Erin Elofson (Head, Pinterest Canada): How to Engineer Positive Change Into Your Business

It’s a big responsibility when you’re given the keys to an international community platform with an audience in the millions. So, what do you do with that kind of power? That ability to influence both micro and macro community and industry change? Certainly, there are individuals out there that would take the opportunity to amass further growth by any means necessary and with reckless abandon, and then there are leaders like Erin Elofson.In her role as Pinterest’s head of Canada and APAC region (which includes Australia and Japan), Erin’s philosophy around leadership means cultivating a platform through the power of positivity. But, what exactly does that mean? Unlike other platforms that have been slow to enforce change and policy, Pinterest took a stance against misinformation and problematic content before anyone asked them to do so and they did that through policy in an effort to create a safe and progressive space for its users. Today, what that means is a concise and intentional effort to build positivity into its platform by banning things like weight loss ads, political campaigns, and COVID misinformation so that users can feel safe.In today’s episode, Lance speaks with Erin about what it means to be proactive about building beneficial change, how to build a responsible community platform, and why Pinterest might just be the most positive corner of the internet.