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Yesterday I sat with Lance, Heather, Jen, and Dominique -- the four newest people to join the ADDO team. The session was what we call the Heart & History of ADDO. As part of this time, I share about my belief in business as a force for good. I’d love to share some of that with you below:
Fifteen years ago, I co-founded ADDO with Garrett Gravesen.
Not because the market needed another company. Not because we had a perfect plan. But because we had a growing conviction that business could be used to change the world.
At the time, that sounded a little idealistic. Maybe even naive.
It isn’t.
Over the last decade and a half, I have seen what happens when you take that idea seriously. I have seen companies create opportunities where there was none. I have seen leaders build cultures that dignify people. I have seen organizations choose the long view when the short-term path would have been easier.
That is the bet we made at ADDO.
That business, done right, can be one of the most powerful forces for good in the world.
Not soft. Not naive. Not detached from reality.
Practical. Durable. Scalable.
I have had the privilege of partnering with companies that believe this deeply. They think in decades, not quarters. They care about profit, but they are not defined by it. They understand something many miss.
Money is not the goal.
Money is the fuel.
Fuel for the mission.
Fuel for impact.
Fuel to keep going when things get hard.
Blake Mycoskie built TOMS Shoes on a simple but powerful idea. Business could meet a need and multiply its impact at the same time. He put it plainly: “I believe we can use business to improve lives.”
John Mackey, who helped build Whole Foods Market, has said, “The purpose of business is not just to make money. It’s to create value for others.”
And Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, took it even further: “Earth is now our only shareholder.”
Different industries. Different models. Same belief.
Business can be a tool for something bigger.
That is the shift.
From extraction to contribution.
From short-term wins to long-term value.
From “what can we get?” to “what can we give?”
When you build a business around creating real value, something powerful happens.
You attract better people.
You build deeper trust.
You create customers who do more than buy. They believe.
And belief compounds.
Value creates opportunity.
Opportunity creates growth.
Growth creates more capacity to create value.
A virtuous cycle.
As long as you can add value, you are never out of options.
I have seen this play out over and over again. The organizations that endure are not the ones chasing quick wins. They are the ones relentlessly focused on serving others well. They measure performance. They expect excellence. But underneath it all is a conviction that business is about more than the bottom line.
It is about impact.
It is about legacy.
Howard Schultz, who built Starbucks into a global brand, once said, “We are not in the coffee business serving people. We are in the people business serving coffee.”
That is not just a clever line. It is a philosophy.
Build something that matters.
Partner with people who think beyond themselves.
Use the tools of business to solve real problems.
At ADDO, that is still the mission. Fifteen years in, the conviction has only deepened.
Doing good and doing well are not in conflict.
They reinforce each other.
Because when you create value for others, the market responds.
When you serve people well, growth follows.
When your mission is clear, money has a place, but the impact matters more.
Business is not neutral. It shapes culture. It influences priorities. It touches lives every day.
So the question is not whether business has power. It is how we choose to use it.
Build something that lasts.
Create more value than you capture.
Play the long game.
Let money be the fuel, not the finish line.
And watch what happens.
Not just to your business.
But to the world around it.
