Could the way we measure contributions at work miss the very things that make people most valuable?
In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I sit down with Jacob D. Chase to discuss pressure, performance, leadership, and the human side of data. Jacob’s journey takes us from Wall Street and hedge funds to entrepreneurship and people-centered performance, where he began asking a question many leaders struggle to answer: how do we really understand someone’s value inside an organization?
Jacob shares the moment that challenged his leadership thinking, when he realized that one high-performing employee’s contribution could not be fully captured by salary bands, job descriptions, or a single leader’s perspective. That experience led him to rethink how organizations gather perspectives, recognize hidden value, and connect individual contributions to business results.
We also talk about what it means to become unshakable from the inside out. Jacob opens up about learning to separate his inner peace from other people’s opinions, the importance of staying aligned with who you are, and why resilience often comes down to knowing you can keep going even when circumstances feel uncertain.
This conversation is a thoughtful look at data, leadership, feedback, and self-leadership. It raises an important question for every leader: are we measuring what truly matters, or only what is easiest to see? What do you think makes someone truly valuable inside an organization, and how should leaders recognize it?
Jacob D. Chase is the Founder and CEO of The INFIN, a performance intelligence platform built to help companies see the true value of their human capital.
Jacob began his career on Wall Street, working as a restructuring banker at Lazard and as an investment analyst at Angelo Gordon. Here he learned how capital is allocated, how businesses succeed or fail, and how performance ultimately determines survival.
He later left finance to bootstrap a diversified real estate business to nearly $30 million in revenue before a successful exit. Here he earned firsthand experience as an operator responsible not just for investment analysis, but also for the people who ultimately drive business outcomes.
Across finance, real estate, and now technology, Jacob observed a consistent pattern: companies measure financial capital with precision, but treat human capital (often their largest investment) with surprising ambiguity. Performance systems are often political, bonus processes create friction, and cultural integrity erodes when contribution and reward aren’t aligned.
He believes individual well-being and business performance cannot be separated — that long-term cultural health depends on honest, transparent performance economics. When organizations lose clarity around value creation, they eventually lose both workforce trust and financial performance.
Through The INFIN, Jacob is building technology that connects individual contribution directly to business results, helping leaders and teams move beyond subjective reviews toward measurable effectiveness.
His work sits at the intersection of finance, entrepreneurship, and human performance, challenging companies to rethink how they measure talent, allocate rewards, and build sustainable meritocracies.
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About Heather R Younger, J.D., CSP
Heather R Younger, J.D., CSP is a highly sought-after speaker, 2x-TEDx speaker, diversity, equity and inclusion strategist, and contributor to leading news outlets. She is also the Founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement and consulting firm. After over 25,000 employee engagement surveys and years of working with organizations to transform employee engagement, here’s what Heather has seen over and over: When you know how to listen, employees will tell you exactly what they need to bring their full selves to work. Book Heather to speak at your event or organization.
Visit heatheryounger.com or https://www.cmispeakers.com/heather-r-younger for more details.
