Our Mission
Highland exists to increase human flourishing in the world around us.
We seek to deeply understand people in context, and then create, design and scale digital products, experiences, and solutions that help them flourish. Whether we’re diving deep into understanding user behavior in cybersecurity, designing digital front doors for healthcare organizations, or custom-configuring business processes for non-profits, we strive to link our efforts and impact back to how we’re making people’s lives better, one step at a time.
To accomplish this mission, we partner with individual organizations and convene cohorts around shared challenges in domains that impact some dimension of human flourishing. These client partnerships are truly collaborative and we view them as an extension of our own team, often leading to long-standing client relationships. We believe that what we create together should make it better to be alive: for our clients, the people they serve, and for us as well.
Internally, we are devoted to doing work in a way that allows our team members to flourish as well. Highlanders are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work and we recognize the unique perspectives, interests, backgrounds and experiences that each person brings to the team.
What is human flourishing?
Human flourishing is an image of holistic well-being: physical health, mental & emotional health, financial stability, social connection, and a sense of purpose and meaning. Our philosophy has been inspired by the research published by Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science as they looked to identify & measure the areas that sustain human flourishing.
There is an urgent need for work that prioritizes human flourishing.
As a consulting firm that aims to make a tangible impact across corporate America, we have adapted Harvard’s research to support our perspective. Our work targets the following focus areas where we are best equipped to affect change.
Our focus areas
Mental and physical health
Physical and mental health are foundational to our sense of happiness and well-being. We seek to help organizations and cohorts create incremental and transformational improvements to healthcare inside and outside the existing healthcare ecosystem, working with healthcare providers, payers, health tech disruptors, and more.
Work examples
Children's Wisconsin Hospital - Using journey-based research to reduce ER visits & improve the experience of children & families
Treatment - Defining a new AI-driven app concept for the health and wellness space
Financial and material stability
Financial and material stability involves work, education, access to financial services, and care for the infrastructure and environment where we live. We seek to help organizations and cohorts contribute to financial stability and environmental issues, especially for those most in need, working with financial institutions, educational institutions, non-profits, and more.
Work Examples
Fulfill - Building a no-nonsense banking app for young adults
Thrivent - Enabling college students to avoid debt through an educational website and app
Relational connection and community
We aim to build and strengthen human relationships in a time when social connection and community are strained by divisiveness and digital escapism. We seek to help organizations and cohorts build and strengthen community and connection where people work, live, and interact, working with non-profits, large employers, digital communities, higher ed institutions, and more.
Work Examples
Make-a-Wish - Increasing impact of wishes through UX & Service design
Meaning and purpose
Meaning and purpose is the most abstract of our human flourishing domains, but we believe the lack of meaning and purpose in the crises behind many other crises we face. We seek to help organizations and cohorts contribute to a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life, community, and vocation, working with larger employers, non-profits, associations, and more.
Work Examples
Archer - Designing a startup's mobile app to help young professionals land dream jobs
College of Lake County - Defining a digital strategy for student experience and success.
How can we help?
