Tyler Butler

Tyler Butler brings electric energy to everything she is committed to. She thrives when rallying people together to make a positive difference. Tyler is driven by her passion to impact change and to make the world around her a better place through altruistic actions. She believes magic is something we make, and that leadership is not a position or a title, it is an action and example. Her role as a social impact expert and influencer permeates everything, she becomes involved with.

In her role as CEO of 11Eleven Consulting, Tyler leads a boutique corporate social responsibility (CSR) consulting firm focused on aiding companies that care. She is renowned for connecting communities, companies and causes.

In her career she has had many successes. Upon graduating from college, she co-founded College Times, a weekly publication that is distributed to colleges throughout the state of Arizona. From there she took on roles in the nonprofit arena where she served as executive producer for telethons and led various fundraising events and endeavors. Through this nonprofit experience she saw an opportunity to segway her career towards the discipline of CSR.

Through her role leading Community Outreach for Microsoft she successfully unified this huge company’s effort in bringing their enterprise office and the company’s retail chain, the Microsoft Stores, into sync. Her efforts were subsequently replicated throughout the country as Microsoft continued opening stores and working to aid the communities where they operate.

From there Butler was recruited to lead GoDaddy’s global philanthropic efforts where she reimagined their entire CSR program. She was responsible for creating a meaningful philanthropic strategy for GoDaddy. Furthermore, Tyler is the creative force behind their volunteer programs, sponsorship allocations, diversity focused employee groups and their entre international CSR efforts.

Now, through her own firm, Butler is helping a plethora of companies to create meaningful, sustainable, impactful philanthropic programs. Through 11Eleven, Tyler has led a team to impact positive change and awareness for campaigns engaging the entire transportation industry including organizations like the TechForce Foundation, UTI, Nissan, Bridgestone, Shell and more. 11Eleven has also been instrumental in launching Lyft’s community engagement efforts, Xtreme Canteen’s Round up campaigns and community outreach efforts for the 2017 top HR tech startup, HR Company Store.

In 2018 Tyler created several successful campaigns. The Art of Fearlessly Giving Back partnered Fearlessly Deliver with WebPT to showcase the company’s giving efforts and to raise funds for their charity partners. And through her work with Childhelp Tyler led an international campaign in support of their hotline in partnership with celebrity spokesperson, John Stamos.

Additionally, Tyler’s column and blog, Giving in Style, has accumulated a fervent following as she carefully curates, crafts and shares stories about people, organizations and brands that are making our world a better place.
As a subject matter expert in the corporate citizenship arena Tyler is often a partner to media sources such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, US Weekly and more. And Tyler was recently selected and featured in Forbes Magazine’s among their Change Makers as one of their Outstanding Businesswomen for 2019.

Where did the idea for 11Eleven Consulting come from?

The idea for 11Eleven Consulting came from my work in the corporate responsibility space leading corporate citizenship programs for Fortune 500 companies. As this discipline has grown, so too has the need for savvy, experienced practitioners who know how to impact company culture, increase brand value and activate employee engagement through social impact programs.

With the growing need for better corporate citizens has come the need for consultants who can be of service in several ways to companies looking to do well by doing good. This need and my desire to scale my impact was the impetuous for my firms launch.

At my firm we inspire companies who operate with a conscience. We incorporate visionary principles, diverse perspectives and sustainable practices to create programs that benefit society and build positive sentiment for brands. 11Eleven enhances humanity while creating a brighter future for organizations to promote and steward rewardable reputations. Through my company we combine electric energy with savvy strategic planning to create captivating corporate responsibility offerings.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Working as an entrepreneur I truly do not have a “typical” day. Each day is unique and busy. One day I might have an event and many different client meetings, keeping me on the go for most of my day. While the next might have me holed up at a coworking space catching up on projects and communications.

The beauty of working in an arena as quickly evolving as corporate social responsibility (CSR) is that there is a constant need to reiterate and continue educating oneself on topics and trends within my specialty. Consequently, I am always looking at new opportunities to create one of a kind programs that aid companies and communities simultaneously.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Bringing ideas to life can be more complicated than it’s made out to be. I find the trick to making things happen lies in the principles of partnership. By joining forces with organizations who specialize in various business arenas goals can more easily be accomplished. Additionally, I have found that when trying to bring programs in the corporate citizenship space to life that having stakeholders and allies in all parts of the business and externally can have huge impact.
I have also found that by using a systems approach that a much greater outcome is made possible. Working with complex systems and looking at how feedback chains influence one another is great way to explore opportunities. By diving into how systems might interact there is a greater level of understanding. And depending on how each works they can be helpful to one another or hinder one another’s efforts towards sustainability and forward progress.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I am very excited about the trends I see emerging in CSR. Generally, speaking the notion now that these community focused efforts are no longer a nice to have, but are rather are now a need to have. Additionally, I am working on a book that showcases the growing trend of how companies are leveraging CSR efforts in their advertising and marketing efforts. It’s been most interesting to take a deep dive into how it has become common place for companies to showcase how they help communities rather than just the functionally of what their product or service does.

