I have all these random thoughts constantly revolving around in my head and it’s often a challenge to collect them and present cohesive ideas. So when I started to think about science and nature and what they mean to me, this quote summed it up perfectly:

The goal of science and engineering is to build better mousetraps. The goal of nature is to build better mice.

As a CEO who thinks like a farmer, and is ‘building a business from nature,’ I observe what nature does so well and I use science to validate my inventions. Everything I do comes from the earth, including my company name EarthKind®. Before I started EarthKind® I was a farmers wife and a master gardener, working with the soil, and getting my hands dirty. Healthy organic soil is what grows things, keeps plants healthy and it naturally repels pests—pretty ironic seeing as I’m in the pest control business!

The earth (soil) needs love and respect. I work with her, I listen to her, I honor her and I put my feet on her each day. It’s that connection to the earth that keeps me grounded and true to my mission. I think of my products as a ‘plant force’; my people as a ‘human force’ and our mission as our ‘life force.’ That’s how our tag line of “Preserve the good. Prevent the rest” came about. It’s important to me as I build a business with a purpose that all these forces are combined to use business as a force for good.

As a result, I challenge the status quo of everything that’s not in harmony with what I see is possible. I see everything through the eyes of biology, ecology, psychology, and all the natural laws. I refer to myself as a “scientific-creative” as I combine creative with logic when I’m inventing products or launching business initiatives.

Now, I know many of you may think this sounds a little out there, especially if your background is pure business. Just think about the most successful entrepreneurs—they are people with big and bold ideas, innovators that push the limits.

Inventing products is just the beginning. To disrupt an industry requires much more. I create and lead change by reinventing policy, industry, business, and anything that stands in the way of a kinder earth for all families. The pest control industry is based on fear and as such causes disharmony. I’m working to restore harmony and bring things back in balance.

One of my favorite quotes reminds me that working with Nature is the right way, because:

Nature is relentless and unchangeable, and it is indifferent as to whether its hidden reasons and actions are understandable to man or not.

 Galileo Galilei