Working On Purpose

A small percentage of the world’s population actually wants to go to work on Monday morning. Something has gone terribly wrong in the corporate world and how the workforce is led today. But how did we get here? More importantly, what can we do to intervene in what looks otherwise to be a sure revolution in the workforce? In this “fireside chat” with renowned leadership expert Dr. Lance Secretan, we learn about the common business practices that are destroying the passion leaders say they stand to elicit in their enterprises and glimpse the way forward toward a much more inspiring life in the corporate world.

At a fundamental level, people across the world over crave connection to others and to a meaning and sphere larger than themselves often manifested in their spirituality. A significant number of them are in various stages of discovering their own unique purpose that can they can translate into meaningful work. It turns out this discovery really takes something from us to accomplish – and when we do discover our purpose and put it to work – everyone around us wins. In this episode, we talk with motivational author Shawn Anderson who travels the world encouraging people to always “go the extra mile” in pursuit of their dreams and just what it takes to do so.

Individuals and leaders in organizations are well-served when they embrace curious life-long learning, both in their work and their own self-awareness. Using a suite of assessment tools appropriate for your organization and initiative can be a powerful place to start. In this episode, we speak with Rebecca Bales of Lumina Learning about their suite of offerings and how Rebecca and I use them in our consulting and coaching work.

Meaning and purpose are serious words in today’s juxtaposed world of technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics. It seems impossible to go a day without hearing something about purpose; I even saw the sign “food on purpose” as I passed a café in an airport recently. But did you know that we are actually living and working in a purpose economy today? Just what does that mean for our careers, our leadership, and companies across the globe? Tune in to this episode with purpose expert Aaron Hurst to find out why purpose is so important, what you can do to get in touch with your own, and how companies are catalyzing it for magnificent returns.

At a time when people crave meaning and purpose across their lives, companies have a real opportunity to make the difference and impact that truly sets them apart as employers and providers of goods and services. For some companies who have stood the test of time and managed to reinvent themselves to remain vibrantly viable, it’s not enough simply to generate increasing revenues. Instead, there is a much bigger governing force: purpose. In this episode, we hear how DSM channels its purpose and increased employee engagement and revenues, while guiding its strategic investments across the globe. Prepare to be inspired!

Cheryl Polote-Williamson is on a tear to empower women across the globe to embrace their own leader and entrepreneur from within and unleash themselves powerfully into the world. Helping women to become self-sufficient and thrive while becoming strong business women is in her DNA. In this episode, we drink from the firehouse of this passionate powerhouse who shares why working from purpose is so powerful, how we can develop stronger acumen as entrepreneurs and leaders, and why philanthropy and storytelling fortify anything we do. Join us for a powerful hour of inspiration!

At a time when we are constantly bombarded with messages that the world has innumerable problems, from disease to hunger to terrorism, here stands a counter voice. From her simple but purpose-empowered beginnings growing up on a farm, she learned early to pursue her passion and deliver her work from a purpose. Today, she has enjoyed speaking from most forms of media – newspapers, books, radio, and television. And her message is about empowering people to live their best lives, find their purpose, and give back to the world. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Cynthia Brian.

Generation Z youth graduating from high school today literally can enjoy a beautiful, open canvas of endless possibility in their lives. They can study anything they want, pursue any career of interest, and be anyone they want to be. Exciting in abundant possibilities. Daunting in the dearth of choices. And how will this new talent show up in the workplace? In this episode, we talk with junior high school student Kate Benedict about her young trek to discover and develop her passion and talents and apply them in an eventual career. From an early focus and years of dedication to dance, Kate is grounded in her resolve to pursue a career in broadcast journalism as she travels the globe to share the stories of lives she encounters. And she knows how to ground herself in her strengths to unleash her best in this career. Look out, world, for this young dynamo – you just might find yourself on the other end of her microphone in an interview!

What would you do with your life if you knew you had a sooner-rather-than-later expiration date? How would facing that finality alter the direction of your life? Or would it at all? Gwen Rich knows she has limited time on the planet due to her breast cancer diagnosis and is doing anything but complaining about it. She’s living life large, out to make the biggest impact she can on others with her time left, and savoring every moment. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we all lived like this and worked on purpose to leave a legacy, even without a terminal diagnosis prompting our urgency?

