I nerd out on purpose all the time.
I think about it for organizations.
I think about it for people inside those organizations.
I read books about it.
I’ll talk about it all day long if you’ll let me.
Purpose is energy.
The energy to drive behaviour.
The fuel behind achievement.
The secret ingredient to finding meaning in your days.
Who doesn’t want that?
A day driven by purpose is a better day. A company driven by purpose is a better company (that grows 3x faster than competitors!).
A life lived on purpose is a longer, happier, healthier life. Most people would agree. All kinds of research supports it.
A study of 7,000 middle-aged Americans showed that even a 1 point increase on a 7-point purpose scale resulted in over 12% reduced risk of dying.1
Wanting a purpose is easy. Finding a worthy purpose is the tricky part.
You’ll find it hanging out at the centre of what you believe, what you value and what you feel most equipped to contribute.
Whether you’re looking for yourself or your organization, getting to a purpose requires some deep reflection and strategy – choosing what matters and what doesn’t.
Feel like nerding out with me? Check out these reads. And then….let’s definitely talk about it!
Personal purpose
Life on Purpose by Victor Stretcher
The Power of Purpose by Richard Leider
Organizational purpose
Purpose: The starting point for great companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis
Creating a meaningful corporate purpose by Hubert Joly, Harvard Business Review
- Hill & Turano, “Purpose in Life as a Predictor of Mortality Across Adulthood,” Psychological Science 25, no. 7 (2014): 1482-86 ↩︎
