IAM1956 – Founder Helps Bring Mentor Health to Businesses

Why it was selected for “CBNation Architects”:

In this episode, the guest is Javier Santos, co-founder of The House of Purpose.

Key Points:

Javier's Journey: Javier was born and raised in Mexico City and started his career in the corporate world. He later fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming an entrepreneur and in 2015, co-founded The House of Purpose with a mental health expert. Their goal is to help employees harness their emotions effectively.

CEO Hack: Javier recommends regular exercise to manage stress and maintain balance.

CEO Nugget: Javier introduces the concept of “sunk cost” urging us not to focus on the resources already invested; instead, be willing to start over if necessary.

CEO Defined: For Javier, being a CEO means being the one making decisions, dealing with both successful and challenging situations.

Javier’s business, The House of Purpose, focuses on helping individuals and businesses harness and understand their emotional climate. They engage with individuals over a course of six to eight weeks to build trust, facilitate self-awareness and cultivate practical skills such as conflict resolution and self-motivation, especially relevant in the remote work setup induced by the COVID pandemic.

Javier Santos Teaser 00:00

So now we talk to our clients and we don't have to convince them about how important emotions are. We go directly into talking about how we're going to help them, right? The discussion on ROI is not even there anymore because what's the cost of not having something like this?

Intro 00:17

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I AM CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:44

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and I appreciate you listening to this episode. If you've been listening this year, you know that we hit 1600 episodes at the beginning of this year. We're doing something a little bit different where we're repurposing our favorite episodes around certain categories, topics, or as I like to call them, the business pillars that we think are going to be extremely impactful for CEOs, entrepreneurs, business owners in what I like to call CB Nation architects who we're looking to level up their organizations.

This month we are focusing on finishing it out, fighting the good fight and closing out the job. I think just as important as it is to start something, it's even more important in how you conclude it or finish it out. So if you think of the different things that you can finish out, it could be everything from a project, it could be from a day, it could also be from a business in and of itself and it could also of course be for the year. So when you think of finishing out, I want you to really think of these episodes because what we're going to really focus on is the last question that we really ask, which is defining what it means to be a CEO.

And all the creative, innovative, and I think truly insightful questions that we received from this question is really what we want to highlight during the show. But of course, we want you to enjoy the entire episode and think about how you're going to finish things out and how you're going to finish things out strongly. So sit back and enjoy this special episode of the I AM CEO podcast.

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Javier Santos of the House of Purpose. Javier, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Javier Santos 02:17

Thank you for having me. I'm really excited.

Gresham Harkless 02:19

No problem. Super excited to have you on. Before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Javier so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing.

Javier was born and raised in Mexico City. He started his career in the corporate world, working for large multinationals. He then moved to the USA to get his MBA from UT Austin and decided to permanently move to Canada in 2005. Javier has built a stable and happy life in Toronto until he turned 50.

He then decided it was time to reinvent himself and fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming an entrepreneur. In 2015, Javier partnered up with a mental health expert and they both founded the House of Purpose to help employees put their emotions to work.

Javier, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Javier Santos 03:00

I've never been more ready.

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Gresham Harkless 03:01

Awesome. Let's do it then. So, I wanted to kick everything off by rewinding the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more on what I touched on how you got started.

Could you take us through your CEO story? We'll let you get started with your business.

Javier Santos 03:11

Yeah. So, I was working for corporate and I always had this dream of starting my own business, but I never found something that really made me so passionate. I think at one point I wanted to start an ostrich farm, which I'm glad I did it. But, it's when I met Marco, who's our chief clinical officer and we started seeing that there was a big opportunity by bringing the mental health world to business.

I think part of how people understand things right now is that we are not separate smart in terms of IQ and EQ. So instead of thinking that you have both logical and emotional skills, it's more like we first feel and then we think. So what you feel, It's even more important than what do you think?

Gresham Harkless 04:01

Yeah, that's extremely important.

Javier Santos 04:03

Yeah. So we're looking at this space, we started seeing that the issues in the workplace were just getting worse in terms of what's emotional. I'm talking about stress and conflict and engagement. There wasn't really a robust solution at the same time that we saw so many things coming out from affective neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience and psychology on how our brains and minds work. So things like, how you are unable to be creative and resourceful when you're afraid? We're not well understood.

So in the corporate world, it was like you had to be at your best performance ever. And if God forbid, if you were a slave to your feelings and we just can't be like that. That's how machines work. We are always at the whim of our feelings. So that is more like feel so that you can think before you act. So we started this company with that idea in mind. We've developed a solution and now we have clients and we're seeing how we're really helping people out be happier and more productive. And it's just like COVID brought everything to disruption, but it just knocked down the walls of stigma for mental health at work.

