Jason Harris, CEO of Mekanism, Founder of Creative Alliance

Conscious Enterprises

What makes a person influential in an age of distrust? Advertising and marketing master, Jason Harris has cracked the code and shares his introspective principles and character-building habits in his bestselling book, The Soulful Art of Persuasion.

Jason Harris is the co-founder and CEO of Mekanism, a creative agency serving brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, OK Cupid and HBO. He’s also founded the Creative Alliance, a consortium of 100 ad agencies using their advertising powers for good by creating socially impactful campaigns. Under his leadership, Mekanism was named to Ad Age’s Agency A-list, twice to their Best Places to Work, and to the Creativity 50. Jason 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.

Some highlights from this conversation include Jason’s career and challenges in advertising, his work for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, seeking fulfillment, why he founded the Creative Alliance, how he learned to become “soulfully persuasive”, how Jason measures success and valuable advice for professionals and entrepreneurs.

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Recognitions:

• Co-Founder & CEO of Mekanism

  • Alaska Airlines, Ben & Jerry’s, OkCupid, HBO, MillerCoors, Peloton, The United Nations

• Co-Founder of the Creative Alliance

• Global Board of Directors, Advertising Week

• Board of Directors, United Nations Social Impact Leadership Council

• Author, The Soulful Art of Persuasion

Topics discussed in this conversation include:

• Jason’s upbringing and how he got into advertising

• A first job working for Miller Coors

• Attributes that make a successful CEO

• The type of corporate culture that makes an agency thrive

• Retaining talent

• The United Nations Social Impact Leadership Council

• Sustainable Development Goals

• Why Jason founded The Creative Alliance

• Using advertising powers for good

• Working with the Obama-Biden administration on social good campaigns

• Using advertising powers for good

• Why Jason wrote The Soulful Art of Persuasion

• How to get organized to write a book

• The four main principles in The Soulful Art of Persuasion

• How Jason has transformed into authenticity and vulnerability and learned to embody the principles of becoming soulfully persuasive over the course of two decades

• How to train yourself to become more generous

• Misconceptions about empathy

• Jason’s definition of empathy and why it’s so valuable in persuasion

• Why you should use positive persuasion when negative persuasion can be so effective

• Axe Body Spray

• Conscious Enterprises at Advertising Week panel

• Meditation takes many forms

• Jason’s morning routine

• Gratitude journaling with kids

• Jason’s measure of his success professionally vs personally

• New Group Therapy

• The evolution of purpose-driven work

• Mind-body connections

• Valuable advice for professionals

Bio:

Jason Harris is the CEO of the award-winning creative agency Mekanism and the cofounder 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, MillerCoors, HBO, and the United Nations. Under his leadership, Mekanism was named to Ad Age’s Agency A-list, twice to their Best Places to Work, and to the Creativity 50. 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.