Lambert Legacy Charities and Cerebellum H20, just to name a few. For more than 15 years, Lambert has aimed to level the playing field for Black professionals and create more equitable pathways via his expertise in marketing, diversity & inclusion and corporate consulting.

With Rashaad being an entrepreneur who is successful in many areas, we wanted to know how he found the time to properly groom each brand. Rashaad says, “I think one of the most important things is that we all got to realize that there's not enough hours in a day to do all of the things that we have in our moment. Normalize not completing a full to-do list every day. You can split your to-do lists into smaller versions of that, which are like up-to-date lists. So it's giving yourself grace, and being realistic in what you can accomplish in your endeavors. It's also having a good team or finding good people that you want to work with and work around. You find people that have the qualities that you want in a team and they have the same mission. Mission alignment is key. Goal alignment is key. I had an idea. I created it, grew it, scaled it and then figured out how to get out and have the right team in place so that I could jump off that ship to go and build another boat.”

In 2017, Rashaad founded For(bes) The Culture, one of the leading organizations and resources for Black entrepreneurs. For(bes) The Culture helps current and future leaders of color connect, collaborate and drive change within underrepresented communities. “I started For(bes) The Culture out of necessity to bring together Black and brown professionals and figure out how we can share our resources and do things that are for the culture,” Lambert shares. Since its launch, For(bes) The Culture has grown organically and now serves thousands of members, and expanded its popular in-person #CultureTalks platform to Instagram, where high-profile leaders across diverse industries and sectors are featured. When For(bes) The Culture launched, most people assumed that it came during his time at Forbes but it was actually started as a separate entity and it wasn’t until 2019 that Forbes was brought on board.

Rashaad uses each and every experience to not only influence the culture but figure out ways for him to create a space that future generations can appreciate. “One of the things that was really disappointing to me is that a lot of people from the previous generations didn't start thinking about us until they needed us. They never thought about the next generation. They never tried to provide us with any opportunities until they either got in trouble or started thinking about retirement. I'm trying to create spaces for people that are younger who have ideas, but don’t have the access. Forbes is not representative or not what you think of when you think of Black Excellence of Black entrepreneurship, but it’s going to change. This will have a completely different connotation by the time I'm done,” Rashaad proclaims.

Time is a finite resource so don't waste it. Make sure you use every minute, every hour, every second to the best of your ability,” Rashaad shares.

Follow Rashaad on Social Media @RashaadLambert.

Check out the 2022 Culture Issue.

Photo Credit - Steven CW Taylor