The Defender’s Way: How Enneagram Eights Can Build Cultures of Care Without Losing Power”

What happens when Enneagram Eight energy grows up, softens its edges, and learns to lead with both strength and soul?

In this episode of Typology, Ian Morgan Cron sits down with restaurateur, entrepreneur, and conscious capitalism advocate Dan Simons, co-owner of Founding Farmers, for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about power, protection, and what it really means to build a culture of care.

Dan is brand-new to the Enneagram—and quickly discovers he's an Eight with a strong Nine wing, a compelling combination that blends moral clarity with empathy, decisiveness with nuance, and fire with calm. Together, Ian and Dan explore how Eights aren't just challengers—they're often defenders: leaders shaped by early experiences of injustice who instinctively stand up for the vulnerable.

Along the way, they talk candidly about:

• Why anger can be a tool rather than a liability when it's consciously harnessed

• How leadership failures are often listening failures (and the three most powerful words a leader can say)

• How putting emotional well-being on equal footing with profit actually increases performance, retention, and long-term value

• What a healthy workplace should feel like when you walk through the door (hint: think Labrador retriever, not shark tank)

This is a masterclass in evolved leadership and a hopeful vision of capitalism done with conscience. If you're a leader, an Enneagram Eight, or someone longing for work cultures that don't crush the human spirit, this conversation will leave you both challenged and encouraged—in the best possible way.

Listen in and pull up a chair. There's a seat for you at this table.

 

 

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About Dan Simons

Dan Simons is regarded as a leading voice in mission-driven business practices, known for championing people-centric culture and responsible industry standards while developing systems that deliver profitability. He and his partner, Michael Vucurevich, are Co-Owners of Founding Farmers Restaurant Group in partnership with the North Dakota Farmers Union. Their goal is to generate profits for American family farmers, earn farmers a larger share of the food dollar, and influence the sourcing decisions of suppliers and others in the hospitality industry. They operate eight sustainably run restaurants, one DC-based distillery, and a full service catering and event design company. He teaches courses at The George Washington University, hosts a podcast (Founding DC), and sits on the advisory boards of the DC chapter of Conscious Capitalism, OpenTable, and the Health Action Alliance Women's Health at Work Program. He blogs at www.DanSimonsSays.com and can be found across most social channels @DanSimonsSays. Visit https://www.dansimonssays.com/ to learn more.