Working On Purpose

It’s hard to remember the times when people began a business, in order to make a “boat load of money.” Of course, that still happens. But more and more people are looking for ways to balance profit and purpose through their business – AND society and customers are asking them to do the same. Enter the B Corp certification for business. Rather than focusing on profit maximization, these business owners and leaders consider the impact of their operations on their workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment.

Today’s business climate calls forth the best leaders and companies can offer. No longer is it sufficient to simply offer a well-positioned product or service to remain viable in today’s ever-evolving consciousness in business. Companies must embrace purpose and giving in order to stand up to the scrutiny in today’s business climate that expects them to steward a better tomorrow, especially around ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives. In this episode, we learn how Founder and CEO Charles Antis of Antis Roofing and Waterproofing goes “all in with both arms” to answer the call of purpose and profit.

Come along with us in this conversation as we discover the new consciousness weaving its way through communities of women, connecting, caring, and uplifting each other. Activated through the power of circle, there is increasing evidence of an emerging culture of community-minded activists and artists collaborating to create the change we all desperately need. The feminine soul is rising, and she is running for office and changing policy to create new communities connected through caring. Enter the embrace in a brave new world.

After committing to 50/50 of his time equally between work and a service project, Bob Graham found himself enjoying a golden age of personal transformation. He founded Namaste Direct in 2004 as a project for his family foundation to assist low-income women microentrepreneurs in Guatemala with their business development. Using three techniques – individual mentorship, financial literacy classes, and small loans – they have trained nearly 4,000 women to make more money and lift them from poverty. This episode explores where the vision came from, Bob’s transformation along the way, and the difference they are making to generations to come in Guatemala.

Who could have predicted the recent trifecta of a global pandemic, recession, and level of social unrest around such matters as the George Floyd murder? An unprecedented level of sensibility toward what is expected of business leaders on environmental, social, governance (ESG) issues affecting companies has emerged. Now is the moment for businesses and brands to determine what they will stand for. Figuring out what you think about and will do on matters of social justice, inclusion, climate change or pay equity can energize the positive forces of company character, helping your organization attract and retain loyal employee, customer and investor followings that strengthen communities. Doing so is not just good for the bottom line but also enlivens the overall ecosystem in which you operate.

People are hungry for meaning and purpose. People want to know the work they are important and the work they do matters. Consciousness is evolving as education and interdependence across the world increases. Gender roles are changing, as men and women share domestic roles at home and participate alongside each other in the workplace. To become our best selves, both genders are learning from each other to claim their highest humanity. In this episode, we explore embracing the feminine in order to heal and transform men on a deep level and the benefit of infusing compassion into masculine workplace cultures.

Nutritionists tell us that we are what we eat. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Arthur Ciaramicoli believes that we are what we perceive. We are in a dark time and in need of enhanced empathy to allow us to regain our civility and our sense of reason. The cancer in the United States is deep and it is growing, but it is still curable if we devise a treatment plan that we are all willing to implement. This episode will teach us how.

East meets West in this mindset as we discover how moving from surviving to thriving starts with moving from a destination to journey mindset. Getting access to powerful tools along the journey, like self-awareness and learning how to gauge our energy fuel help us propel meaningfully along the path. Finally, learning how to recognize and navigate past obstacles along the way is essential to live the biggest, best expression of our purpose and make the contribution we crave.

Work and the people with whom we do it can be such a source of connection and fulfillment. Yet, it often presents frustration, misunderstandings, and grievances. Part of the problem is that companies don’t have a viable culture that supports open communication when things go awry – people don’t feel comfortable sharing their hurts and disappointments. That’s when problems can escalate to bigger levels than need be. Companies that create a culture and set of practices to address these ongoing opportunities for misunderstandings so people feel heard, understood, appreciated, and the situation rectified are positioned to avoid discrimination and harassment while enjoying stronger engagement and growth.

