Embracing an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Innovation, Faith, and Social Impact with Denise Daniels

Have you ever thought that entrepreneurship could be more than just starting businesses? Our special guest, Denise Daniels, the Hudson T. Harrison Professor of Entrepreneurship at Wheaton College, does. In this episode, she talks about how innovation and design thinking can change the game in business and why an entrepreneurial mindset thrives on curiosity and practice.

Christians in the marketplace often wonder how faith fits into work. Denise challenges the old-school idea of putting shareholder value above all else; instead, she suggests aiming for social good and human flourishing. We also dive into the concept of sphere sovereignty, debunking the myth that Christian service is just for ministry or non-profits.

Finally, Denise shares insights from her study with Elaine Howard Eklund, breaking down how we can see our jobs as vocations filled with purpose. Whether through intrinsic satisfaction, societal impact, or workplace relationships, Denise shows us how faith and work can beautifully intertwine.

Bio:

Denise is the inaugural Hudson T. Harrison Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at Wheaton College (IL). Previously, she was a Professor of Management at Seattle Pacific University. She earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Washington.  Her scholarly interests include meaningful work, Sabbath, leadership, gender, and motivation.

Denise is also the co-principal Investigator on a $1.8M research project funded by the Lilly Endowment, which examines how people in the United States understand and engage their faith at work. She serves on the corporate board of a FinTech company and the board of two non-profit organizations. 

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The Better Samaritan podcast is produced by the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College. The institute offers an M.A. in Humanitarian and disaster Leadership and a Trauma Certificate. Visit our website to learn more and apply.

Jamie Aten, Ph.D., and Kent Annan, M.Div., co-direct the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College and are the Co-Founders of Spiritual First Aid.

This episode was produced by WildfireCreative 

Theme Song: “Turning Over Tables” by The Brilliance

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(Note to the listener: In this podcast, sometimes we'll host Evangelicals, and sometimes we won't. Learning how to “do good, better” involves listening to many perspectives with different insights and understanding. Sometimes, it will make us uncomfortable; sometimes, we'll agree, and sometimes, we won't. We think that's good. We want to listen for correction–especially in our blind spots.)

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