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Justin Ricklefs has spent nearly two decades building brands, but his real subject has always been people. As founder of Guild Collective, a branding and marketing agency, he has helped companies clarify who they are and why it matters. That work led him to a persistent observation: the organizations that thrive aren't the ones that grind the hardest. They’re the ones that care the hardest.
That observation became the foundation of his book, Give a Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies. In a recent conversation, Ricklefs made clear his interest extends well past the book itself. He discussed what changes when leaders trade judgment for curiosity, correction for connection, and hustle for what he calls Give a Damn Effort. Here’s what he had to say.
Ricklefs was asked how he draws the line between Give a Damn Effort and the hustle-culture grind so many leaders mistake for it.
“Give a Damn Effort is deliberate energy directed outward in service of people and purpose,” he said. “Hustle culture is usually anxiety-driven performance, or some level of posturing to display hours worked as a badge of honor, often at the expense of wisdom, relationships, and longevity.”
The distinction, he says, shows up in what the energy produces. “Hustle often leaves people isolated, drained, and disengaged. Give a Damn Effort, grounded in curiosity and compassion first, tends to become generative and connected.” Leaders who reward only visible busyness, he warns, “train their teams to perform instead of produce.”
That reframing extends to how Ricklefs defines effort itself: “deliberate use of energy in service beyond self.” The definition, he says, “challenges the idea that high performance is mostly about volume and visibility. Popular narratives reward the person who looks busiest and stays latest.” His question for leaders: “Energy toward what, and for whose benefit?”
The payoff for that extra, uncoerced effort—what his friend, fellow founder Mark Josey, calls “additional discretionary effort”—can’t be mandated, only invited, Ricklefs says. “Manipulation tries to extract and enforce extra effort through pressure, fear, or guilt. Inspiration creates the conditions where people want to give it because the work feels meaningful and they feel respected. The difference is whether the extra effort feels like a gift or a heavy burden to bear.”
Ricklefs traces one of his favorite leadership metaphors to former Major League Baseball player Rex Hudler: “There are two types of leaders. Drains and fountains. Drains pull the energy out of the room. Fountains spring up and give life to everyone around them.”
This simple distinction offers leaders a practical way to assess their own impact. A drain leader may hit targets in the short term, but the cost shows up in turnover, disengagement, and quiet resignation. A fountain leader, by contrast, builds reservoirs of trust and goodwill that sustain teams through difficult stretches. The metaphor isn’t about personality type—it’s about the directional flow of energy. Leaders can choose which one they become, and that choice is made daily in how they respond to mistakes, how they allocate credit, and how they treat people when no one is watching.
For Ricklefs, the drain-and-fountain framework isn’t just a catchy phrase; it’s a diagnostic tool. When teams feel drained, the cause is often a leader who confuses intensity with impact. When teams feel energized, it’s usually because someone has created conditions where contribution feels meaningful. The shift from drain to fountain begins with a simple question: are you adding energy to the room or extracting it? The answer, Ricklefs suggests, determines not just team morale, but ultimately whether an organization can sustain high performance without burning out its people.
When a leader has drifted into the draining pattern, the challenge is how to help them see it without putting them on the defensive. Ricklefs suggests a straightforward exercise that bypasses blame entirely. He advises leaders to "describe the last three conversations where someone left your presence feeling either more energized and encouraged or more depleted and discouraged."
The power of this approach lies in its framing. Ricklefs emphasizes that the exercise "is diagnostic, not accusatory. It shifts the focus from 'you are a drain' to 'what is the net effect of your leadership on the people around you?'" This subtle shift in perspective is crucial. Instead of attacking a leader's identity, it invites them to observe the outcomes of their interactions. As Ricklefs notes, "Most leaders already know the answer." The exercise simply creates a structured, honest space to acknowledge it.
