Effective Executive Magazine
The Purpose of Business: Why Values, Meaning and Purpose Really, Really Matter

Article Details
Pub. Date : March, 2019
Product Name : Effective Executive
Product Type : Coaching and Mentoring
Product Code : EECM21903
Author Name : Bob Murray
Availability : YES
Subject/Domain : Management
Download Format : PDF Format
No. of Pages : 08

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Abstract

The objective of this paper is to show why having purpose, meaning and values is as vitally important in business as it is in individual lives. We begin by answering the question: What do we mean by these terms? We look at them in terms of organizations, groups and teams and individuals. We show how meaning, values and purpose became essential to our ability to collaborate and how they fit into what we call "human design specs"-our DNA. We examine how purpose, meaning and values can help businesses to grow, get commitment and engagement from employees, improve productivity and how they often mean the difference between business survival and failure. We show that in terms of what humans seek from their lives, a business is not just about making money, it is about forming a tribe, a community of people who share values, who find a sense of meaning in their work and have a shared sense of social purpose.


Description

From my office, I can look out over a pedestrian precinct in the central business district. Part of it is obscured by trees, but what I can see are people striding earnestly-purposefully-about their business.

It is a strange phrase, isn't it? "Striding purposefully about their business." How do you define purpose to include going from the train station to the office or the office to the train station? Human beings need a sense of purpose, it is built into our DNA, but by that we do not include walking briskly to our place of work.


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