The Heart Of Business

The Heart of Business - Purpose

Ever wonder how the person sitting next to you at work does it? How they are able to bring themselves fully to work every day? How they perform exemplarily at everything they do? How they are the first in and last out each day and work with a constant smile on their face?

They’re not super-human. They’ve simply found their calling. They understand their purpose and to them work is not a job; it’s a way to fulfill their life’s mission.

I submit that if you are not like them—if work days pass too slowly and you daydream about a different life—you are doing the wrong thing and likely not working with purpose and intent. Even though employers may try many things to motivate, inspire, and excite you and your fellow employees, you ultimately just sit there day in and day out, not reaching your potential. Why? Because the things your employer is doing are only addressing random symptoms rather than the heart of the problem—the fact that your personal mission does not align with their purpose. People will only unleash themselves for things that matter to them. (Yes, Sally, even engineers.)

I’m aware there are many factors that determine why and where people work. You may be surprised that a recent study about what motivates people at work indicated that money finished a distant third to 1) feeling that our work was a calling, and 2) feeling we’re able to make a difference in the world. But I wasn’t. This sounds altruistic, but I believe it’s because at our core, we are altruistic.

For some reason, however, this issue is not fully understood or embraced by employees and employers alike. Employees need to recognize that they do have an internal purpose, or compass heading, even though they may not be able to articulate it. This purpose guides their decisions even though on the surface they are unaware. Employers need to recognize that employees have needs beyond money and benefits. Money and benefits may get employees to come to work for an organization, but alignment of purpose will get them to stay. Remember sleeping through our early business education classes where the subject was Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Well, ol’ Maslow was actually onto something.

As an employer, it’s critically important to share your organizational purpose and vision for your company with prospective employees. This will allow them to determine alignment and make sound decisions when accepting or declining job offers. In return, inquiring about their personal purpose will help you determine whether they will be a good fit with your organization. I know that I would rather have someone working for me who is passionate about what they do than the alternative. But maybe that’s just me.

Next week we will delve deeper into the subject of purpose.

Questions for thought:

1. Can you articulate the purpose of your organization?

2. Can you articulate your personal purpose?

3. Are they aligned?

Until next week….

Craig

This entry was posted on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.