The Eight Ps of Purpose

About a year ago, I created the Four Ps of Purpose to understand my priorities, motivations, and needs for my life after Marine Corps retirement. The factors I considered were Passion, Purview, Prestige, and Payment, and they helped me identify and prioritize a list of what I needed in my next career field and informed the job search and pursuits. It was initially sufficient because my knowledge was limited. After an incredibly informative year, those factors have proven to be only half the story. I earned a lifetime of lessons about ownership, partnerships, contracts, and equity in business. In job searches, unforeseen events led to woeful returns, but amazing opportunities appeared in the least expected places. Regardless, I’m very happy to have focused on specific areas, and I’m glad that I did not allow opportunities I didn’t want to distract me along the way. After all of that, my reflections doubled my model’s factors.

I added People, Path, Place, and Policy to the list and updated the previous definitions to reflect that they are not an “order” thing. Each is an independent factor, and none of them is inherently negative, positive, or more important than the other. For my former (or future) Georgetown CCT students, these five passion ratings could align with the five tribal levels in Tribal Leadership. Like the first approach, the 8 Ps of Purpose are not limited to job searches. They can also help you understand whether to stay in position. In this version, I defined each factor and provided a five-point system for how to apply it to your career or desired career.

I also stuck with the Ps, so I’m sure many factors are not explicitly included on this list. However, I believe I captured a much more holistic approach within this model. The job hunt isn’t easy, and there is no rulebook to life, but with a few tools here and there, informed decisions can help us feel confident we’re moving in the direction we want to go.

As always, I hope you find this of value.

The Factors and Ratings

1.???? Payment: The salary, pay raises, bonuses, benefits, perks, opportunities, and retirement to incentivize longevity. I believe few people work for the pay alone. For example, many understand they’re taking a pay cut to serve with the government. Doing so provides a sense of service (Passion), impact (Purview), or a noteworthy position (Prestige) to compensate. Other factors include the pay of those around you. If you would do the exact same job with a different organization because of the pay – you’re not making enough. The Payment factor is taking a hit. If you look at your pay scale and see no path to attain what others are achieving, regardless of your work, the Payment takes a hit. Of course, if you’re delighted with your paycheck, there is no issue.

• How to rate Payment:1/5: Salary and benefits are significantly lower than industry standards or do not meet basic financial needs.2/5: Compensation is below average, with limited benefits, making it difficult to feel adequately rewarded for your work.3/5: Pay is average, with standard benefits; sufficient but not competitive enough to be compelling.4/5: Good salary with benefits above industry standard; only minor improvements needed.5/5: Excellent pay and benefits that exceed expectations, making you feel highly valued and financially secure.

2.???? Prestige: The satisfaction found in recognition of work well done, a position achieved, or a uniform that brings acclaim. Walking onto the stage on graduation day, receiving an award, or having that title you’ve always dreamed of. These are areas of prestige. Though this is an area we sometimes discount, Maslow thought it important enough to identify it as a formal need. This factor is called Prestige and not Pride because it is focused on the attention received by others, though it leads to a feeling of Pride.

How to rate Prestige:

• 1/5: The role offers no recognition and is viewed negatively by peers and society.
• 2/5: Limited recognition; the role holds little prestige and offers few moments of pride.
• 3/5: Moderate level of recognition; the position is respected, providing occasional moments of pride.
• 4/5: High level of recognition; the role regularly provides pride and is well-respected.
• 5/5: Exceptional prestige and recognition; the position is highly esteemed, offering frequent, significant moments of pride and public acclaim.

3.???? Passion: Doing or pursuing work that aligns with a desired identity or objective. This is work for more than oneself but for identity, love, or impact. All you want to do is succeed at the work you do every day – you’re not working; you’re serving. As the saying goes, if you love what you do, you never truly work a day. When passion is misaligned, the work absorbs the drive, creativity, or enjoyment from it. It’s “just” a job.

How to rate Passion:

• 1/5: The work is consistently draining or demotivating.
• 2/5: Occasionally find the work engaging, but generally, it's not something you're passionate about.
• 3/5: The job sometimes excites you and aligns with your interests.
• 4/5: Regularly feel engaged and passionate about your work, with only rare periods of disinterest.
• 5/5: You are deeply motivated and passionate every day, fully aligned with your personal and professional goals.