To build the energizing habit, Ricklefs points to an unlikely source for one of his core principles. He cites a memorable scene from the television show Ted Lasso, where the protagonist hustles a rival at darts. The character's reminder to "be curious, not judgmental" before landing the winning shot is, in Ricklefs's view, "as practical as it is poetic." When applied to leadership, this principle "looks like asking one more question instead of defending your position. Curiosity flips the script: 'Help me understand what you're seeing that I'm missing.'"
Ricklefs treats curiosity not as a fixed personality trait but as a skill that requires deliberate cultivation. "It can be trained, strengthened, and grown. It can also atrophy, weaken, and wither," he explains. To keep this muscle strong, he recommends simple daily practices. These include opening meetings with "What are you seeing?" instead of "Here's what I think," and deliberately asking the newest or quietest person in the room to share their perspective first. The value of this approach is echoed by Kent Lammers, CEO of Polo Custom Products, who states, "I've never regretted when I gain the perspective and insights of others on my team."
In an era dominated by instant answers and artificial intelligence, Ricklefs argues that curiosity has only become more valuable. "AI is terrific at giving answers, and it offers endless ideas, plans, and processes," he acknowledges. However, he draws a sharp distinction between the utility of AI and the irreplaceable nature of human connection. "But a human who displays curiosity to another human leaves one of them feeling more known, seen, understood, and valued. Those bonds can't be built over prompts and AI outputs. They're forged in the safe and good flames of curiosity." While technology can provide solutions, it cannot replicate the profound effect of genuine, attentive interest from one person to another.
If curiosity is so effective, why do so many organizations default to judgment? Ricklefs offers a direct answer: "Because judgment and criticism feel faster and more certain. Curiosity requires slowing down and risking not having the answer yet." In a fast-paced work environment, leaping to a conclusion can feel more efficient than pausing to explore the unknown. However, this shortcut comes with a significant hidden cost. Ricklefs warns that when leaders skip curiosity, "People armor up and stay defended. Trust is low, and skepticism is high. The cost is hidden: lost ideas, withheld effort, disconnection, and problems that surface far too late." The initial time saved by being judgmental is quickly eclipsed by the long-term consequences of a disengaged and guarded team.
Ricklefs points to a memorable example from a friend who managed a local Chick-fil-A and spoke at his agency’s quarterly review. The friend shared a conversation with Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, who told his team they did not have to choose between kindness and profitability. Cathy’s message was simple: “The answer is both. Care and commerce can coexist.”
That idea still resonates with Ricklefs. “Care is a competitive advantage, not a soft skill,” he said. “Leaders who lead with their hearts see compounding returns to their business as well. It shows up in the types of team members you’re able to recruit, how long those team members stay, how invested and committed they are while they are there, and how they delight and serve the clients you want to attract and grow in your business.”
According to Ricklefs, many leaders skip an essential step before coaching or correcting an employee: building a connection. “Connection feels slower, less productive, and more vulnerable than fixing or criticizing,” he explained. “But those moves are mostly done for the leader’s self-interests and self-protection, not for the benefit of the one who needs coaching. Bypassing connection makes the coaching or correction land with more shame, distrust, and embarrassment. People don’t resist feedback as much as they resist feeling unseen, criticized, or judged first.”
One practical fix is to open difficult conversations with a simple question: “Are you open to feedback?” Ricklefs says this question “lowers the emotional stakes. It turns feedback from something done to someone into something done with them.” Over time, he adds, “the culture shifts from ‘avoid hard things’ to ‘we can handle hard things together’ because you care enough about me to share the truth. High performers, especially, crave candid feedback. It’s the only way they learn how to grow.”
Ricklefs’s leadership approach, called the “Give a Damn Fire Starter” framework, rests on four core qualities: curiosity, compassion, clarity, and consistency. These are fueled by two foundational elements: effort and attitude.
“It costs zero dollars to give a damn,” Ricklefs said. “We all have the ability to bring strong effort and a good attitude to our daily situations. And without a fuel source, a fire can’t start.”
