During this episode of The Community Builder Show, Travis sits down with Jason Harris, President and CEO of Mekanism Inc., a San Francisco-based creative agency and the Author The Soulful Art of Persuasion. Learn about his 4 principles for success, how he’s leading his team through adversity, and even what he’s doing to stay connected with his friends. This is one you won’t want to miss. Jason Harris Short BioJason Harris is the co-founder and CEO of the award-winning creative agency Mekanism and co-founder of the Creative Alliance. Harris works closely with brands through a blend of soul and science to create provocative campaigns that engage audiences. Iconic brands include Peloton, Ben & Jerry's, MolsonCoors, OkCupid and the United Nations.Under his leadership, Mekanism has been named the #6 Most Effective Independent Advertising Agency in the US by the Effie 2020 Index. Mekanism has also been named to Ad Age's Agency A-list and twice to their Best Places to Work. Harris has been named in the Top 10 Most Influential Social Impact Leaders, as well as the 4A's list of "100 People Who Make Advertising Great." His methods are studied in cases at Harvard Business School.Episode HighlightsPrinciple 1: Original Be Yourself - Everyone Else Is Taken: Don’t be afraid of wearing your personal idiosyncrasies on your sleeve. Collect role models and draw inspiration from their uniqueness. And stick to your core values Learn to Be a Great Storyteller: If you want to make your point of view real to an audience or someone else, you need to be able to transport them emotionally through narrative Never Be Closing: Let go of short-term transactional thinking and focus on building meaningful relationships  Principle 2: Generous Give Something Away in Every Interaction: Whenever you cross paths with someone, your goal should be to leave them just a little better off than they were. Whatever you give, make sure it’s genuine as you are laying the groundwork for collaboration Practice Positivity: Cultivate your sense of gratitude for the good things in your life, recognize that every interaction could result in something great Take Others Seriously by Showing Respect: Keep your promises, be as present as possible, and admit your mistakes quickly and sincerely  Principle 3: Empathetic Make It About Them: Develop a natural curiosity about others, listen and learn more than you judge, and seek to understand others more deeply Seek Out Collaborations: Find value in joining forces with people from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise See Commonalities, Not Differences: Seek out the common ground and what you share with, approaching each individual as an equal  Principle 4: Soulful Live Skillfully: Hunt out new skills and keep learning to develop passions that create a life defined by proficiency Be an Inspiration: Strive to be inspirational in your daily life by preaching less and acting more, finding a cause to fight for, and reaching out to those who inspire youMy Notes on Jason’s 4 PrinciplesBe Original Beliefs, what you value in lifeHave a point of viewBe yourself, everyone else is taken Be *Generous*Give things away without expecting anything in return Builds trust and helps keep business flowingJason had a ball hog mentality and knew it wasn’t rightOver time, developed the idea of mindfully being a generous personTry to give something to everyone you come in contact with Advice or an article to let people know you’re thinking about themBe EmpatheticCollaboration Connecting with peopleWorking on ideas togetherHow do you become a collaborative business personBe SoulfulTrying to give something back that’s bigger than yourself Examples for agency owners Positive persuasion vs negative persuasion b2b marketers, sales, people, entrepreneurs Habits under each of these principles LeadershipHow are you leading the Mekanism internal community right now and what's most important for your people?Help lead the people he works with and be vulnerable Lead with Internal Team Be very open and vulnerable with their teamBe Inspirational Zoom callCOVID ClientsCompany - revenue numbers - shortfalls Leading with transparency and when you build trust for your employees,Lead with Clients Keeping the clients comfortable and the staff motivated “Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” - Michael JordanHow to get around the wall Never let a good crisis go to waste Gives entrepreneurs a time to rethink your companyThings you have been pushing offFaster more nimble, less expensive production at scale Gifts with an array of talent to pull off Tiered Production system - high-level peloton commercial Charles Schwab adds with high clienteleEarmark a specialist in HIGHMedium Low - production money with some time and not super high endBottom Tier - Low cost. Superfast. Nimble production that can churn out volume In the social media and digital performance marketing space Specialization and giving B2B companies = typically are performance-drivenHave to have a mix of Brand and Performance B2B company still has to build a brand that people recognize Brand building is so criticalSimple MessageConsistent over time Find a way to get your hard card audience and community to help market your brand We all have to be great storytellers Have to be able to emotionally transport people through a narrativeHow do you tell a story with data  B2B Marketer = super detailed Always be marketing at the highest level so anyone in the world can understand what you doThen you can go deeperIf this was a global brand and one of the best brands in the world, how can we get everyone to understand what we doNiche Niche Niche. Mental Health - What you're seeing and thoughts you might have for people trying to improve their mental health.Virtual Therapy - how other people perceive you Specific issues are sure. DeathIsolationAnxiety Understanding how you come off to the worldHow you intake information and get in touch with those emotions and how the rest of the world sees youA really valuable tool for anyone in business and lifeGroup Therapy Therapy with people trying to get their hours in Meditation Exercise I don’t have to be invincible and I go through hard times Creating an environment where people have space Creating an Ad over a Zoom call Someone has an idea Book the right peopleGet on the page and in there Zoom from 8 to 7 every day4 Hours = 2 hours window where nobody can book a meetingDeep Work Time Mental Health Days - Friday & Monday to extend weekends Team HH - not work-related Staying in touch with friends outside of work When you read something or find something interesting - think about why and how it might speak to someone in your network (professional or personal) Doesn’t have to be a zoom call - text it to them with a noteHey, was thinking about you, I thought you might find this relevant 1:1 vs 1: to many  Brands are becoming a bigger part of people's lives - how have you helped brands connect with their people in the past? What are you working on right now that you're excited about?Company Actions Community-based communicationsCampaign Consideration: Are you adapting to the new normal on the campaigns that you make?Conscious Presence: Why does your brand exist in the world?How do you greet people without touching people?Fun piece LinksJason Harris: LinkedIn The Soulful Art of Persuasion [email protected]: @Jason_Harris