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

40 snips

Feb 5, 2026

Devon Fritz, co-founder of High Impact Professionals and former COO at Ambitious Impact, advises professionals on maximizing career impact and strategic giving. He discusses when a job can have more impact than donations. They explore measuring replaceability, building weighted factor models to guide big career choices, overcoming imposter syndrome, and practical ways to boost impact from inside organizations.

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ADVICE

Use The Friend's Test For Imposter Feelings

Test imposter beliefs by imagining what you'd tell a friend with your credentials and achievements.
Treat yourself more charitably and recognize many high-achievers feel the same doubt.

INSIGHT

Why NGOs Can Offer More Neglected Opportunities

NGOs often have more low-hanging impact opportunities because funding feedback loops differ from market signals.
Private sector incentives align to customers, while NGOs face donor-driven signals that can obscure real outcomes.

ADVICE

Target Underserved Functions Inside Orgs

Look for specific gaps an organization struggles to fill and target those roles for outsized impact.
Communications, fundraising, and other under-resourced functions often yield high leverage.

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If you vanished from your job tomorrow, what would change? When is a high paying job more impact than direct service? How do you estimate your counterfactual contribution without fooling yourself? What signals tell you a problem is neglected rather than merely unpopular? Are you optimizing for visible outcomes instead of real outcomes? Which incentives in charities and NGOs quietly distort priorities? Could a simple weighted factor model outperform your gut on big choices? What would make you switch paths even if you feel committed? How do you balance personal fit with moral urgency?

Devon Fritz is co-founder of High Impact Professionals and has spent eight years across various roles coaching professionals on maximizing their career impact and advising on strategic philanthropic giving. He most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Ambitious Impact, leading programs that help philanthropists improve the impact of their grantmaking. Previously, as Managing Director and CTO at Founders Pledge, Devon helped grow the organization's pledge value to over $2 billion. He is a Giving What We Can 10% pledge member and holds degrees in computer science, information technology, and computational linguistics. He serves on multiple nonprofit boards and is author of "How Do You Know?", an illustrated children's book. He lives in Berlin with his partner and two children.

Links:

Devon's New Book: The High-Impact Professionals Playbook
High Impact Professionals
Clearer Thinking Imposter Syndrome Test

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Spencer Greenberg — Host + Director
Ryan Kessler — Producer + Technical Lead
WeAmplify — Transcriptionists
Igor Scaldini — Marketing Consultant

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