Value First Humans: Purpose, Passion, Persistence, and Love in Business

I do not want you to meet a “work version” of me. I want you to meet the whole human.

Because when we build businesses that only celebrate performance, we quietly train people to hide parts of themselves just to belong. That never ends well. Not for the human. Not for the team. Not for the customers.

In this Value First Humans conversation with host Chris Carolyn, I pull on a thread I care about a lot. Systems can be brilliant and still break common sense. They can look efficient and still treat people like labels, stages, and numbers.

This episode resides in the world of Purpose, Passion, Persistence, and Love, but it transcends to something more profound. Trust. Clarity. The courage to lead with value fast. And the willingness to say the word love in business without getting weird about it.

Start by leading with value one-to-one, then scale what works. Pay attention to the time to the first value. Rename and redesign systems so they reinforce human behavior, not factory behavior. And stop acting like love and business are enemies.

The moment that changed everything

I grew up in Montana, and I learned a truth that still shapes how I coach and lead. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make 'em drink.”

That line keeps me honest.

I can build frameworks. I can teach what I know. I can guide you to the edge of the next level. But I cannot make you choose it. So I focus on creating a path that feels human. Clear enough that you can see yourself in it. Practical enough that you can use it today. Strong enough that it holds up when life and business get heavy.

That is part of why I created the Superhuman Framework. I did not wake up one day with a cute idea and a logo. I worked backward from what helped me grow when I did not feel confident, when I felt stuck, and when I needed a way to stay grounded while still pushing forward.

How they do the work in the real world

At the heart of my approach are four cornerstones: purpose, passion, persistence, and love.

The first three usually get nods and smiles. The fourth one makes some people uncomfortable. “Love should not be a dirty word in business.”

I'm not talking about cheesy vibes or forced positivity. I'm talking about the kind of love that shows up as care, respect, boundaries, truth, and service. The kind that makes a leader ask, “How do I help this person win?” even when it costs a little extra effort.

Inside the Superhuman Framework, I also pay attention to what I call the human gauges. They help me spot what is really happening with a person or a team, even when the numbers look fine on paper. Happy. Hungry. Helpful. Humble. Humorous. Honest. Healthy. Holistic. Human. Holiness.

Then I take it out of theory and into real work.

A recent example: sales professionals were stuck, not because they could not click the right buttons, but because they did not know how to communicate without sounding spammy. I could have written a blog post. Instead, I chose speed and usefulness. I created a simple document, validated it with the sales leader, and delivered it straight to the people who needed it.

One-to-one first. Then scale.

That mindset is also why I obsess over time to first value. If someone raises their hand, I want them to feel helped quickly. Not pitched. Not processed. Helped. And yes, I get very intentional about language inside systems, especially in HubSpot. Words shape behavior. If your system labels people like objects, your team starts acting like people are objects.

In my HubSpot portal, I rename things so the team sees humans, not data.

Contacts become humans. Companies become organizations. Deals become opportunities. Leads become conversations because that is what we are actually doing when trust is the goal.

The lesson they want you to carry forward

Let me give you an image that sticks. Imagine you walk outside and yell for people to come over, then you go back inside to an empty house. Nobody shows up just because you shouted.

But later, when the timing is right, the doorbell rings and a friend walks in.

That is how I think about selling and helping. You do not force it. You build real value. You put it into the world. You stay ready. Then, when the right human is ready, a connection happens.

Here is the line I want you to sit with.

“If you'd spend more time putting value into the world, your doorbell would ring more,” Before you try to overhaul everything, pick one thing. Find one place where your systems block common sense and make it harder for your team to treat people like people.

Then fix that one place.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Superhuman Framework built on?
It is built on four cornerstones that help a human move with clarity and strength: purpose, passion, persistence, and love.

What does “time to first value” mean in this episode?
It means shortening the time between first contact and a person genuinely feeling helped, so they can move forward with less friction.

Why do you rename system labels like “leads”?
Because the words your team sees every day shape how they think and act. I want systems to reinforce conversations and humanity, not transactions.