Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelley Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kelley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

In 2015, I had a major career interruption. I was working for a Fortune 500 company in a chief diversity officer role, and my position was part of a layoff. I did alot of soul searching to get clarity on what I wanted to do next. I knew I needed to recover from massive burnout after leaving my corporate executive role, but I also believed there was a bigger purpose for me to fulfill.

Throughout my 20-year corporate career, I often found myself unimpressed by the lack of in-depth and authentic partnership and relationship building practices by many consulting firms and service providers within the HR and DEI space. With an interest in making a broader impact beyond the confines of a single organization, I seized the opportunity to start my firm with a mission to give companies access to the resources, knowledge and support they needed to move the needle in managing talent and their workplace culture.

For the first few years, I was a solopreneur providing strategy consulting and executive coaching. From the beginning and even today, I have been very fortunate to gain all my clients organically through reputation and referrals. While this may not be the fastest path to growth, it has allowed me to understand what clients truly value in our partnership. This level of clarity has enabled me to make better decisions about the products and services we provide, as well as who our ideal customer is.

Of course, 2020 was another massive disruption – personally and professionally. Within the first two weeks of the Covid-19 shutdown, I lost two major contracts totaling more than a quarter of a million dollars. As a professional services firm that relied on in-person delivery and client meetings, I quickly had to figure-out how to adapt and pivot.

I knew my pivot strategy had to involve technology and a greater capacity to meet client needs efficiently, especially in the areas of providing training and professional development programs. Our first step was to evaluate our current offerings, which had historically been very bespoke, to determine how we could leverage the best-of-the-best to create a pedagogy and methodology that would meet the needs for a variety of clients.

Next, we piloted our new offering and used client feedback to refine our programs. Learning how to deliver training digitally was all new territory and the learning curve took about two years. We started with off-the-shelf digital platforms but they all had limitations that hindered our goals and objectives. We eventually decided to build our own digital learning platform to overcome the obstacles we were facing and to diversify our revenue model. We bootstrapped our technology investments and built the KEIRUS digital learning platform within 18-months. It was a massive feat, but I’m proud to say that over the course of three years, we created a 5-year learning curriculum, built a proprietary online learning platform, and supported more than 4,000 learners in 10 countries.

During this time, we also re-branded the firm. It was important to me that we not only innovate, but that we do so in a manner that reflected our values. In 2022, the firm evolved into KEIRUS BY KJE to create an alternative to the quantity over quality approach to DEI. The name KEIRUS derives from the Greek word charis, pronounced “care-us,” meaning grace, goodwill and kindness. It embodies our fundamental values of humility and commitment to maximize human capabilities through authenticity, compassion and continuous learning. Our belief that every voice matters allows us to adapt to our clients’ needs while remaining true to our methodologies and practices. As our industry continues to evolve and become more complex, we remain committed to creating solutions that merge human connection and innovation to enable transformation.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I consider myself to be a dreamer, creator, believer and builder. Authenticity drives my approach in everything I do. Before I started KEIRUS, my corporate career included leadership roles in corporate communications, marketing, philanthropy, talent management and DEI. All of my experiences inform the work that I do with my clients.

One of my proudest moments was receiving this feedback from a client because it embodies who I want us to be, “They [KEIRUS] are more than just an outside consulting firm coming in and making recommendations. They really came in and brought change internally.”

I work in a very competitive landscape that also has lots of critics. There are lots of players in the workplace culture and leadership development space. It’s important to me that clients know that we help them get real results that can be measured over time.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I am a Dallas native who learned to be resilient through humble beginnings growing up in the Hamilton Park neighborhood where food and safety were not always a reality. My school teachers were truly a life-line, and one of our former neighbors, Mr. Russell, always showed up when we needed the most help. My early life taught me grit, and the importance of faith and caring for your neighbors. I have integrated this philosophy of care into my business. In fact, C.A.R.E. became the learning framework for our DEI training content; care also informs the way we serve our clients and give-back to the community through volunteering and financial contributions. This perseverance, fueled by faith, has allowed me to be an innovative problem solver and reimagine DEIB and leadership development by uniquely leveraging technology.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Resilience is one of the core values of my firm, and its grounded in my personal and professional backstory. Unfortunately, sometimes when you are forced to be resilient most of your life, you can dismiss vulnerability. My team helped me to see the value of vulnerability, of not always wearing protective gear. This is an area that continues to be a work in progress for me, but I am learning that I can be resilient and vulnerable at the same time, and that by doing so, I am building connections that are empowering for me and others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.keirusbykje.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkelleyjohnson/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleyjohnson/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keirusbykje3955
• Other: https://www.iamkelleyjohnson.com/

Image Credits

Photography: Trey Hernandez Media