While each quality is valuable on its own, Ricklefs emphasizes that they work best in combination. He warns that relying on just one can create problems:
When all four qualities work together, they create a powerful leadership dynamic. As Ricklefs puts it: “Curiosity helps you see what’s really going on. Compassion helps people feel safe enough to engage. Clarity turns insight into direction. Consistency makes it reliable.”
Leaders who want to apply this framework can start by examining how often they demonstrate each quality in their daily interactions. Curiosity means asking questions and genuinely listening rather than assuming you already know the answer. Compassion involves creating psychological safety so team members feel comfortable sharing concerns or admitting mistakes. Clarity requires translating insights into concrete next steps and expectations. Consistency means showing up with the same approach day after day, so your team knows what to expect from you.
The combination of these qualities, supported by consistent effort and a positive attitude, creates what Ricklefs describes as a culture where people feel valued, understood, and motivated to perform at their best.
For Ricklefs, the distinction between empathy and compassion is not merely semantic—it is the foundation of effective leadership. He argues that leaders must cultivate both, and in the correct sequence. "Empathy is the on ramp, not the final destination," he explained, drawing on a concept from Arthur Brooks that true compassion "is hard as flint." This philosophy gives rise to what Ricklefs terms "compassionate collisions." These are the pivotal moments when a leader cares enough about an individual to risk the relationship for their benefit. It involves asking if someone is open to feedback, delivering honest truths, and remaining present during their struggles rather than rushing in to solve the problem for them.
The discomfort inherent in these interactions is not a byproduct; it is the objective. "We don't grow without it," Ricklefs stated. He observes that leaders who sidestep these difficult conversations often find themselves with shallow professional relationships and a cycle of recurring issues. Conversely, those willing to engage in compassionate collisions forge a resilience and trust that endures through challenging periods.
Ricklefs challenges the notion that cultural transformation requires a sweeping, company-wide initiative. He posits that culture is constructed in the minutiae of daily interaction. "Every conversation, every meeting, every decision is a culture-building moment," he said. "You can start shifting trajectory today with how you show up in the next interaction."
This perspective is both liberating and demanding. It eliminates the excuse of waiting for the perfect program or the next novel idea. Instead, it places the onus squarely on consistent, daily leadership behavior—a responsibility that is far more difficult to delegate and easier to overlook. This approach empowers every leader to influence the organizational climate immediately, without needing permission or a formal mandate.
When asked how a CEO could meaningfully shift an organization's direction within a single month, Ricklefs offered a powerful metaphor rather than a complex strategic model. He described a universal human condition: "We all walk into every situation with a box of matches."
With that box, a leader has a binary choice. They can strike a match to cause harm—through criticism, harsh judgment, a defensive ego, or a cutting tone. Alternatively, they can use their match to ignite the potential in others. "We can give our power source to someone else's match and light theirs through Curiosity, Compassion, Clarity, and Consistency," Ricklefs explained.
This imagery is striking in its simplicity and resonance. A leader holds the capacity to either scorch a room with negativity or illuminate it with possibility, often within the same brief interaction. The choice is made in how one listens, responds, and prioritizes the needs of the team.
Ricklefs does not romanticize the ease of this approach. His own vocabulary—filled with references to collisions and flint-hard compassion—acknowledges the difficulty and grit required. However, he is making a calculated bet on the future of business. In a corporate landscape that often glorifies speed and relentless hustle, he believes that leaders who choose curiosity over certainty, connection over correction, and genuine care over personal conquest will secure a distinct advantage.
These leaders will not merely cultivate a healthier workplace; they will build a depth of trust that is inimitable. This trust becomes a strategic asset that competitors cannot easily purchase, replicate, or automate. It is the result of a thousand small, intentional choices to use one's match for the benefit of others. As Ricklefs succinctly concluded, “All it takes is one spark.”
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