Founder of a public health focused behavior change marketing agency, Jeff Jordan oversees dozens of behavior change interventions. His passion for social change began at age 17 when he started his company while still in high school.
Jeffrey Jordan is President and Founder of Rescue Agency, a public health focused, behavior change marketing agency. His career in social change began in high school when he volunteered for an anti-tobacco group at his local county health department. Observing the challenges of engaging high-risk youth, he started Rescue when he was only 17 years old. While growing Rescue, Jeff studied Marketing for his undergraduate degree and received a Master’s in Experimental Psychology from UCSD.
Today, Jeffrey oversees the management of dozens of behavior change interventions. As the developer of Social Branding®, Jeffrey focuses on the relationship between identity, culture and behavior to cause behavior change. His company’s work focuses on tackling issues such as tobacco, nutrition and substance use. Today, Jeff leads a team of over 180 change agents focused exclusively on health behavior change among youth, young adults, and adults for government agencies across the US.
3 Key Points
- Changing people’s minds takes leaders who are willing to make real connections.
- Don’t target only those most likely to support your brand—reach out to those least likely to engage with you to expand your impact.
- Company culture must be organically instilled by leaders. Team members need to believe in the values—not just aim to follow a mission statement written on paper.
Quote
“The best leaders are the ones who let go at the right times. [They’re the ones] who focus on leveling people up, training them, educating them on what they need to know, and then give them the space to let them do what they need to do.”
What We Talked About
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- 01:17 – What does “social change” mean for you?
- 02:38 – How has your mission evolved?
- 04:19 – What are the pathways to behavior change?
- 09:28 – Do you approach behavior change sequentially or concurrently?
- 12:18 – Are your models of norms used to build your own company’s culture?
- 15:00 – Tell us more about “social branding”
- 18:56 – How do you define “impactful leadership”?
- 20:45 – Did you find it difficult to let go of some aspects of leading your company solo?
- 21:51 – How have you chosen to develop your own leadership?
- 25:05 – What is your relationship with health policy?
- 26:38 – What led you to not have a single point person for outside opportunities?
- 28:45 – Tell us about your waste reduction projects
- 31:10 – Why is B Corp certification important to you?
- 33:08 – Are there challenges to maintaining B Corp commitments?
Actionable Tips
- Find a space to impact that needs the change.
- Be open to personal and organizational change.
- Ask yourself, “do I want to have impact to change society, or because it would look good?”
Resources Mentioned
- Find Jeff at The Rescue Agency | YouTube | Twitter.
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Ursula Jorch, Host of The Impact Interviews
Ursula Jorch is a business coach, speaker, and podcaster who shows women leaders how to turn their businesses into profitable agents for lasting change, global impact, and a force for good in the world.
