Purpose Before Profit: James Basker Of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History On The Benefits Of Running A Purpose-Driven Business

In today’s competitive business landscape, the race for profits often takes center stage. However, there are some leaders who also prioritize a mission-driven purpose. They use their business to make a positive social impact and recognize that success isn’t only about making money. In this interview series, we are talking with some of these distinct leaders and I had the pleasure of interviewing James Basker.

James G. Basker is president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Richard Gilder Professor of Literary History at Barnard College, Columbia University. For 27 years, Basker has overseen the development of history education initiatives nationwide, including history high schools, teacher seminars, traveling exhibitions, digital archives, the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History program, and the National History Teacher of the Year Awards.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your “Origin Story”? Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up in a rural small town in lumber and farming country in southern Oregon. My ticket out was a scholarship to Harvard College in the 1970s, followed by scholarships to Cambridge and Oxford universities.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your organization?

The most memorable day was when Ron Chernow brought Luis Miranda and Jeffrey Seller into our office to discuss a program that would harness the power of HAMILTON, the Broadway musical, and bring it to K-12 students nationwide. I’ll never forget that day, and what has happened since was beyond our wildest dreams.

We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?

In the early years of Gilder Lehrman, I met a New York City politician who was very excited about distributing some of our Frederick Douglass booklets at an event he was sponsoring in Harlem. I urged our staff to ship the materials to him and we donated them, hoping to extend the Gilder Lehrman brand in the Harlem community. A few months later, this politician was in the newspapers under indictment for fraud and misuse of funds. I learned to avoid engaging the work of the Institute with politicians, no matter how charismatic.

As a successful leader, it’s clear that you uphold strong core values. I’m curious what are the most important principles you firmly stand by and refuse to compromise on. Can you share a few of them and explain why they hold such significance for you in your work and life?

Inclusiveness. Kindness. And a belief that every K–12 student has potential. Also, of all the subjects that a student might study in school, American history is the most important because it is the one that makes us care about our democracy and feel connected to each other.

What inspired you to start a purpose-driven business rather than a traditional for-profit enterprise? Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to prioritize social impact in your business?

I grew up in a family of civic-minded volunteers. My mother and father helped found the community college in my hometown. They helped start the first halfway house for alcoholics, and they served on countless boards and community groups. It also seemed to me important to contribute what you can, especially to education.

Can you help articulate a few of the benefits of leading a purpose-driven business rather than a standard “plain vanilla” business?

1. You’re excited to come to work every day, 2) you feel like you make a difference, and 3) it’s easier to ask people for their support!

How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?

We support the teaching and learning of American history and civics nationwide, but we have no mandate to compel anyone to do anything — not one school, one teacher, one student. So for us, the numbers of people or schools who sign up for a program or use a resource matter enormously — we have 35,000 schools who’ve opted to become Affiliates, 90,000 teachers who’ve joined our email list, and through them several million students who benefit from our programs or resources. These are the numbers we use to measure our success.

Can you share a pivotal moment when you realized that leading your purpose-driven company was actually making a significant impact? Can you share a specific example or story that deeply resonated with you personally?

In 2011, Michelle Obama invited us to The White House to receive an award for providing one of the ten best afterschool programs in the county, and, as it turned out, the only one of the 10 programs offering an academic resource for students.

Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?

We make those decisions every day. Due to our size and reach, various entities such as book publishers and movie producers seek opportunities to market to our teachers and students. While this could be a significant source of revenue, we have consistently maintained a policy of strictly declining any purely commercial business partnerships.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs who wish to start a purpose-driven business? What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Purpose-Driven Business.”

1. Test the idea with potential investors and backers. If the idea is good, people will put the money and time into supporting it.
2. Define a clear and authentic purpose. A genuine commitment to a meaningful cause attracts support and loyalty.
3. Ensure that every aspect of your business aligns with your purpose.
4. Build a community around your purpose.
5. Quantify Your Impact. Tangible results provide evidence of your commitment and attract continued support.

I’m interested in how you instill a strong sense of connection with your team. How do you nurture a culture where everyone feels connected to your mission? Could you share an example or story that showcases how your purpose has positively influenced or motivated people on your team to contribute?

We invite everyone on our staff to immerse themselves in the subject. Everyone on our staff has been to a HAMILTON performance. Twenty-five people from our staff joined for a 3-day funded trip on a historic tour of Montgomery, AL. All staff are invited to join our MA program for virtually no tuition fees. We treat everyone from executives to new hires as fellow lifelong learners of American history.

Imagine we’re sitting down together two years from now, looking back at your company’s last 24 months. What specific accomplishments would have to happen for you to be happy with your progress?

Adding 5,000 schools to our Affiliate School network. Adding 5 affluent and passionate trustees to our board. And enrolling 2,000 teachers in our MA program while growing the operating budget to 15 million dollars a year.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

A movement that would make empathy a high priority and a daily practice for everyone in America.

How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?

We encourage students, teachers, parents, and history enthusiasts to visit gilderlehrman.org to find out more about our programs, courses, contests, and free resources — as well as how to support the Institute!

This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!

About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur with 25+ years of experience as a Founder and CEO. While attending Ohio State University, he launched his first company, Choice Recovery, Inc., a nationally recognized healthcare collection agency — twice ranked the #1 workplace in Ohio. In 2013, he founded [re]start, helping thousands of people find meaningful career opportunities. After selling both companies, Chad shifted his focus to his true passion — leadership. Today, he coaches founders and CEOs at Built to Lead, advises Authority Magazine’s Thought Leader Incubator, and launched and leads an online leadership development community which can be downloaded for free for iOS and Android.