4.???? Purview: The work role, responsibilities, authorities, or oversight desired in current or future employment. The levels of scope of responsibility often play into people’s desires, but it is also about how much of a workload is desired, which often changes over time. It is draining for the person and detrimental for an organization for a person to have responsibilities and authorities they don’t want.

How to rate Purview:

• 1/5: The job responsibilities are misaligned with your skills and interests; no control or authority.
• 2/5: Some aspects of the job match your skills, but many tasks feel out of scope or uninteresting.
• 3/5: Responsibilities mostly align with your skills, with a reasonable level of authority and oversight.
• 4/5: Job duties are well-aligned with your skills, and you have significant control and oversight over your work.
• 5/5: Your skills and career goals are in perfect alignment, and you have full authority and control over engaging and impactful work.

5.???? Place: The geographical and cultural setting where one works, influencing overall life satisfaction. This includes considerations like the length of the commute, the quality of local schools, the vibrancy of community life, and the workplace culture. A desirable location can greatly enhance one's quality of life and job satisfaction. Conversely, a mismatch between personal preferences and the location can lead to discomfort and unhappiness. Being in a place that resonates with personal and family needs bolsters well-being and productivity.

How to rate Place:

• 1/5: The location severely hinders your personal life, negatively impacting daily living.
• 2/5: Several aspects of the location are inconvenient, causing frequent discomfort or dissatisfaction.
• 3/5: The location is manageable, with some aspects that fit well with your personal life, though not ideal.
• 4/5: The location is favorable, enhancing most aspects of your personal and professional life.
• 5/5: Ideal location; perfectly enhances your quality of life and well-being, with excellent community and cultural fit.

6.???? Path: The career opportunities and potential for growth provided by a position. This refers to the trajectory a job can set you on, whether it leads to future promotions, skill development, or new professional avenues. A job that aligns well with your career path will offer opportunities that excite you and encourage professional development. The job meets current needs and paves the way for future aspirations. If the position offers limited growth or diverges from your career aspirations, it may not be conducive to long-term satisfaction and success. This is where people end up feeling “stuck.”

How to rate Path:

• 1/5: No opportunities for growth; the position is likely to lead to professional stagnation.
• 2/5: Few opportunities for advancement; the role offers limited scope for professional development.
• 3/5: Some opportunities for growth and development, but they may not fully align with long-term career goals.
• 4/5: Good opportunities for career advancement and skills development that align well with professional goals.
• 5/5: Excellent growth opportunities; the job offers clear pathways for promotion and skills enhancement and aligns perfectly with career aspirations.

7.???? Policy: The effectiveness and impact of company policies on employee development, performance, and protection. The organizational approach to facilitating professional growth, ensuring fair and transparent performance assessments, and upholding employee safety and respect. Comprehensiveness, fairness, and transparency, including implementation and consistency, are contributing factors. The importance here is that policies are both explicit and transparently followed.

How to rate Policy:

• 1/5: Company policies are poorly defined or implemented inconsistently, offering little to no support for professional growth, fair performance evaluation, or employee protection. There is a significant lack of transparency and fairness in how policies are applied, negatively impacting employee trust and safety.
• 2/5: Policies exist but are often inadequate; they are sporadically enforced and lack thorough coverage across progress, performance, and protection. Employees frequently encounter issues due to uneven policy application.
• 3/5: Company policies generally support employee development, performance evaluation, and protection, but there are areas for improvement in fairness or consistency. Policies are adequately transparent but may not fully meet every employee's needs.
• 4/5: Strong policies are in place that clearly support professional growth, provide fair performance evaluations, and protect employee rights and safety. There are minor gaps, but overall, policies are well-implemented and contribute positively to the work environment.
• 5/5: Excellent, well-rounded policies that effectively promote employee progress, ensure transparent and fair performance assessments and provide robust protection measures. Policies are consistently applied, fostering a secure, supportive, and equitable workplace environment.

