Three Little Hummingbirds: The Story Behind Our Logo

AkiliCo. Hummingbirds: Wisdom, Justice, and Change

Hummingbirds are some of the most extraordinary creatures on Earth and have a great deal to teach us. They’re tiny powerhouses—able to hover, pivot, and even fly backward. They move with intention, changing direction in a blink without losing their center. When I first learned that, I thought: that’s what true transformation looks like—agile, grounded, and purposeful.

My relationship with hummingbirds began long before AkiliCo.™ had a name. When my children were little, they loved to sing Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.” Morning after morning, their small voices floated through the house like open windows, sunlight, and possibility. That song became a family refrain—an invitation to meet the day with hope. I came to associate three little birds with the rising sun, the promise of renewal, and the quiet confidence that we can face change with courage. Over time, that image settled in my spirit and stayed.

So when it came time to design the AkiliCo. logo, I didn’t have to look far. The hummingbird captured everything I wanted our work to embody. Our mark features three hummingbirds in motion, facing left while moving right—a visual nod to Sankofa, the West African principle that means “go back and get it.” In practice, Sankofa is a simple, profound truth: to move forward wisely, we must look back honestly. That posture—head turned to the past, body moving toward the future—holds the tension that makes real change possible.

Why three birds? Because for me, their meaning is layered. Yes, they honor those three voices that taught me to greet each new day. But they also hold the three pillars that guide AkiliCo.’s work: Wisdom, Justice, and Change.

• Wisdom is the hovering bird—the pause before the leap. Wisdom asks us to listen deeply, study the currents, and choose direction with care. In our practice, wisdom looks like research, reflection, and the humility to revise when evidence demands it.

• Justice is the decisive pivot—the courage to shift lanes when the current path harms people. Justice animates our questions: Who benefits? Who is burdened? What’s invisible here, and who made it invisible? Justice moves in ways that may feel disruptive to systems built on convenience, but it is the only path to integrity.

• Change is the backward flight—the paradox of progress that honors history without being trapped by it. Change is not motion for motion’s sake. It is disciplined movement: intentional, restorative, and built to last.

These three birds also remind me of something else I love about hummingbirds: their endurance. Despite their size, many undertake long migrations, crossing challenging distances to reach what sustains them. Transformation work is like that. It asks for stamina, not spectacle; clarity, not noise. It asks us to keep going when the crosswinds pick up—one beat at a time.

AkiliCo. exists for this kind of movement. We are here to help leaders and organizations see what has gone unseen, name what has gone unnamed, and build what has gone unbuilt—so justice is not a project or a season, but a structure. This is why our logo had to move backward and forward at once: we won’t abandon history to get to the future. We study it, honor it, and let it teach us how to design differently.

Our legacy vision says it best:

AkiliCo.™ envisions a world where justice is woven into the fabric of organizations so tightly that no regime can undo it. By exposing the invisible, embedding equity into culture, and advancing Organizational Psychology as a discipline, we leave behind a legacy of wisdom, frameworks, and language that make justice the norm rather than the exception.

That statement guides everything we do. It’s why we show up—to create a better, more just, and inclusive world for those who will inherit what we’ve built. We want our children and yours to step into workplaces where dignity isn’t up for debate, where belonging is designed into the system, and where fairness isn’t fragile.

You’ll see these commitments reflected throughout our work:

• In diagnostics that surface the patterns organizations don’t always see: how decisions travel, who gets to dissent without penalty, where values are practiced (or not) in everyday operations.

• In frameworks that translate insight into practice—tools that help leaders bring equity out of the policy binder and into the actual pulse of the organization.

• In language that clarifies instead of obscures. Words shape worlds, and we choose ours carefully to align with truth and invite shared accountability.

• In partnerships that respect context. Justice work isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s local, lived, and relational. We move at the speed of trust and the pace of real change.

And yes, in design—right down to the three hummingbirds who greet you when you land on our site. Their stances are intentional: one with wings high, another steady at mid‑stroke, the third in a low, powerful sweep. Together they communicate momentum, difference, and harmony—how distinct roles can still share a single direction. That’s the culture we’re working toward: diverse rhythms, aligned flight.

If you’ve ever watched a hummingbird feed, you’ll know the quiet magic of turning nectar into energy. Organizations can do something similar—turn everyday interactions into dignity, turn policies into protection, turn strategy into shared flourishing. But that alchemy doesn’t happen by accident. It takes imagination, discipline, and the willingness to experiment, learn, and try again.

That’s the spirit of this launch. We’re beginning on a day set aside to notice and celebrate these remarkable birds because their lessons echo our deepest hopes. We’re here to build with memory and momentum. To move like hummingbirds—small where ego would be large, precise where bluster would be loud, faithful where cynicism would be easy.

So when you see our three little hummingbirds, I hope you see more than branding. I hope you see a story—and maybe a bit of your own. A reminder that you can meet the morning with courage. That you can face the past without fear. That you can pivot toward what is right even when the headwinds rise. And that together, in every small, consistent beat of our wings, we can make justice ordinary.

Welcome to AkiliCo.™, and thank you for being here at the beginning. May these three little birds keep us honest, hopeful, and moving—looking back with gratitude, flying forward with purpose, and building a future strong enough to hold us all.