What if your business could be wildly successful without ever compromising on what matters most? Imagine resisting pressures to cut corners, staying true to your mission, and creating a culture where your team thrives – and still achieving incredible growth. That’s exactly what Carissa Bodner, founder of Thrive Causemetics, has done. In a conversation with Simon Sinek, Carissa shares her journey of leading a cause-driven, profitable business while holding firm to her values. For leaders and business owners, her insights challenge the traditional playbook, offering practical ways to build a company that’s both impactful and sustainable. Here’s how you can do the same.
Below we’ve written up this overview with some great questions to consider and apply to your business or organisation.
1. Aligning Decisions with Values
Carissa built Thrive Causemetics with a clear vision: to prioritise people and purpose over profit. Yet, staying true to this vision wasn’t without challenges. Advisors often suggested cutting costs – like using cheaper ingredients – to boost margins. Carissa resisted, recognising that aligning her products with her values, including being vegan and cruelty-free, was non-negotiable. For her, creating products she could wholeheartedly stand behind was worth more than short-term financial gains.
For leaders, maintaining values alignment requires consistency. Your team and audience must see those values in action. Carissa’s approach to embedding her mission into every decision underscores the importance of clarity and conviction.
How to implement this:
- Create practical filters for decision-making that reflect your values.
- Regularly revisit initiatives to ensure they remain aligned with your core purpose.
- Involve your team in value-alignment discussions to encourage accountability at all levels.
2. Balancing Profitability with Purpose
The tension between profitability and purpose is one of the most significant challenges leaders face. Thrive Causemetics’ success proves that purpose and profit aren’t mutually exclusive. Carissa’s decision to maintain ownership of her business enabled her to protect its mission, avoiding the compromises that often come with misaligned investors. By staying focused on profitability through innovation and thoughtful decision-making, she demonstrated that purpose-driven brands can also be financially successful.
Lesson for leaders:
- Profitability doesn’t require sacrificing purpose. Instead, it can be achieved by focusing on innovation and long-term growth.
- When pressures arise, challenge each other to uphold your values, even when making the call is tough.
3. Leadership as Collaboration
Simon and Carissa delved into the importance of balancing leadership and followership – an overlooked concept. Great leaders aren’t just decision-makers; they actively seek input, debate ideas, and foster collaboration. Carissa shared her approach to creating a culture where her team could disagree constructively while committing fully to decisions once made.
This mindset mirrors practices in your organisation, where values are embedded in leadership decisions and how the team collaborates. Ensuring clarity around values helps your team contribute meaningfully and with confidence.
Steps to strengthen collaboration:
- Invite your team to challenge decisions before they’re finalised.
- Emphasise unity once a direction is set, ensuring everyone feels part of the success.
- Provide tools and training to develop constructive disagreement and followership.
4. Tailored Communication for Empowered Teams
Carissa’s leadership philosophy highlights the importance of understanding individual communication preferences. By asking team members how they prefer to receive feedback, she fosters a sense of safety and respect. This approach ensures that feedback is both practical and empowering, leading to a more engaged and motivated workforce.
In your organisation, making values practical means equipping teams with frameworks to apply them in their roles. Tailoring communication to individual needs is an extension of this philosophy, ensuring everyone feels supported while working towards shared goals.
Ideas for practical communication:
- Regularly ask team members how they like to receive feedback.
- Adjust your leadership style to meet individual preferences while keeping sight of the collective mission.
- Celebrate wins in ways that resonate with the team – privately, publicly, or through specific acts of appreciation.
5. Finding Purpose Through Business
Carissa’s story is also one of personal purpose. Overcoming challenges like depression and a lack of direction as a young adult, she found fulfilment through action and community-building. This purpose became the foundation of Thrive Causemetics, allowing her to build not just a company but a platform for impact.
For leaders, purpose can be the driving force that keeps your organisation aligned through adversity. It also attracts others – team members, customers, and partners – who share your vision. As you’ve experienced, making values actionable creates a culture where purpose becomes a unifying principle.
Reflection questions for leaders:
- How does your organisation’s purpose shape daily decisions and long-term goals?
- What opportunities exist to deepen the alignment between your purpose and your operations?
Moving Forward: A Blueprint for Values-Driven Success
The conversation between Simon and Carissa provides a powerful reminder: values-driven businesses don’t just survive; they thrive. By aligning every decision with your purpose, fostering collaboration, and prioritising people, you build a company that stands for something meaningful. For leaders like you, this journey is as much about the accountability and clarity you create as it is about the impact you achieve.
The challenge isn’t just building a business—it’s building one that resonates with authenticity and inspires trust. By staying true to your values, you’re not just navigating today’s challenges but creating a legacy of meaningful growth.