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Scaling With Intention: Inside Curtis Hite’s Blueprint for Conscious Growth

What does it actually look like to grow a company while doubling down on your values?

For many business leaders, “conscious growth” can still feel like an abstract concept—something aspirational, but hard to operationalize. That’s what makes Curtis Hite’s story so valuable.

As CEO and Chairman of Improving, Hite has grown his company from a small team to more than 2,000 employees and $250M+ in revenue—all while staying deeply committed to values like trust, transparency, and stakeholder care.

In the latest episode of The Conscious Capitalists podcast with Timothy Henry and Raj Sisodia, he breaks down exactly how that works in practice. Here are just a few ways he’s brought conscious leadership to life inside a tech-driven company:

1. Build Culture Through Small, Consistent Rituals

Improving’s culture started with one simple habit: weekly 15-minute meetings where employees recognized each other for living company values. That practice, launched when the company had fewer than 100 people, still exists today across 16 offices.

Culture scales when it’s repeatable. Look for ways to embed values into daily rhythms, not just quarterly planning.

2. Redefine Stakeholder Value—Beyond the Usual Suspects

Improving has a policy of treating their suppliers better than their customers treat them. They consider their geographical community as well as the families of their employees (not just the employees themselves) as part of their stakeholder ecosystem. 


Supporting stakeholders doesn’t have to be costly. It just has to be intentional. Small moves can deepen loyalty and expand your impact.

3. Turn Engagement Into a System—Not a Slogan

Improving developed an internal platform called Engage that helps employees identify over 200 meaningful ways to contribute to the company beyond their core role—from mentoring a colleague to participating in community events. These actions are tracked and rewarded with “coins” that can be redeemed or donated, creating a culture where engagement is both encouraged and recognized.


If you want employees to engage like owners, show them how—and make it worth their while.

4. Start Executive Development with Self-Awareness

Improving’s leadership development program holds a powerful message: you can’t lead others well until you understand yourself. The first 13 weeks are dedicated to building self-awareness—helping executives explore their internal drivers, emotional patterns, and even difficult emotions like shame or fear. Only then does the program turn outward, guiding leaders to better understand others and the systems they influence.


If you want leaders who inspire trust and navigate complexity, start by giving them the tools to navigate themselves.

5. Let Purpose Be Your Filter

One offhand question at a CEO summit—“Who here has had a great experience with their IT team?”—ignited a company-wide mission at Improving: to change the perception of the IT profession. That purpose now guides decisions from hiring to service delivery.

Purpose doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be authentic—and embedded in how your team makes decisions.

Curtis and Improving prove that conscious growth isn’t vague or theoretical. It’s practical. It’s operational. And when done well, it’s scalable.

So if you’re a CEO asking how to grow your company without losing its soul—this episode is a powerful place to start.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation here.