So now we talk to our clients and we don't have to convince them about how important emotions are. We go directly into talking about how we're going to help them, right? The discussion on ROI is not even there anymore because what's the cost of not having something like this? So I'm talking about a company that we started for one environment. That we really were creating for this new environment on benignly.  Yeah so I feel more than fortunate. I feel incredibly responsible to make this happen right now. I have no excuse anymore to say.

Gresham Harkless 05:44

Yeah, absolutely. I know you touched on it a little bit. Could you drill down a little bit deeper into how exactly you help to work with and support these organizations and the people within?

Javier Santos 05:54

Yeah. So a couple of things that are important to understand is that, If I try to teach you geography, I can just give you a book or a YouTube video. When we talk about emotional skills, when we talk about you learning how you are resilient or you discovering how you are self aware. These are things that we discover. We don't learn, right? A little bit goes a little bit like this, so I have an interaction and then go back and sit down and think about it and reflect on my experience doing this. And then I see what worked, what didn't, and I have to try again. It's a little bit like riding a bicycle, right?

So this is not the kind of thing that you can train or that you can do help people learn in a webinar. This is something that requires a confidential private place with someone that knows what he or she is doing for you to go, how did that go? And why am I doing this? Or what is it about my behavior? What does it says about me? Your mentor will help you discover all that so that you discover your needs. So you say, Oh, I think I have to be more empathic, and then you try different ways of being empathic, fail a few times, and then go back and say, okay, now I'm getting it.

So we go through a process where we engage with individuals for 6 to 8 weeks. So that's the time it takes for someone to first trust in us, right? Because you're not going to trust just anyone. So we build that relationship over the first couple of sessions, and then we go into a more deep discovery stage where people start seeing themselves in a different light on. Then we go into, okay, so let's try to move to a different place in terms of how can you be more resilient? Or how can you solve this conflict? Or how can you self motivate? Now that we're all working from home, we're starting to see way more opportunities to do this in terms of how to use self management and workplace integration, right?

If you're going to work from home now, your office is your basement, right? So how do you make sure you get up in the morning and brush your teeth and keep hydrated and do exercise, right? Because not everyone has that self discipline, if you will. How do you make sure you integrate your workplace even with your family so your kids know not to interrupt in the middle of the meeting unless something happens, right? So what's that exception? These things that we've never done, things like ergonomics in your basement, all the way to relationships, to engagement, to just basically well being. How can you prevent depression from setting on, especially now?

There's a couple, a lot of things that we can do. And, that's one of the things I focus on right now is how do I avoid the pressure from setting in now that I don't have the gym and the yoga? So, we all went crazy for the home baked bread and things like that, which was good for an exception. But now this is here to stay. So how do I keep physically and mentally healthy lifestyle when I am basically my own boss for a cup for a lot of things, right for practical purpose in a lot of areas, right? How do I leave my company's culture when I don't even know anyone else or I don't go anywhere?

So, the challenge is even bigger, right? The ante has been up. So we need to pay attention to these things. And there is never different ways of doing it. We like our way. We think it works. Our clients are really happy. The interesting thing is sometimes they cannot put it in words because I feel like what we're doing is so new. So people just refer to your sessions, right? Or you're coaching and that's good for me as long as they recommend it, but we sometimes feel that we're crazy, and, we started with a constant that people were scratching their heads. Can you tell me again what you do?

So we spent a lot of time trying to put it in terms that we could sell it. But now the world has changed and now we feel it seems that we were working in the background for something like this because it fits so well. So I'm very excited at the same time. I'm as afraid as anxious as everyone else in this world.

Gresham Harkless 09:43

Yeah, but I love how you described it. Obviously, incredible work that you do, but you said that it's incredible responsibility as well. Because, as you mentioned, like all those different scenarios, and this is obviously been one of the more disruptive times, if not the most disruptive time, at least it has definitely been for me, because it has an effect. This pocket of the globe, or this state, street or whatever has literally disrupted every single person in some form, shape or fashion.

I think that having awareness when it's brought at the forefront or right into your front step of things like depression of emotional intelligence and understanding exactly what your emotions are and being in tune to all of those things and how these new scenarios of being able to work out where you're also working from a nine to five and then also potentially having to homeschool your Children. All these different scenarios have disrupted everything.

So I think I love the work that you do because so many times people put everything on the back burner. They don't really bring it to the forefront. They don't discuss it. But now is a time where you actually have to have these conversations because the I guess the mental state of us as individuals, but us as a society is hanging in the balance of what we do and the decisions that we make on a day to day basis.