8.???? People: No matter how technical the field is, everything revolves around the people. Human interactions, including conflict management, inclusivity, safety, respectfulness, team reliability, leadership support, and growth opportunities, impact daily work life. This encompasses a culture of collaboration, communication, respect, and support. Good relationships can enhance job satisfaction, foster a positive work environment, and improve productivity, but poor relationships can lead to a toxic work culture, reduced morale, and increased turnover.

How to rate People:

• 1/5: The workplace is characterized by frequent conflicts, lack of support, and negative interactions that severely impact your job satisfaction and performance.
• 2/5: Relationships are generally strained or unhelpful, with occasional support but consistent issues that make collaboration or enjoyment difficult.
• 3/5: Colleagues and supervisors are reasonably supportive, with a mix of positive and negative interactions, but overall, the environment is manageable.
• 4/5: You experience strong support from colleagues and leadership, and the workplace is generally collaborative and friendly, which enhances your work experience.
• 5/5: Exceptional workplace relationships; leadership is inspiring and supportive, and colleagues are collaborative and contribute significantly to a positive work environment.

Evaluating the Scores

Now that you’ve gone through this process, add up your scores and evaluate the results. What do they mean? Even with a calculator in hand, deciding when to stay in a job or leave is far more complex than calculating a score. But this system is meant to help this decision more structured. Here is how I interpret the scores to determine when a job might be worth pursuing, leaving, or keeping:

When to leave a job or discard an opportunity:

• Any score of 1: When considering areas like Payment, Path, or Policy, one may be a dealbreaker because it likely makes your working there unsustainable.
• Many scores of 2: This suggests systemic issues that do or could significantly detract from job satisfaction and personal well-being.
• An overall score below 24: This score indicates the job is barely, or just under, meeting your needs across the board, which could lead to long-term dissatisfaction.

When to stay in your job or pursue an opportunity:

• Absolute Keeper: Taking the above comments about 1s and 2s into account, a score of 5 in areas like Passion and Path could signify that the job is a great fit, providing personal fulfillment and career growth.
• Minimum High Score: If most categories are 4s and 5s, the job meets most of your personal and professional needs very well, making it worth holding onto. I would consider a score of 32 to be a solid fit, with anything higher being a great fit. This job meets and likely exceeds many of your expectations and needs, and you’d be hard-pressed to find opportunities that pass it up.

Considerations for Grey Areas

• Balancing Act: If you have mixed scores (e.g., some 4s and 3s but a 2 in a key area like Place or Payment), consider what's most important to you and whether the high scores compensate for the low ones. For example, a job might score low in Payment but high in People and Prestige, which might be acceptable if financial compensation is less critical to you than job satisfaction and recognition.
• Trends Over Time: Track your preferences during key points in your career, like when you do your performance review, to identify if scores improve or decline over time. Just like an interview, reviewing whether a position is fulfilling needs should go both ways. A job showing potential for score improvements in critical areas might be worth staying with longer, a job opportunity that scores above your current position may be worth pursuing, and a job with sustained mediocre or declining scores may provide the impetus for a job search.

A Few of the Built-in Biases: I know there are a significant number of biases that were part of my thinking while writing this. I can't take them out completely because I don't know them all. However:

• It Applies to You: If you've read this far, you want help making difficult choices. I built this chart assuming that opportunities exist and that if you’re reviewing the chart, you’re considering them. I believe it is applicable to commercial and government, civilian and military job fields.
• Military Service: If you are in the military, you may be unable to address most of these factors in every location – especially when just starting out. However, it is possible you never address them all in any one unit. To be fair, it is likely no job will ever address every factor; however, you can decide whether to reenlist or continue service.
• Drive and Desires: I also assume you can either keep or qualify to attain the job in question. If you want jobs of higher pay, prestige, or purview but are underperforming, not self-educating, or putting in the effort to establish your base, you are out of alignment with yourself. You want to find that perfectly attuned position – not everyone does. If you’re happy doing anything, following this list will probably not make much sense.

How did you do? What factors weren’t covered?

I hope this scoring system provides a quantifiable method to evaluate job satisfaction and career fit. This system helped me understand my career needs and desires and the aspects of a job that are most important to me. I hope it does the same for you.

#jobsearch #careeradvice #mentalmodels #alwayslearning