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We’re having a one-on-one with Mr. Patrick R. Riccards, who founded the Driving Force Institute in 2020 to revolutionize how American history is taught and learned.
Patrick has over 20 years of extensive expertise in creating and managing charitable organizations. He is a visionary business owner and a results-driven leader. He is passionate about overseeing fundraising, strategic planning, the creation of compelling brand messages that appeal to consumers, and the development of public outreach programs that spread those messages among various audiences and distribution channels. A Nonprofit CEO, Strategic Leader, and Communications & Engagement Expert has been working with organizations to improve public policies and programs in a way that has never been done before. He has also been getting the money and public-private partnerships needed to support these ambitious objectives.
More about Visionary Leader
Creator by heart and entrepreneur by profession, Patrick R. Riccards started his first business nearly 15 years ago, right after his daughter was born. He aspired to progress professionally while still having the time and freedom to raise his two children as a father. Thus, he transformed Exemplar Strategic Communications into a leading boutique public affairs and communications company in the field of education. After that, he founded Eduflack Strategies, which expanded upon Exemplar’s strengths and offered C-suite consulting, strategic development, and messaging services.
When Patrick was the Woodrow Wilson Foundation’s chief communications and strategy officer four years ago, he began extensively researching how to enhance the teaching and understanding of American history. He developed a passion for it, which inspired me to start the Driving Force Institute. The Smithsonian, the NY Historical Society, and the American Battlefield Trust are just a few of the major companies that DFI collaborates with. DFI is currently the leading maker of educational American history movies in the country. For creating videos that students adore and teachers need, they were honored with a Telly award the previous year.
“Each of these businesses was built on a simple premise. We don’t fear failure. We fail fast; we don’t repeat failures, but we realize that failure is one of the greatest learning tools for a new business. If we don’t experience failure and setbacks, then we simply aren’t innovating”, said Patrick.
A Brief Overview of the Driving Force Institute
By investigating untold stories, bringing inclusive history to students and classrooms, and demonstrating to learners how history is relevant to them and their futures, The Driving Force Institute is revolutionizing how American history is taught and learned. The DFI team creates and disseminates fair and understandable American history videos at no cost to the audience, guided by the idea that history is a question rather than a statement.
When Driving Force Institute first started, there were no distribution plans and roughly 25 films. At first, they intended to rely on YouTube. They were aware they had something with promise as a result of research done with educators and students. They were confident they had a solution when COVID struck. The team set up distribution alliances that enabled them to reach more than 43 million people in just four years. The more than 500 videos that DFI now has were produced by Makematic, the greatest video production partner in the industry.
The untold stories of American history—the people, events, and artifacts that are frequently ignored in textbooks—are highlighted because today’s students want to learn history that is interesting and relevant to them. They concentrate on short-form videos because that is how today’s learners consume content, in short bursts on TikTok and YouTube. It all comes down to creating the best content you can for the consumer.
What Makes DFI Stand Out in the Industry?
“We are not the first company to employ video to instruct academic material. But we teach it in engaging, challenging ways that have been shown to work with high school students who thought history was useless and dull. We’ve developed a social enterprise that has generated millions of dollars to produce more than 500 videos that will engage students with American history today. Additionally, we have developed a business model that depends on partners that put money on the line; this strategy has enabled us to achieve today’s user base of almost 43 million. We build on the knowledge gained from prior leadership experiences, taking advantage of the positives while avoiding the negatives“, Patrick explained.
Innovative Changes by DFI
Change is difficult. The majority of individuals are resistant to change and look for benefits in the status quo, so they won’t have to put in the effort. They find change unsettling. As a result, one of the most challenging tasks is persuading people that change is worthwhile and important.
“Earlier in my career, I believed that simply outlining our efforts to bring about change would be adequate. I quickly realized that I needed to explain why we were doing it instead of just focusing on the what. By putting in a lot of effort to develop fans, advocates, and champions who share our goals, we are able to overcome obstacles. The short-form video wasn’t seen as having much of a future by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation as a way to enhance the teaching and learning of American history. They put an end to the effort. I took on the challenge of building an idea into a powerful organization rather than accepting its demise, stated Patrick.
Patrick’s Take on a Unique Leadership Approach
At my core, I am a coach, as demonstrated by my four years of working with my daughter’s competitive cheerleading team to help them place second at both national and international competitions. I practice authentic leadership as a coach by acting with authenticity, openness, compassion, and accountability in whatever I do. My job is motivated by the greater good, and I do what it takes to influence people’s thoughts and behaviors in order to advance society as we know it. Although dirty and stressful, purpose-driven labor is essential. It necessitates viewing the world not as it is but rather as it can and must be. I consider myself to be a coach, an innovator, and an agitator in my role as CEO. Each of those three hats is necessary to lead my portfolio.
Words of Wisdom
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
“Innovation work isn’t easy. It can be frustrating and messy.”
To succeed in this sort of work, one needs to develop a strong toolbox of knowledge and skills. Know your strengths and constantly address your shortcomings. Always seek others in the field to mentor, advise, and guide you. Learn from your setbacks and mistakes, trying not to repeat them. If you keep working, keep learning, and keep failing fast and with purpose, success will come.