Additionally, in the wake of COVID19 I am seeing an epiphany of sorts happening in popular culture. As people begin to realize how tenuous and vulnerable our society really is, they are looking at how they can be of service to add to the greater good. The best corporate citizens are activating programs that they have planned for and that exist in their “emergency playbooks” so to speak. But, for those that have not had this foresight we are still seeing some quick pivots to facilitate support for communities in need. Regardless, the COVID19 epidemic has created an avalanche of understanding with regards to supporting communities.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

My best habit as an entrepreneur is truly in taking care of my connections. Having an organized database, rolodex or CRM program helps tremendously. I have found that it is valuable to track your contacts, your conversations and progress with projects in order to have ongoing success.

With changes in business due to social distancing and new practices for human interaction being explore, staying engaged is more critical now than ever before. Schedule conference calls on Zoom or Skype. Consider hosting virtual happy hours to keep your relationships intact during these trying times. Just because we are experiencing changes globally doesn’t mean that we can abandon our relationships.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would advise my younger self to take better care of portfolio materials. With so many apps and platforms now dedicated to this it has become much more manageable than when I was a young professional. But these tasks can get away from you if you are not organized.

Taking time on a regular basis to add articles where you are cited or decks that you have created to your LinkedIn and CV on a regular basis are crucial. Be sure to also download master copies as to avoid issues should your work later be removed or updated on the internet. And always share out these materials to socialize your contributions and gain greater traction.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I believe that most countries are safe for Americans to travel to. My belief has come about through my numerous solo trips to countries such as South Korea, Israel, Morocco and Argentina. I feel that we all too often associate internal struggles or a country’s political climate as a finite definition regarding our safety to travel there.

However, I have found that even during difficult times that the tourism industry in each locale is eager and willing to aid anyone who wants to experience their culture. Leaving ample room for good spirited well intending tourists to visit nearly any country so long as they follow the rules and use good judgement regarding what areas of each country they spend time in and what the local traditions call for where adherence and respect are concerned.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

As an entrepreneur I am constantly writing thank you notes. Whether you choose to write these the old fashioned way and send them via snail mail or prefer to use email, it is crucial to send thank you notes to those who support your efforts and include you in important gatherings.

These small tokens of appreciation are very important in developing rapport and make a lasting impression. Whenever, possible keep your eye out for simple, fun, flat things that you can include in physical mail items. It is always fun to find a lotto scratcher or funny sticker in a sweet thank you card.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Networking has been integral in growing my business. My company was born from contacts I made while working in corporate America and it continues to grow and flourish through my ability to meet people and develop a lasting connection with them. By developing authentic relationships built on true connection and time knowing one another loyalty can be developed. It is this reliability that enables a business to grow and flourish.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Failure as an entrepreneur is a common occurrence I find, that is at least if you are taking chances. I believe my biggest mistake has been in how I initially shared my story when launching my firm. Having come from a controversial company and negative environment I was caught off guard when I began consulting, I wasn’t fully prepared for everything that would unfold. I made some mistakes that I still consider today. To work through this, I have continued to make positive progress and remain focused on my work and my agenda to help connect communities, companies and causes.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I am working on a new business right now. While, I won’t give away the full description of this new application, I will mention that it will serve to help the nonprofit community in finding the best corporate citizens to support their specific cause, campaign or agenda. I think that approaches and solutions to streamline processes are amongst the most important offerings today. One only needs to look to what is going on in retail and fashion to find that convenience and ease are the topic du jur. Putting similar systems in place to aid NGOs and nonprofits is a natural next step for streamlining this quickly developing business area.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

The best $100 I spent recently was a donation. When I am invited to amazing charity events by my friends and colleagues, I look at ways to pay it back to them for including me. I find that by supporting their charity of choice that I am doing a good deed that is twofold. I get to both support a great cause and support a great friend in the process. Philanthropy is always a good use of resources!

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

I am loyal to Microsoft products. Having worked at this company for a time I became focused on learning their systems and tools and have found them to be crucial to my business. I use nearly all their products.
I have also become partial to an app called Waunderlist. This convenient app is a great way to organize to do lists and keep track of projects. I especially like the little “ping” sound it makes each time I check an item off my list.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

The Secret. I truly believe in the power of positive energy and manifestation and this book can truly help people to turn their mindset towards one of achieving what they desire.

What is your favorite quote?

Favorite quote(s) – “Even if you are on the right track – you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Arthur Godfrey
– “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” – Alexander Graham Bell

Key Learnings:

• Tyler Butler is a corporate social responsibility expert who has launched and led a myriad of successful offerings for Fortune 500 companies.
• CSR is a rapidly evolving arena of business and is quickly becoming amongst the most important components in employee engagement, recruiting and retention, brand awareness and community engagement.
• The most success can be had with CSR programs that join forces with others to amplify their impact.
• It is important that businesses realize that having a savvy, experience CSR professional on their team is a need to have nowadays, not nice to have. Businesses that aren’t incorporating sustainable practices that benefit the communities where they work, live and play will find themselves left behind in short order if they don’t act now.