Leading with Kindness: The Power of Goodwill with James Rhee, Owner, Red Helicopter, TEDTalk Speaker

True to the saying 'nice guys finish last'; so many of us have accepted that as in the case of Steve Jobs, 'abrasiveness' was part of his genius.

But what if there was another way?

What if leaders could be kind; and that there is a tangible value to kindness in business?

Now all of us probably know the term “goodwill” from an accounting context: 

In this capitalistic world in many ways; this value is decided by the buyer.

Now our next guest argues that in reality, goodwill which should mean a whole lot more than an accounting concept, 

is earned and cannot be bought; and that if done correctly — can be worth a whole lot.

This as he saw in his tenure as the unlikely “least qualified CEO” of Ashley Stewart, a popular plus-sized clothing brand serving and employing predominantly Black women: where he reinvented the co from the brink of bankruptcy: with what he argues was a recipe of “kindness” that shocked the world.

PROFILE: James Rhee: https://www.redhelicopter.com/

James Rhee is an acclaimed impact investor, founder, CEO, goodwill strategist, and educator who empowers people, brands, and organizations by marrying capital with purpose. He is an award-winning thought leader on topics such as multidimensional transformation, the intersection of capital, race, and gender, the future of capitalism, and values-based investing and leadership. The story of the remarkable transformation and re-imagination of Ashley Stewart, one of the country’s largest clothing brands serving plus-sized Black women, under James’s enlightened leadership as chairman, CEO and investor (2013-2020), has served as proof to millions of people, as well as the world’s leading businesses and organizations, that one can do better by being better.

James bridges seemingly unconnected people, communities, and industries under an inclusive and innovative umbrella. James serves as a member of the Advisory Council of JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways, a Founding Member of Ashoka E-to-E, and the Advisory Board of CEO Action for Racial Equity. He is a Strategic Advisor to start-ups creating the world in which we want our children to live, and formerly served as Chair of the Innovation Committee of the National Retail Federation, and a board member of Conscious Capitalism and the American Repertory Theater. He is a client of both UTA and LGR Literary.

As an investor, James helped manage billions of dollars of growth and distressed capital at two leading Boston-based institutions before ultimately founding his own impact platform called FirePine Group, where he has stewarded the capital of some of the world’s most sophisticated investors. He has been the lead investor and a board director across multiple successful platform investments. Before his career in business and finance, James Rhee was a high school teacher and an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

He is writing a book and devotes time to Howard University as the Johnson Chair and Professor of Entrepreneurship. He also serves on the faculty at MIT Sloan School of Management as a Senior Lecturer and EIR @ MIT Leadership Center.

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