Javier Santos 10:48

Yeah. And as a business owner, sometimes I think the hardest thing to do when you're an innovator is to knock down the old guy, right? Like you always become a solution for something. So unless you're completely new, it's like you have to take away from somebody. And I think the way things are going in the world, everything is changing. So we're going to see entire companies and industries go bankrupt. I think there's an appetite for change. There's an appetite, especially in employees, for saying Okay, I don't want to be a corporate slave anymore. How can I be productive and happy and healthy and have a good job and a good career at the same time?

I think companies are saying, Okay, now the game is changing. So no more revolving door of people changing jobs, because that's not practical. If you lose your job, it's going to be way much harder to get a new one. So now you're going to get stuck with your same people. Good, the good ones are going to stay. That's great. But the bad ones are the ones who need help because I don't think there are good and bad employees. I think there's just some people that need a little bit more support. Yeah, but now you can't just keep playing the revolving door. Now you're going to have to fix it and help them and people want to help and they don't want to have the same old habits, right?

We're talking about, from prejudice to being overworked to the way you talk to your colleagues, right?

Gresham Harkless 12:05

Yeah, absolutely. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. This could be for yourself personally or your organization, your business. But what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?

Javier Santos 12:15

I think that we're always thinking, how can we make this better? And if there is something I've done exactly right as an entrepreneur is I've overdone it a little bit too much, right? Because I'm always trying to make it better and better.

At some point you have to think am I going to charge for the extra thousand whistles? Is this adding value to the invoice? Not just to what I do. And it's a balance because I want to give my clients the best I can. But, oh, I have to make money to get that.

Gresham Harkless 12:43

Yeah, I would absolutely agree. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. This could be like an app, a book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Javier Santos 12:55

Exercise. I do many things, but I would say if I had to pick one. It just makes wonders to the mind, not only the body, to my mind.

Gresham Harkless 13:04

I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. This could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client, or if you hopped into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

Javier Santos 13:14

When I was in business school, I learned this concept of sunk costs. And there was even a, I don't know if you ever heard it, but it's a finance concept that you should not look at a project in terms of what you already put in it. It's all forward looking, right? So if you're building a house, it's not how close you are to termination. It's always how much more money do I need to finish it? And what am I going to get for that?

So if you start building the wrong house, at some point, it's better to start over, right? And that's a really important concept to keep in mind when you're pivoting and when you're innovating because it's very easy to say, but I've been doing this for so long. Yeah, but that's not what the future is. So, you have to be willing to start over. If that's what your business needs.

Gresham Harkless 13:59

Awesome. Now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote and quote CEOs on this show.

So Javier, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Javier Santos 14:09

I think being a CEO is extremely lonely because it's important to listen to everyone, but this is where the buck stops, right? You can ask many people, everyone, or most people have something to offer, but at the end of the day, you have to make the call.

So I think it has this double edge of you are the one to call the shot.

Gresham Harkless 14:30

Awesome. I appreciate that perspective. I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's additional, you can let our readers know. And of course how to get a hold of you and find all the things you're working on.

Javier Santos 14:43

I think that we all need to think of ourselves. we need to build a better world, and this is the time to do it, and it's only gonna happen if we do it. If not, we're gonna get shoved, we're gonna get the old thing back again. So there is an election coming. There is a lot of business in bankruptcy. There is a lot of flukes in the system. So this is the time to start new things.

So to everyone out there who has the entrepreneurial bug go for it, partner up with someone. This is the time to start. And it's not an easy journey, but I never look back. I've had hard moments, very hard moments, but it's totally worth it. I think everyone should give it a try, especially if you're thinking about it because the world needs it more than ever.

Gresham Harkless 15:27

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate that. And Javier, people that want to get ahold of you, what's the best way for them to do that?

Javier Santos 15:32

So the houseofpurpose.com. That's where we have our website. Everything that we do is there. We also have a Twitter account, House of Purpose, and we're also on LinkedIn.

So, check us out, and you can contact us there, and just be happy.

Gresham Harkless 15:47

Absolutely. And we will definitely have those links and information in the show notes. But I appreciate that kind of last reminder as well, too, because so many times I say like the entrepreneur and again, the CEO, as we all definitely be sometimes it's like an artist.

So many times if you want to see the world in a different way, you have to paint the picture. You have to do the work. I think it's on us as individuals, as leaders, as people of individuals, and within society to do that and to take the steps to do that. So I appreciate that charge. I appreciate that reminder and of course your time.

I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Outro 16:16

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase. It's a community.

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This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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