Are you building a profitable company — or a business that actually proves capitalism can be a force for good through conscious capital?
As a CEO, you feel the tension every day: grow the business, deliver profit, develop your people — and do it in a way that’s socially responsible and sustainable. Meanwhile, capitalism itself faces a perception problem. Your employees want meaning. Your customers expect integrity. And the market punishes anything that smells short-term or exploitative.
In this episode of The CEO Project, you’ll explore how conscious capital isn’t about soft ideals — it’s about building a company that earns trust, scales profitably, and strengthens its moral authority to exist.
By listening, you’ll learn how to:
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Build a high-growth company rooted in trust behaviors that actually change stakeholder perception
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Balance profit and purpose without falling into coercive “check-the-box” stakeholder models
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Lead through crisis with accountability and culture intact — even when tough financial decisions must be made
Press play now to discover how conscious capital can help you grow your business and elevate its impact — without sacrificing performance.
Rethinking Capitalism Through the Lens of Conscious Capital
00:00 – Why This Conversation Matters to CEOs
Jim introduces the episode’s central tension: how do you grow and optimize your company while developing people responsibly? The discussion frames business not as a necessary evil, but as one of the greatest forces for societal progress.
04:30 – Fired, Fueled, and Focused
Curtis shares the vulnerable story of being let go — and how that moment became the catalyst for building a company grounded in conscious capital and long-term purpose.
09:10 – The IT Industry’s Trust Gap
A shocking CEO summit moment reveals how poorly IT and sales professionals are perceived — sparking a mission to change the industry through trust and conscious capital principles.
13:45 – The 13 Trust Behaviors in Action
From keeping commitments to clarifying expectations and practicing accountability, Curtis explains how operationalizing trust — not just valuing it — transforms culture and client relationships.
18:30 – Conscious Capitalism vs. Stakeholder Coercion
A nuanced breakdown of classic capitalism, stakeholder capitalism, and conscious capitalism — and why inspiration, not coercion, defines true conscious capital leadership.
Leading with Trust at Scale
24:00 – Capitalism’s Perception Problem
Why younger generations are skeptical — and why business leaders must own capitalism’s perception challenge if they want conscious capital to thrive.
29:40 – Profit Is Oxygen, Not the Purpose
A powerful reminder that profit sustains the enterprise — but conscious capital demands a purpose beyond making money, even while protecting financial health.
34:15 – Crisis Leadership During COVID
When one division lost 65% of revenue, executives voluntarily reduced compensation to protect the business — demonstrating conscious capital in practice, not theory.
40:20 – Reshaping the CEO Role Every 18 Months
Curtis shares how he continually redesigns his own role to serve the company’s next stage of growth — an example of conscious leadership in action.
45:10 – Becoming the Challenger Brand
The ambition: scale to thousands of employees while changing the perception of an entire profession — proving that conscious capital and competitive growth can coexist.
About Curtis Hite
Curtis Hite is the CEO of Improving – an international software consulting and training company which he founded in 2007. With a focus on Conscious Capitalism, the company has grown to 2000+ employees across 19 offices and greater than $280 million in revenue. Improving has been named 15 times to the Inc. 500/5000, consistently being recognized as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. The company has also received more than 100 local and national best place to work recognitions.