Hello. My name is Jeff Haanen.
I’m an entrepreneur and writer building companies and serving leaders committed to healing the world through their work.
For the last 10 years, I founded and built Denver Institute for Faith & Work, a community of conveners, teachers, and learners offering experiences and educational resources on the gospel, work, and community renewal.
I had the privilege of working with leaders to found national events like Business for the Common Good and Women, Work & Calling, and I built emerging leader programs like the 5280 Fellowship. I helped created networks of leaders through CityGate and launched projects like the Faith & Work Classroom and the Faith & Work podcast. In 2022, sensing a need for renewal and change, I transitioned from the CEO role at Denver Institute and handed the reins to new leadership.
During my tenure I learned that real transformation takes place “from the inside out.” When emotional and spiritual health and the pursuit of truth gives birth to healthy work and thriving relationships, leaders are positioned to make long-lasting positive social and cultural impact.
Today I work with servant-leaders in positions of influence in business, investing, and higher education who want to embody “love God and love your neighbor as yourself” in their work and arenas of influence.
I serve leaders principally in six areas.
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Entrepreneurial leaders don’t just see problems and solutions, they create the future. But they’re all too rare. Today we’ve mostly become technicians, replicating what exists rather than creating what we need. I convene and connect top-tier entrepreneurial leaders across sectors to share ideas, to inspire, to solve problems, and to collaboratively work on new businesses, projects, and initiatives.
Values-Aligned Capital
The world of values-aligned investing has exploded. By 2025, some estimate ESG investable assets will be $54T, or 40% of total investable assets. The arena of faith-motivated investing is growing as well, ranging from venture capital and private equity to public equities and real estate. I introduce leaders to the growing movement of values-aligned capital committed to long-term, positive change.
Workforce Development
People are the core asset of any business – and recruiting and retaining them has become increasingly hard. Increasing wages isn’t enough. What’s needed is a deep shift toward a more human workplace that embraces the fullness of a worker’s dreams, aspirations, and talents. The future of work is deeply human. I help leaders understand and invest in their workers to create long-lasting and resilient organizations.
Faithful Business Practices
Over 10 years I’ve heard the perspectives of hundreds of faith-motivated leaders from business, government, health care, tech and the sciences, and they’re all asking one thing: what does faith actually look like in day-to-day realities of my organization? To help answer this question, I enable leaders to reinforce their good intentions with tangible actions. I curate best practices from faith-motivated business leaders, ranging from capital structure to HR policies to community engagement.
Emotional & Spiritual Health
One in four Americans struggles with mental health. For leaders, I believe the stat may be closer to one in one. Externally, entrepreneurial leaders have answers, create vision, build accountability, and hit targets. Internally they’re anxious, uncertain, distracted, broken, and often fending off addiction. I help leaders shift from external markers of success to taking the interior journey toward deep emotional and spiritual health.
Executive Transitions
Business owners dream of the day of selling their business after years of hard work. Then why do 75% of owners report being profoundly disappointed a year after exiting their business? I come alongside owners, executives, and their advisors in the non-financial elements of selling a business, including understanding motives, letting go, resting, adapting, and developing a plan for long-term vocational and relational fulfillment.
I spend my time in three ways.
Advising
As a friend to leaders, I consult with companies and organizations principally on the six topics above, helping to build teams, companies, and workforces that are emotionally, spiritually, socially, economically, and culturally healthy.
Building
As an entrepreneur, occasionally I help select mission-aligned organizations conceive, strategize, and create new projects, initiatives or businesses.
Writing
As a writer, I work with a wide variety of publishers, magazines, investors, and businesses to inspire, inform, and invite readers into a bigger vision for their work and long-term impact.