Our Founder

Purpose, Vision Impact

Purpose

Our purpose is to partner with senior business leaders who are committed to utilizing their heads and hearts to achieve sustainable success and unprecedented results as they build, grow, and scale the companies today’s people want to work for and do business with.

Vision

Our ambitious vision is to revolutionize business advising and leadership coaching with one steadfast focus: to cultivate workplace ecosystems that are People-Hearted & Business Minded™️. We believe companies operate best when business and leadership are practiced as one discipline.

Impact

We’re starting small, using a building-in-public approach, and holding a big vision to change the way businesses work—starting at the top. Our impact will be delivered one leader, leadership team, and company at a time. But that’s not all. We will expand our reach through blogs/vlogs, LinkedIn posts, a newsletter, group coaching, and a senior business leader forum.

The HumanKind Business Leaders
Difference

Relationship to Difference We all know differentiating our business is important—market value and growth depend on it. But all too often, we fail to consider the value of human differences, and in undervaluing them, we cause unhealthy tension, cycles of conflict, and obstacles to growth. At HBL, we’re skilled at connecting the relationship between business differentiation and our human differences to catalyze the activation of shared values for strong business outcomes and a company culture that builds bridges. Differentiation and difference are the goal, not the problem.

We Know the Ropes We’ve read the books (and highlighted them in a rainbow of colors). We have the education and certifications. And we’ve deeply practiced the business and leadership frameworks that we utilize. Lots of folks have these credentials. The difference we bring comes from years of experience with our hands on the wheel, the weight on our shoulders, and the earned know-how that only comes from navigating the peaks and valleys of leading a company through stages of growth. Knowing the ropes brings a kinship and understanding that is refreshing to our clients.

We Customize the Wheel We’re fans of doing what has been proven to work, and that’s why we draw upon a handful of operating systems and leadership philosophies we’ve used for many years. But no system or framework is a perfect fit on its own. We’ll help you choose the right one for your business and company culture, and then we’ll bring in supporting elements to customize that solution and position, evolving your approach over time. Nothing in business is constant. We make sure you’re ready to make thoughtful changes for the future.

Our Logo

At first glance, you might miss the uniquely designed ampersand in our logo. Recreated by graphic designer Michael Morten, it’s a replica of the ampersand in an original Smith’s Grocery & Gas Station freehand-lettered sign from the 1940s. Smith’s was purchased by our founder’s Grandpa Ellis–an entrepreneur long before anyone considered entrepreneurship a profession–and thrived for five decades as a hub of commerce and community in Newton, West Virginia.

The ampersand is a symbol derived by connecting the two letters of the Latin word et and has a rich legacy dating back centuries. It’s now a foundation of the HumanKind Business Leaders™️ approach, as well. We’re constantly seeking to connect, bind together, and combine strategy, brand, and culture within the organizations we serve.

Either/or and this/or mindsets undermine collaboration, innovation, DEIBA, and more, while a mindset that is both/and is generative, creative, and by its nature, inclusive. The concentric circle of ampersands in our logo signifies the flywheel effect: when we consistently focus on the connective tissue that binds our organizations together–and when we challenge our mindset with a both/and lens over and over–we can radically change our perspective and see more clearly that everything is in relationship to something else.

Doing so divests us from arguments centered on which is more important and encourages us to ask new questions like, “How can we better connect results & relationships, culture & strategy, accountability & compassion, and going fast & going far?” This is the foundation that HBL leverages to build great companies that not only have strong roots but also possess the capacity to surpass our imaginations.

IDEA

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Accessibility

At HumanKind Business Leaders™️, we stand firmly with the IDEA framework—Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Accessibility. These principles are at the core of who we are, how we operate, and the way we support our clients as People-Hearted & Business-Minded™ leaders.

We believe senior leaders hold the responsibility for creating workplaces where everyone experiences:

The freedom to be all of who they are and the safety required to do so - LIBERATION.
The security and comfort that comes from feeling accepted, included, and supported - BELONGING.
The benefit of knowing that your contributions, perspectives, and identities are acknowledged, valued, and appreciated - MATTERING.
The experience where inclusion is prioritized, diversity is celebrated, equity is promoted, and accessibility is understood as a key element for thriving, succeeding, and contributing - THE WAY FORWARD.

We hold ourselves to the highest level of responsibility for being not only an unwavering ally but also a co-conspirator with and for all underrepresented people. And we know this work, our work, will never be done.

Yet, our vision is clear, and we are committed to doing our part, in our words and actions, to forge a path that co-creates a world where everyone has the opportunity to flourish at work and in their lives.

We ask you to join us on this journey of uplifting our shared humanity.