Bringing Purpose To Performance
I help turn your mission into high-impact results.
Using my True North Accountability System, I guide teams to distill their True North into an accountability system that drives high-impact results.
I help teams bring their why into how they set goals, manage accountability, and foster sustained growth.
This is how and why I work with non-profits and mission-driven companies that want to elevate their mission to deliver results that matter.
Let’s chat.
I’d love to hear what you and your team are working on. Shoot me a message and we’ll set up a call.
MY SERVICES
I work with nonprofits and mission-driven companies to help you bring your mission into a custom system that drives clear goal-setting, accountability, and metrics.
Ultimately, we help you get results and scale your impact.
My core offering is my True North Accountability System, an exercise that I bring to leadership teams that combines a mission-driven accountability process into an entire system.
I also run a number of custom workshops for teams and speak at events and conferences on a range of topics.
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Bringing Your True North To Life
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True North Accountability System
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![Group of retreat participants smiling at sunset in the Dolomite Mountains, Italy — team retreat and facilitation workshop led by Michael Youngblood with golden alpine peaks in the background.]()
Workshops & Speaking
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Strategic Planning
About Michael.
Michael Youngblood is a facilitator, strategist, and expert on the future of work and innovation. Over the past decade, he has built and helped organizations and teams align around purpose, culture, and strategy. His work centers on how people find meaning and direction in times of uncertainty and change.
Michael is the co-founder of Unsettled, an award-winning global travel company recognized for innovation in travel and experiential design. He has advised Fortune 100 companies on remote work and leadership development, taught entrepreneurship and globalization on behalf of the U.S. State Department, and served as Managing Editor of Innovations Journal, a publication about entrepreneurial solutions to global challenges co-hosted by MIT, Harvard, and George Mason University.
His work and ideas have been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Outside Magazine, Entrepreneur, TED, MIT Press, and more. He is a member of the inaugural TED Residency, a member of Sandbox, and a speaker and workshop leader on purpose, innovation, community, and the evolving nature of work.
Past Partners
MIT
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TED | Ideas change everything
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Mastercard Foundation
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Harvard
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U.S. Department of State
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George Mason University
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Amazon
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Accenture
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Gates Foundation
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Unsettled
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Johnson & Johnson
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MIT • TED | Ideas change everything • Mastercard Foundation • Harvard • U.S. Department of State • George Mason University • Amazon • Accenture • Gates Foundation • Unsettled • Johnson & Johnson •
Let’s chat.
I love to hear what you and your team are working on and going through. Shoot me a message and we’ll set up a call.
How I Collaborate
My approach is immersive, human-centered, and built to create outcomes that matter. I come to listen, make sense with you, and turn purpose into practice. My process blends listening and action. With neutrality, curiosity, and care, I create space for honest dialogue that helps your organization learn, adapt, and grow.
Listen → Align → Plan → Activate → Learn
Listen
You and your team are the real experts. You already hold the wisdom needed — my role is to help surface it and put it down into strategic plans. I begin by listening deeply to your team, board, partners, and community. Through interviews, surveys, and conversations, we uncover the lived experiences, motivations, and challenges that define your work.
Align
Together, we turn insights into clarity — defining shared goals, priorities, and a roadmap your whole team can rally behind. When everyone helps shape the plan, commitment and accountability naturally follow.
Activate
Plans only matter when they move people. Activation is about turning shared vision into coordinated action — implementing systems of accountability, reflection, and adaptation. I help teams build rhythms that sustain progress: monthly or quarterly check-ins, visual dashboards, and collaborative learning loops that keep your mission alive in the day-to-day.
Plan & Prioritize
Strategy becomes tangible here. We translate purpose and alignment into a clear, actionable roadmap — with defined goals, ownership, timelines, and metrics. The plan is practical, adaptive, and built for the real world. It becomes a living guide for how your organization grows and learns over time.
Learn
Every cycle ends — and begins — with learning. We reflect on what’s working, what’s shifting, and what’s next. Learning transforms accountability into ownership and growth. It keeps your organization resilient, responsive, and aligned with your evolving mission and community.
Let’s Do Big Things Together.
Strategic Planning
I help teams rediscover their why and translate it into a clear, actionable strategy. My approach blends purpose and performance. I take a human-centric approach to strategic planning. First, we rediscover your organization’s True North by listening to your leadership, stakeholders, team, and community. Then we co-create a plant. Next, and this is where I excel, I facilitate quarterly meetings with your leadership to set, track, and learn from mission-aligned goals.
Speaking & Workshops
From keynote talks to immersive workshops, I bring 15+ years of experience in innovation and purpose-driven leadership to help people reconnect with what drives them. Popular topics include Why Meaning Matters (and How to Cultivate It); Staying on Course in a World of Uncertainty; Designing & Delivering Meaningful Experiences; Future of Work; Remote Work; Community-Driven Engagement; and much more.
Adventure
I’m the co-founder and CEO of Unsettled — one of my outlets for meaningful travel, adventure, and global connections. Unsettled is the leading conscious travel company for globally-minded professionals. Outside of Unsettled, I lead expeditions into some of the world’s deepest wilderness areas by foot, kayak, bike, sail, or other self-powered means. Additionally, I’m a volunteer for the National Ski Patrol and am on my local Search and Rescue team.
How To Get In Touch
I love to hear what you and your team are working on. Shoot me a message at the link below, and we’ll set up a call to meet.