How to use your career to help the world (with Devon Fritz)

Feb 5, 2026 1h 2m 16 insights Episode Page ↗
Devon Fritz, co-founder of High Impact Professionals, discusses maximizing career impact through counterfactual thinking, weighted factor models, and addressing imposter syndrome. He explores strategies for switching careers to high-impact roles and making a difference within existing jobs.
Actionable Insights

1. Assess Counterfactual Impact

Close your eyes and imagine you never existed to compare the world without you to the world with you. This heuristic helps determine your true impact and if your role is replaceable or uniquely valuable.

2. Pursue Irreplaceable Career Paths

If your goal is to maximize impact, actively seek out roles or areas where your contributions are unique and not easily replaceable by others. This ensures you are doing something that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

3. Employ Weighted Factor Models

Create a spreadsheet to list options and criteria (e.g., impact, job fit, salary), assign weights to each factor, and score each option. This structured approach helps uncover your true values and guides complex decisions like career changes.

4. Combat Imposter Syndrome: Friend’s Test

If you feel like an imposter, imagine a friend in your exact situation with your credentials and accomplishments. Asking if you would perceive them as a fraud helps gain objectivity and challenge self-criticism.

5. Integrate Personal Fit for Impact

When considering high-impact opportunities, seriously account for your personal fit, including your skill set and what you enjoy doing. Downplaying personal fit for impact can lead to suboptimal long-term engagement and effectiveness.

6. Launch Your Own Organization

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, consider starting your own organization (for-profit or non-profit) as it offers significant counterfactual impact by creating something new. This path also provides immense personal learning and growth opportunities.

7. Embrace Startup Risk and Persistence

If starting an organization, be prepared for extreme persistence, a high appetite for risk, and the ability to deal with constant uncertainty. Success often requires grinding through numerous obstacles and being open to initial failures.

8. Periodically Re-evaluate Your Replaceability

Every six months or year, assess your counterfactual impact in your current role. If you’ve made yourself replaceable and your unique value is diminishing, consider moving to a new role where you can again make a unique difference.

9. Initiate Workplace Fundraising Drives

Proactively organize fundraising events or initiatives within your company, especially around giving seasons. Frame your pitch in terms of the organization’s interests (e.g., retention, positive culture) to gain buy-in from decision-makers.

10. Promote Company Donation Matching

Inform colleagues about existing company donation matching programs, as many employees may be unaware of them. This is a low-effort way to significantly increase the impact of donations without requiring changes to organizational behavior.

11. Offer Pro Bono Skills to NGOs

Identify high-impact NGOs that could benefit from your specialized professional skills (e.g., legal, finance, design). Proactively reach out to offer pro bono advising, mentoring, or consulting for a few hours a week or month.

12. Serve on Nonprofit Boards

Seek out nonprofits whose mission aligns with your values and offer your expertise to their board. Board membership involves strategic input, fiduciary oversight, and holding the CEO accountable, typically requiring a few hours per quarter.

13. Volunteer for High-Impact Organizations

To gain entry into a high-impact organization, consider volunteering first by identifying a specific problem they have and offering a solution. Providing value upfront can often lead to employment opportunities.

14. Build Allies for Workplace Initiatives

When starting an impactful initiative at your organization, find a co-founder or allies who are amenable to your ideas. Build support and strengthen your numbers before approaching decision-makers to increase your chances of success.

15. Tailor Pitches to Stakeholder Interests

When advocating for an initiative, frame your pitch in terms of what the specific decision-maker or organization cares about (e.g., retention, financial goals, public image). This approach is more effective than solely focusing on altruistic impact.

16. Balance Board Alignment and Challenge

When selecting board members, aim for individuals who understand and align with the organization’s mission but also possess the courage and understanding to challenge the CEO and strategic direction when necessary. This balance ensures both support and critical oversight.