Most business owners are pretty good at answering the question “What does your company do?”
Far fewer have a clear answer to the one that matters more: what is it all for?
That question sits at the center of our latest episode of the Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast. Steve sat down with Len Hardison, President of the Memphis office of the National Christian Foundation (NCF). The conversation started with a charitable giving strategy and ended up somewhere a lot more interesting: what it actually looks like to build a business that serves something bigger than the bottom line.
Listen to Steve’s Conversation with Len Hardison
Steve’s conversation with Len Hardison is Episode 24 of the Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast. They cover the mechanics of donor-advised funds, asset-based giving strategies (including putting a business into a DAF), and the deeper questions around stewardship, legacy, and what business owners really want to leave behind.
Listen to Episode 24: Beyond Profit: Len Hardison on How High-Level Leaders Turn Wealth Into Lasting Impact
“Friends Don’t Let Friends Give Cash”
If there is one line from this episode that is going to stick with you, that is probably it. Len was not being provocative. He was making a genuinely practical point: if you have appreciated assets, you may be leaving significant impact on the table by defaulting to cash donations.
NCF’s specialty is asset-based giving. In many cases, donating the asset itself rather than cash allows families to give more without touching their personal finances at all. As Len puts it, the donor-advised fund is “the worst-kept secret in charitable giving.” A DAF functions like a charitable checking account: you contribute assets, take the deduction, and recommend grants to the causes you care about on your own timeline.
Three Questions Every Business Owner Should Wrestle With
The most valuable part of Len’s work is not the financial vehicle. It is the thinking process he brings families through. He frames it around three interconnected questions:
- How much is enough? Not as a rhetorical opener, but as a real number you actually commit to.
- How much do you pass on to your family in a way that serves rather than harms them? This one takes longer than most people expect.
- What do you do with the rest?
Most people jump straight to question three when they think about generosity. Len’s point is that you cannot answer it well without sitting honestly with the first two. That is a harder conversation than it sounds, because the default cultural messaging is almost always about accumulation.
“It does not take much for someone to talk themselves out of being generous. It may not always be a scarcity mindset, but it may be a lack of trust or a lack of contentment,” said Hardison.
Purpose Is Not Just Good Ethics. It Is Good Business.
At Wayfind, we talk a lot about the connection between clarity of purpose and quality of marketing. When you know why your business exists and who it ultimately serves, everything gets sharper: your messaging, your culture, your hiring decisions, your client relationships.
Len made a similar observation from the HR angle. Attracting and retaining great people is one of the hardest challenges facing businesses right now. And when the driving purpose behind a company is larger than enriching the owner, people feel that.
“Whether it’s verbal or not, it’s a message you’re sending out into the community,” said Hardison.
What Gets Clearer When You Know Your Why
Simon Sinek made this famous with Start With Why. Len’s version is more personal and more specific. But the underlying idea is the same: purpose shapes everything downstream.
When leaders have genuine clarity about what their business is actually for, they communicate better, make faster decisions, and build more durable brands. The marketing gets easier because the foundation is stronger.
That is the work Len does every day. Not just helping families give more strategically, but helping them get clear on why it matters in the first place.
About Len Hardison
Len Hardison serves as the President of NCF Memphis, offering individuals, families, business owners, nonprofits, and advisors new opportunities to experience greater generosity through thoughtful giving strategies. He is a certified Journey of Generosity facilitator with Generous Giving and has led or attended multiple events.
A native Memphian, Len graduated from the University of Mississippi with a BA in Business Administration. Prior to NCF and WiseHeart, Len spent nine years working with donors at Third Millennium Ministries in Orlando after spending the previous 15 years as a sports agent representing Major League Baseball players. He is ordained as a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. Len and his wife Erin have been married since 2001 and have a daughter, Samantha. They are members at Grace Evangelical Church.
If you are outside Memphis, NCF has more than 30 offices nationwide. You can reach Len directly at ncfgiving.com/memphis or find him on LinkedIn.
Listen to More Conversations with CEOs
Ep. 15: From Intern to CEO: How Fancher Sargent Led CRS CPAs Through Change with Clarity and Courage
Fancher Sargent took a 5-person CPA firm to a 50-person, multi-office practice by doing something most leaders avoid: getting ruthlessly clear on mission, values, and who they were built to serve. A conversation about growth, identity, and what it actually takes to lead through change. Listen now!
Ep. 18: Building a Purpose-Driven Business: Carolyn Michael-Banks’ Mission Through A Tour of Possibilities
Carolyn Michael-Banks built a heritage tourism company in Memphis rooted in African-American history and powered by a mission that goes far beyond the transaction. Her story is one of resilience, bold decisions, and what happens when you refuse to let a business become just a business. Listen now!
Ep. 21: From $0 to $4.5M in 2.5 Years: Mason Cosby on Saying No, Protecting Your Reputation, and Building a Business the Right Way
Mason Cosby grew Scrappy ABM fast — and is just as candid about the $450K in mistakes along the way. A refreshingly honest conversation about ICP clarity, reputation, and why doing right by clients (even when it hurts) is still the best long-term strategy. Listen now!
