Over the years I have interviewed hundreds of America’s top leaders and a question I love asking is: “What is one thing everyone should do to pay it forward?” Here are the answers I received to that question from a handful of top leaders:

Sarah Bird, CEO of Moz: Recognize your own power and privilege, then use it to accomplish good. At Moz, we’re aware of the massive barriers to entry in the field of tech. We also know we have the power to change that for people. Partnering with organizations like YearUp, Ignite Worldwide, and Techbridge helps us level the playing field. It doesn’t always benefit Moz directly, but that’s not the point of doing good things: making the tech industry more inclusive benefits us all. It’s our responsibility to make sure everyone has access to a career in STEM if they want it. Never underestimate your own ability to enact change.

Jorden Gold, Co-Founder of Stretch Zone: Using your experience to mentor those around you is an easy and valuable way to pay it forward. Most of us can think of someone who took time out of their busy schedules to tell us a story about how they overcame a setback in their career or gave us advice on our next business venture. Investing time to teach others what you’ve learned is rewarding in more ways than you can imagine. 

Theresa Armour, Co-Founder of Burke Williams: Everything we have is to be used in the service of others. The more we give, the more we get, so, repeat the cycle then give that too.

Ray Zinn, Founder and Former CEO of Micrel: We see stories on the news from time to time that illustrate how the power of looking out for others—paying it forward—works miracles. Somebody will pull into a KFC or Starbucks drive-through and when placing an order will tell the cashier that he or she is paying for the person in the next car. It has a ripple effect. So, showing appreciation, whether at a Starbucks drive-through or between an entrepreneur and the employees, snowballs. If you are truly appreciative for what someone else has done, that person will show the same appreciation to others. Similarly, you become more likely to show appreciation to the next person you encounter. Honest gratitude is a human trait that helps employees thrive. 

Melissa Biggs Bradley, Founder and CEO of Indagare Travel: I am a big believer in Karma and that every positive action sets in motion others and that we should bring our best selves to every situation big and small. That starts with being aware of all those you interact with from the person you pass in the hall or the driver of your taxi to thinking about where you can add value in a wider world. I have had great mentors throughout my career and try to be very available and open about career advice. Most of my team—and many of our past employees—never envisioned creating a career of their passion for travel and now they cannot imagine working in any other field. Outside of work, I am on the board of Reach the World, an incredible non-profit that brings the power of travel into classrooms through videoconferencing, so children who might never be exposed to distant cultures can learn about life in faraway places and how varied the world is. I am also involved with the Center for Responsible Tourism or CREST. With travel more widely available, we all need to think carefully about how to preserve natural and historical wonders as well as neighborhoods that are threatened by over tourism. CREST is a policy-oriented research organization dedicated to increasing the positive global impact of tourism.

Marvin Krislov, President of Pace University: Mentoring. Everyone in a leadership role — and really just everyone — should be willing to mentor people. I know I’ve benefited a lot from people who are willing to take their time, not knowing whether I would really take advantage of their advice, to help me learn and understand thing. And I know that it’s very fulfilling for me to be able to fill that role for others. Just last week I got a really nice email from a former student at Michigan who thanked me for encouraging her to skip law school and become a New York City Teaching Fellow — today she’s pursuing her passion and building schools for refugees around the world. That kind of thing is ultimately why we’re all in higher education.

Dave Crisalli, Founder and CEO of PROSE and Former CEO of Massage Envy: There are lots of ways to add value to others. Building an exceptional culture is one of the very best ways to enrich others over a long period of time.  Culture is everything. It’s the air we breathe, it’s the furniture, it’s the performance of the team, it’s the work ethic, it’s what happens when the CEO is not around. So, the best gift is to leave the environment better than you found it. This literally impacts everyone and therefore, it’s what we need to constantly cultivate and improve. 

Mary Marcy, President of Dominican University of California: I’m fortunate to be in a profession where our mission is to change lives for the better. Higher education is still the single greatest avenue to personal and social transformation in the world.  How privileged am I to be the president of a university? For me, paying it forward means ensuring young people have access to higher education, and doing everything I can to help them be successful once they get here. Part of the reason I decided to go to Dominican was the diversity of its student population, which came from a realization I had when I was meditating: the students of Dominican look like the population of California, and that looks like the future of the United States. If we can get this right, we’re doing much more than just helping these students — we’re charting a hopeful path for future generations across the country. Beyond higher education, I think every leader needs to realize they are not going to be in place permanently, and that their job is — as the Boy Scouts might say — to leave the place better than they found it. Part of that is providing support and professional development for a strong leadership team, and supporting succession planning.

Ryan Junk, Chief Strategy Officer of Xponential Fitness: Everyone should try to help others develop. Measuring progress and KPI’s are important but don’t drive results. Your people do. You can only win through your people. Great teams win through culture and if you have a culture around personal development you have a motivated team that continues to win and execute your strategy. The best strategy can’t overcome poor culture. People that are driven by personal development pay that forward to those closest to them and ultimately improves their circle and quality of life.

Brett Heyman, Founder and Creative Director of Edie Parker: It is really important that my values, most importantly to treat all people with respect, are reflected throughout my business and the work we do. My acrylic bags and accessories are made in America, by factory workers that we’ve trained in artisanal methods. Essentially, whether you’re operating on behalf of yourself as an individual or on behalf of a business, you should treat others the way you want to be treated.

Scott Pulsipher, President of Western Governors University: Mentoring. As leaders, we should all be mentoring not only those who report to us directly, but also those who within our networks who can benefit from our mentoring. Whether you do this formally through an outside organization or you do it informally through your community, professional affiliations, church, or otherwise, sharing your guidance and experience is one of the best ways I know to really pay if forward.

Jeremy Kroll, Jeremy Kroll, Co-Founder and CEO of K2 Intelligence: Never miss an opportunity to counsel someone in their career and make at least one meaningful introduction a week without any strings attached.

"Nathan Hirsch, co-founder of TrioSEO, which focuses on high-intent article writing services: Always, always, always graciously network with other people, seek to add real value to them, and make introductions where you can. Even if it doesn’t help you in any way, you should seek to meet great people and connect them with other great people. The more you seek to add value to relationships before asking for anything back, the greater your chance of building strong relationships with others in your industry.

Carl Howard, CEO of Fazoli’s: It seems like a canned answer but help others. Help the young people in your organization. Coach them; it is ok to speak directly to help people regardless of where they are in the organization. Make yourselves available and help people grow in their careers. Also, since most CEO’s are truly privileged, start or support a cause. Giving back to people in need is beneficial for your community and your soul.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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