The Essential Conversation
CEO & Founder, EJ Idea Lab
“I aim to build a company that is an example to others. A company that defines success by community, care, and collaboration.”
Before we hear your insight, where did you earn your education?
I have a BA from Texas A&M and an MA from Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz School of Information Systems & Policy.
How do you and your organization seek to make social change?
I am focused on making social change by being authentic and human. Relationships, authenticity, and originality are the values on which I’ve built my career, and by which I live my life. However, being myself hasn’t always been advantageous for me. Most people have no choice but to interact with or work for institutions and people who value profits over everything else. Unfortunately, that seems to be the trademark of modern society, and in most cases, standardization and groupthink are perceived as better for the bottom line, so are therefore encouraged and rewarded in business.
Except equating money with success and happiness makes for toxic cultures and superficial institutions. While this may be good for a few individuals, it is bad and dehumanizing for almost everyone else, for our families, and communities. I believe deeply in the monetary and societal value of diverse and creative perspectives, and I struggled to find a place to do the work I wanted, in a way that aligned to my values.
So I started my own company that prioritizes, above all else, authenticity and high quality relationships. We advise nonprofits and small businesses, and are able to provide better solutions by acknowledging and leveraging each of our clients’ uniqueness.
What impact do you and your organization seek to accomplish and why/how? What social issues do you address?
In addition to the quantifiable value that we are contributing to our clients and their intended social impacts, I also aim to build a company that is an example for others. A company that defines success by community, care, and collaboration. Where leaders are humble and know how to learn from the people who work for them. Where we value individuals for who they are and not how well they can fit a mold. And where we create direct and residual effects that make people’s lives better.
Do you believe there is such a thing as work/life balance? Are work and life different?
The more experience I accumulate, the more I believe we must stop thinking in binaries like “work/life balance.” Thinking of part of our time as commoditized and belonging to someone else, and part of our time as “free” and belonging to us isn't practical, healthy, or productive. Rather than help us to create “balance,” this type of thinking actually creates conflicting priorities.
Instead, we need to holistically consider how the time we invest in family, friends, rest, work, hobbies, and anything else important to us impacts our physical and emotional health, psychological safety, and individual and community well-being.
We need to a) adopt new ways of thinking, b) develop and implement new structures, policies, and business practices to enable individuals’ diverse lives and contributions, and c) we’ll be happier, healthier, and more productive, eliminating the need to debate the merits of “work/life balance.”
