Strength isn’t about pushing harder… It’s about pausing long enough to get present, so you can move forward with clarity instead of fear.
– Jodi Scott
Leadership is often portrayed as a relentless pursuit of momentum—pushing harder, moving faster, and maintaining control at all costs. But for Jodi Scott, CEO and co-founder of Green Goo, the most powerful leadership lesson didn’t come from expansion or growth. It came from a collapse.
After building a plant-based first-aid company alongside her mother and sister—one that disrupted long-standing assumptions in the over-the-counter health space—Scott found herself navigating a season that would fundamentally reshape her understanding of resilience, strength, and leadership. What emerged was a different approach: one rooted not in pressure, but in presence.
Building With Purpose—and Paying the Cost of Constant Push
From the beginning, Green Goo was built on a clear mission: to reimagine first aid for people who wanted effective solutions without compromising their values. While many consumers embraced organic food and clean personal care, first-aid cabinets often told a different story—dominated by chemical-heavy products chosen out of urgency rather than alignment.
Challenging that norm required persistence. In the company’s early years, plant-based efficacy was still widely questioned, and proving credibility meant operating at an intense pace. Growth came quickly—expanding from zero to tens of thousands of retail locations in just a few years—but the personal cost was high. Travel was constant, decision-making was nonstop, and resilience was defined almost exclusively as grit.
At the time, slowing down felt impossible. Reflection and nervous-system care weren’t part of the equation. Forward motion was.
When the System Breaks—and Everything Stops
That definition of resilience was tested when the retail landscape abruptly shut down. With the majority of the company’s revenue tied to physical stores, the disruption was immediate and severe. While direct-to-consumer channels offered a lifeline, the experience exposed how fragile even fast-growing systems can be.
In an effort to stabilize and protect the future of the business, Scott and her family sought an outside financial partnership. What appeared aligned in values quickly unraveled, leading to a sudden collapse that required letting go of the entire team—including family members—within a single day.
Roles, routines, and certainty disappeared at once.
Presence as a Leadership Practice
In the hours that followed, something unexpected happened. Despite the uncertainty, people showed up—not because they had to, but because they cared. That moment clarified something essential: leadership is not only about strategy or execution. It’s about connection, steadiness, and the ability to remain grounded when everything feels unsteady.
Scott began focusing on presence—not as a philosophical idea, but as a practical skill. Instead of relying on long retreats or ideal conditions, she adopted short, repeatable practices that could be used even in crisis. Pausing to feel her feet on the ground. Watching the sunrise. Take a breath before responding. These micro-moments helped regulate stress and create space between stimulus and reaction.
Over time, presence became something she trained deliberately—like building strength through repetition.
Redefining Strength in Leadership
That shift changed how Scott understood strength. Rather than equating leadership with constant pushing, she began to see real strength as discernment: knowing when to pause, when to listen, and when to act from clarity rather than urgency.
In meetings, this meant slowing conversations just enough to notice hesitation or misalignment. Team members were encouraged to speak from both intuition and logic, creating an environment where trust replaced pressure. Decisions became more thoughtful, not slower—and outcomes improved as a result.
Leadership, she learned, doesn’t require intensity to be effective. It requires presence.
Grounding the Nervous System in Real Time
When fear or overwhelm surfaced, Scott returned to simple resets. Breath was often the first tool—sometimes a single conscious inhale and exhale was enough to recalibrate. Movement also played a role, especially walking outdoors, where nature provided a quick way to reconnect with the body and reduce mental noise.
To support consistency, she relied on a straightforward daily framework focused on foundational well-being: sleep, hydration, antioxidants, mindset, avoidance of unnecessary stressors, and nutrition. When one area slipped, it was often a signal—not a failure—that recalibration was needed.
Grit With Grace
Rebuilding the company required determination, but the approach was different this time. Scott discovered that grit without grace leads to burnout, while grace without action leads to stagnation. Sustainable leadership lives in the balance between the two.
Showing up still mattered—but how she showed up mattered more.
That balance reshaped not only company culture, but personal well-being. Presence allowed decisions to come from alignment instead of survival, creating a steadier foundation for growth.
Small Practices That Make a Real Difference
For anyone navigating uncertainty or sustained stress, Scott emphasizes that presence is not something to earn—it’s something to practice. Small, consistent actions can shift the nervous system and restore clarity:
- Pause briefly every few hours to reconnect with breath or sensation
- Begin the day with natural light and grounding before engaging with tasks
- Spend time outdoors, even if only for a few minutes
- Use simple check-ins to notice what the body and mind need
- Remember that calm is not the absence of pressure—it’s the ability to meet it without losing yourself
In a culture that often rewards urgency, leading with presence can feel counterintuitive. But as Scott’s experience shows, presence isn’t a slowdown—it’s a stabilizer. And in moments of uncertainty, it may be the most powerful leadership tool we have.
