Years ago, I visited several countries in Central Asia. What I witnessed changed me forever. I interacted with business leaders that had so leveraged the power of commerce on behalf of others that it was stunning. What surprised me was the energy and passion it released into their businesses.
It was then that I learned the amazing power of purpose in business.
These business leaders were very intentional about bringing about positive impact in the life of everyone associated with their businesses. They were lifting up entire communities through their enterprises.
They had embraced the value that helping their people succeed in every area of life was almost as important as making a profit.
Embracing this value filled them with childlike joy when their employees and families got quality healthcare. I was envious.
Helping their people get retirement accounts, many for the first time, gave them great pleasure.
The released energy was palpable as they trained their people not just on the job, but also developing their minds, helping them to better serve their families and shaping them to be integral in their communities.
Their passion to be a blessing extended not just to their employees, they were also sold out to making their vendors and customers succeed! Their intentional commitment to changing human lives through their businesses set me on fire!
Coming back home, I doubled down on using our business not only to make a profit but to lift up humanity. I got the greatest advice from my mentor; he encouraged me to find the particular purpose for our business. Turns out that we had one, we just hadn’t really recognized and embraced it.
My partner had always had a heart for people who needed a second chance (or more!). Because of that, we were already providing second, third and fourth chances to people! But now, with my new revelation, we embraced this as part of our purpose.
Embracing this paradigm, that part of our business purpose was to impact people’s lives for good, released energy and passion into our lives. It got us out of bed with gusto every morning. It ended our days with significance.
When we hired someone without teeth, we helped them get teeth! When we hired them out of rehab, we worked with their probation officer. When they needed resources, we helped them get them.
This simple framework, that a business generates a profit SO it can bless the people in the community, releases passion and energy into its leadership. And, without it, businesses and their leaders get stuck.
Having a sense of purpose of changing lives for the better provides the fuel for a great business!
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