Q&A with Ryan Goodman
Co-founder, Unseen Guardians
You’ve been known as an entrepreneur and leader who has created a strong, values-driven culture in the past.
1. Where does a business owner start if they want to build a culture that is rooted in purpose?
Recognizing the value of each of the members of my team(s) was always a key part of creating a healthy culture. I also learned from a book, early in my career, by Dale Carnegie called “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. I was later introduced to a book called “Dream Manager” by Matthew Kelly that really formalized a framework for how to implement culture and engage with a large team at scale.
2. What have you learned about how purpose affects employee retention, morale and productivity?
Purpose creates ownership. That’s critical when pushing through challenges and dealing with the chaos that fast growth inevitably creates from time to time. Purpose can’t just be declared or stated or announced, it needs to be demonstrated by the leaders of an organization. When our team saw leadership making choices that aligned with our purpose — even when it wasn’t the easiest path — that’s when morale and productivity took off.
Many leaders might assume creating “impact” means extra work.
3. What can leaders and teams do to see impact as something energizing rather than obligatory?
I get it, we’re already managing a lot, and the idea of adding “impact” to the list can feel like one more thing added to the pile. What I’ve experienced is that impact isn’t extra work — it’s energizing work. When people understand how their daily effort connects to something meaningful, it actually fuels them. It gives people a reason to care beyond their to-do list.
4. What are some ways to ensure employees feel connected and engaged in impact-driven initiatives?
We’ve found that impact has to feel personal for people to stay engaged. We’d celebrate wins during all-hands meetings, share videos showing the real-world results of our giving, and recognize team members who volunteered. We also gave everyone paid volunteer hours to support causes that mattered to them, not just the company. And when people like Than from Unseen came in to share how our support was changing lives, it connected the dots! When people can see it, feel it, and own it, that’s when impact-driven culture really sticks.