Men are in crisis - a crisis of roles, expectations and conflicting signals. An opportunity exists to look to the wisdom traditions that can offer spiritual guidance along the journey to heightened consciousness. You’ll need courage, and curiosity, and a good guide. Gabriel Keczan shares how he helps men connect with deeper purpose through embodiment and relationship to awaken their hidden powers.

Through a social technology for governing and operating a team, holacracy takes the best from Getting Things Done and Agile approaches to yield a dynamic approach to collaboration and productivity. It involves continually evolving the team structure based on small experiments and new information. Everything starts in Holacracy with ‘tension.’ Things are not going the way you want. With Holacracy, you can use this tension as fuel for moving forward and improving productivity while developing the skills of each team member.

What would the world look like if we began teaching children about their unique talents and ways of being that can better the world? How would helping people discover their purpose at a very young age, and then choose careers to live it through, increase well-being, productivity, and even peace in the world? In this episode, we talk with Founder and Chief Shineologist Dr. Claudia Been about this very work she is doing through the House of Shine to help more people be their best and help bring it out of everyone they touch.

In this conversation with the ever insatiably curious Professor Wright, we take a deep empirical dive into purpose and how people experience it. How people gain access to their purpose and apply it is the focus, and Dr. Wright shares what he’s learned over a lifetime investigating how to change our behavior to have a better life.

Soliciting and listening deeply to understand the perspectives and experiences of your employees, and taking action on the feedback, is a business imperative that cannot be overlooked in today’s business world. People crave meaning and purpose in their lives, and work is a profoundly important contributing component. Conducting regular, anonymous employee engagement surveys to continue the open exchange between employees and leaders is essential for individual flourishing and company success. Going beyond measures to improve engagement and equip employees with training to address and manage their own mental health and well-being, even better.

Aiming to make a difference in the world beyond earning healthy profits is good for the health and vitality of all shareholders in a company. The world has so many problems and opportunities awaiting a motivated workforce to take on. Employees know when they’re part of a great organization, something much bigger than themselves, and they dig deep to apply their efforts to perform higher and vie to remain part of such an organization. In this episode, we learn first-hand through Matt Gerber’s experiences the profound difference corporate social responsibility and environmental social governance investing initiatives make in communities and how being part of them raises the motivation of all employees involved.

Effective leadership starts with defining your internal bearings through deep personal exploration. Your highest leadership aspirations are the result of reflection that helps you define your higher purpose as a leader, contributions that hold meaning for you in knowing what kind of leader is it important for you to be, and why? Standing on that foundation, employing grace in your leadership becomes the game changer, where your approaches, behaviors, connection with the men and women you lead, and your demeanor begin to reflect the evolution you want for yourself while positively elevating the lives you touch.

How’s this for good news? If you don’t like your job, you have the power to instantly improve it today by simply sprinkling in a social purpose contribution. What does that mean, you ask? You can stand for something more at work – to help or serve people beyond whatever your job calls you to do. Where and how you do so is entirely of own your beautiful and uniquely “you” creation.

Host of the Leadership Hacker podcast and author of the Leadership Cake likens the fundamentals of leadership to the essential ingredients of a delicious cake. Every leader needs to find the right mix of those ingredients to form his or her “cake,” while developing a distinctive and memorable taste that informs their legacy. This episode summarizes the approach Steve has employed to developing leaders from junior level to international CEOs of global organizations.

Want to live an extraordinary life? Or, are you content with one that is flat, repetitive and run by fear? Purpose, vision, and values go a long way in creating a life of fulfillment and impact. We’ll learn about these essential ingredients and more in a fireside chat with Robert White who has spent more than 50 years teaching 1.3 million people learn high-impact personal and leadership effectiveness.

Most people ache to matter, to make a meaningful contribution during their time on earth. Others would also like to be remembered long past their lifetimes through their achievements and contributions to society. In this episode, we learn about the idea of memorial capacity, the aspects and pathways of legacy, and how to craft a strategic legacy plan that best optimizes our talents, abilities and resources.