The Revolution Happening Right in Your Neighborhood
While we scroll past headlines about what Fortune 500 companies are doing to save the world, a quiet revolution is happening right in our neighborhoods. These organizations—from solopreneurs to small teams—are embracing what Wisdom Works calls “thriving leadership”: a way of leading that considers not just profit, but people and planet in every decision. Recently, I spoke with Tom Hering, Co-Founder of Benefit Corporations for Good, about this growing movement.
“I get to work with these really incredible people that know the world’s hurting in so many different ways, and they’re doing everything as small business owners to help change that course,” says Tom. Over the past seven years, he’s certified more than 100 small organizations across 11 states and one Canadian province in the eight key standards of benefit corporations—for-profit entities that commit to fostering positive impact on society and the environment alongside financial goals.
The Questions that Redefine Business Success
For the leaders Tom works with, thriving goes beyond how success is often defined. Thriving is about an inspiring purpose built into the organization. Driven by purpose, these leaders ask themselves critical questions with every decision:
- How will this affect our people and team?
- How will this impact our community?
- What are the implications for our planet?
This isn’t just smart business—it’s the only way these leaders want to operate. “It’s like breathing. They just don’t know any other way,” Tom shared.
But how do leaders develop this kind of integrated thinking?
Tom believes three qualities are fundamental to thriving leadership: open-mindedness (willingness to consider new perspectives), honesty (authentic, transparent decision-making), and empathy (the ability to understand and connect with others’ experiences). At their core, these qualities empower leaders to operate from the understanding that business success and world wellbeing are inextricably connected.
From Lost to Leading: A Personal Transformation
The journey to thriving leadership isn’t just organizational—it’s deeply personal. Tom’s own leadership illustrates the transformative power of rediscovering purpose. After feeling lost in his advertising career, he found his way back to purpose through an unexpected path: serving meals to unhoused individuals in Portland, Oregon. These face-to-face encounters reminded him that genuine human connection and service fill not just professional needs, but emotional and spiritual ones, too.
“Finding that purpose is so critical… it all kind of brought me back. It showed me the path that reignited this whole sense of fulfillment in me,” he shared.
Purpose in Action: How Thriving Leadership Makes Real Impact
One of Tom’s certified companies exemplifies what thriving leadership looks like in practice. This manufacturing company is doing critical work in green infrastructure—building offshore windmills and working with renewable energy sources. Yet their commitment to people goes even deeper: They’re invested in empowering women leaving the prison system to retool, gain job skills, and find purpose in their lives.
This is the power of the triple bottom line in action: By creating pathways for formerly incarcerated women to rebuild their lives through meaningful work in renewable energy, this company demonstrates how business can be a catalyst for deeper wellness—not just environmental health, but human dignity, economic security, and social belonging that ripple through families and communities. Tom’s work is creating systemic change too—he helped pass legislation making Oregon the only state in the USA to give Benefit Companies advantages when pursuing state contracts, alongside traditional minority and women-owned business preferences.
Your Local Business Matters More Than You Think
Think about how much small businesses affect your daily life. From the dry cleaner and drugstore to the restaurant and childcare center, these organizations form the fabric of communities around the world. Despite being the backbone of local economies, however, they often lack a voice in major decisions. “There are so many good businesses out there, and I just don’t think they get recognized,” Tom said.
Yet when small businesses are driven by inspiring purpose and practices for wellbeing and sustainability, they can be a force for creating conditions where people and communities thrive:
- They attract and grow top talent: Younger generations seek employers with purpose beyond profit. Unlike previous generations focused on climbing career ladders, Gen Z and Millennials want opportunities to thrive both on and off the job—making purpose-driven organizations natural magnets.
- They create meaningful community impact: These businesses don’t just talk about values—they actively tackle local challenges like homelessness, clean water access, and ethical sourcing, bringing relevant solutions to the communities they serve.
- They lead by example: Purpose-driven small businesses and their thriving leaders prove that business can be a force for trust, community-building, ethical practices, customer engagement, and conscientious profitability.
Advancing Thriving with the Ripple Effect
When leaders operate from purpose, align with their values, and lead with empathy, the impact extends far beyond their organizations. Tom describes this journey as becoming “not only a better leader, but a better human being for my family, for my sons, for my grandkids.”
When businesses prioritize people and planet alongside profit, they advance not just economic prosperity, but the mental, physical, and social wellbeing of individuals and communities around the world. This approach transforms not just businesses, but the people who lead them and the communities they serve—with positive impacts rippling far into the future.
The world needs leaders in organizations and communities of all sizes who can navigate complexity while staying grounded in purpose, clear values, and the capacities to adapt, sustainably grow, and thrive.
What steps can you take now to be this kind of leader?
- Engage in strategic reflection: Ask yourself Tom’s three questions about a recent business decision. How did it affect your people, your community, and the planet?
- Develop your thriving leadership foundation: Explore our Coach for Thriving program designed to certify leaders in integrating purpose, stress resilience, growth mindset, and other factors of thriving into how they coach and develop people—and role model thriving in their own lives.
- Take the Impact Quiz: Explore the Benefit Corporation for Good certification and resources for becoming a force for good through your business practices.
Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to start. As Tom emphasizes, it’s about understanding “this concept of being a force for good and how you can find a way to bake in some accountability.”
ABOUT TOM HERING
Tom Hering is co-founder of Benefit Corporations for Good (BCFG), helping small businesses grow with purpose and impact through the Benefit Company movement. Since 2018, BCFG has certified companies in 12 states and one Canadian province, promoting a triple bottom line of People, Planet, and Profit. In 2023, Tom helped pass Oregon’s first bill giving Benefit Companies a sustainable edge in state procurement. A former creative director and brand strategist, he now serves as advocacy co-chair for the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty and co-authored Putting Soul Into Business. Tom is a proud graduate of the University of Oregon.
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Wisdom Works’ Be Well Lead Well® newsletter features conversations, strategies, and resources to empower a global movement of change leaders committed to a world where everyone thrives. Our deepest gratitude to Tom Hering, co-founder of Benefit Corporations for Good, for sharing his wisdom so generously.
Wisdom Works was founded with the belief that wellbeing and wisdom are the foundation of truly effective leadership. Over 25 years, we’ve supported leaders and organizations worldwide in creating cultures where everyone can thrive. If you’d like to explore how these principles could transform your team or organization, please reach out to us via this form.