Though women have made strides in business and leadership, there is still much room for growth and improvement. Women need other successful women who inspire and show them the way. Good news, ladies! Help is in this jam-packed episode with Kate White who has forged a gorgeously “gutsy” life and career and is here to tell us how we can, too.

Intuition has been ascribed by Steve Jobs as the highest form of intelligence. Yet, many people across the world have yet to fully understand its power to dramatically unleash creativity, desired results and yield enriched lives. At a time when depression and suicide across the world are increasing, Dr. Joy Martina offers a simple solution to help all of us thrive – to develop our intuitive intelligence.

In today’s fast and furious workplace where artificial intelligence and robotics reign strong and information is everywhere, more people crave meaning, significance, and purpose. Not just in their every day personal lives, but also at work where we now spend about 40 percent of our lives. And the companies that respond to that existential calling by leading from purpose within a culture that elicits meaningful work increasingly make a beautiful contribution to their customers and employees while financially outperforming their competitors.

Selling for many people might register on the fear scale just one rung below public speaking. But why, when selling well gives us so much access to meeting amazing people and making the impact in the world we deeply desire? In this episode, we will get a fresh perspective on the world of sales from Debbie Mrazek, a professional who’s made it her business to help people get the results they want in sales. We’ll talk about strategies for selling, having sufficient sales time planned, and how we can tap others to help and then celebrate in our success.

Roland Haertl has been playing at work his whole life. After several decades of founding and running companies, when most of his peers are spending quiet years in retirement, Roland is enjoying his 80s traveling the globe and bringing his latest invention to market. And what is it? Why, the Interlude Folding Mobile Chair, of course – just what people of all ages use to continue living comfortable yet adventurous lives on their own terms of mobility.

The profits in your business come from ongoing decisions made. Some of those decisions happen daily; some are the strategic ones made for the longer term. Lauren shares the seven key areas that impact profits of the business, positively or negatively. She also discusses the timing of when decisions need to be made. Her real-world examples are powerful and will shift your thinking.

Speaker, consultant, author Steve Gavatorta takes on this highly relevant topic in his book, In Defense of Adversity: Turning Your Toughest Challenges into Your Greatest Success. The purpose of this book is to act as a roadmap and supply a foundation to help people thrive in adversity and not just survive it. In the book and this episode, Gavatorta describes how adversity, failure, change, and conflict can be catalysts for positive change – opportunities to evolve into who we were born to be.

Work – we do it all our lives. From landing our very first job, to transitioning in and out of the workforce to raise children, to completely reinventing ourselves past 50, we cover it in this episode with career expert Mac Prichard. We talk about productive ways to interview and network and how to access the hidden job market. And finally, Mac shares his own why in doing the work he does and his purpose in owning two B-Corp companies that use the power of markets to solve social and economic problems. In thanks to listeners hearing this podcast, he gifts you a free chapter to his latest book at macslist.org/workingonpurpose

Do you have a business idea you ache to see to fruition in the form of an offering or a business? Are you wondering if you have the stuff to make it as an entrepreneur? Or do you desperately need to improve how you propose doing business with someone, in the first place? If there’s an affirmative response to any of these questions, you will enjoy saying YES to this episode featuring entrepreneur Brian Onorio, the creator of Proposa.

“We are innovative!”, “We never look back!”, “Recession? What about it?” In this episode, Dr. Erika Jacobi shares the findings of her truly remarkable research study that explored the cognition and mindset in successful businesses in the way it reveals itself through member conversations about their company. What she found was a dynamic mix of overwhelming thought homogeneity on the one hand versus a less dominant creative tension of thought diversity on the other hand. To find out whether your company has the collective mindset and cognition that it takes to spark innovation and success, tune into this thought-provoking conversation.

Rachael Melot is on a tear to evangelize mentorship, entrepreneurship, and success for women. Women tend to apologize for what they want and the success they achieve. Join us in this episode as we talk about why women need to meet their own expectations of success, what perceptions they have to change to do success on their own terms, and how they can support and empower each other as women along this journey.