Knowing why you get up every morning: The seventh P

Many thanks for all the comments and feedback regarding my article about the 6 Ps for founders and professionals. And thanks also for the ensuing debate, which really helped advance the whole concept. Before compiling the final result, I’d like to dedicate an additional post to one more P, the seventh, namely purpose.

True, much has already been written and said about the question of meaning. Then again, this is a very zeitgeisty topic. I often meet managers or entrepreneurs who say: “My next job must have meaning.” And they’re not even disparaging their current position. In my opinion, the fact that a job must nowadays “have meaning” is a genuine achievement in this part of the world. We have reinvented the wheel in this respect – so no one should complain about why this wheel was so rarely used before it was invented. 

Be aware of your goal to fulfil your potential

Behind the purpose is the question of what actually drives us – the reason for getting up every morning. When we work on something that helps us achieve this purpose, we do our best; if we don’t, we can’t fulfil our potential. This is a crucial question we need to ask when trying to decide whether to accept a certain job or considering starting a business. 

According to super-entrepreneur, book author and DLD speaker Naveen Jain: “Making money should never be the goal. Instead, making money is a by-product of pursuing the things you care about.” For him, money is like an orgasm: “If you focus on it, you’re never going to get it. But if you enjoy the process, you will eventually get there.” Surprisingly – and this is something I keep returning to in my posts – above all top executives get distracted from the purpose by the money. And they’d probably never have got where they are today if it had always been about nothing but the money – or they’d have been somewhere completely different if they’d followed their purpose. As David Asprey says: “Being rich won’t make you happy, but being happy might make you rich.”

Would you rather be in the airport lounge than with your children?

Everyone has to make their own mind up what their purpose is and what satisfies them. Some might interpret this as an argument for supporting money being the ‘purpose’ – but that’s wrong. The purpose might then be security, recognition – or striving for trophies, which can also be wearing, as Joshua Fields Millburn reports in his Google Talk. In my experience, trophies are often a ‘pseudo-purpose’. When you’re in the tunnel, you think they’re important to you. But when a trophy, or the path to it, becomes an energy-sucker, you notice you’re not happier – that wasn’t what you were looking for. Trophies may include a new watch, a vintage car, a yacht or a holiday home, but also the collection of awards, tombstones, appointments to supervisory boards or advisory boards, jury memberships or honorary titles. A good example of this is your airline status. What really makes you happy: Senator or HON Circle vs. more time with your children or sleeping in your own bed?

Reflective managers aren’t afraid of the purpose question 

In the ‘On the way to new work’ podcast by Michael Trautmann and Christoph Magnussen, Karsten Kühn, a director of DIY chain Hornbach and CMO of the Year 2018, describes how he was sent to a self-discovery seminar by MediaMarkt founder Walter Gunz. Gunz, who wrote an exciting book and was also my boss as chief executive of Bild.t-online.de, deliberately took the risk of his employee returning from the seminar realizing he needed a new job. However, Kühn remained loyal to the company for many years to come. In the podcast, Trautmann says he attended the same seminar, but wasn’t ready for it at the time. Note that in order to find the purpose, you have to be willing to do so. Some people take time out for this, such as former Deutsche Bahn communications manager Antje Neubauer: “I need time to think about what I’ve done right over the past several years and what I need more of in my life.”

An IPO might be a money-spinner – but it’s not always the right option

As far as founders are concerned, the purpose is expressed in the question of whether or not I’m a bootstrapper, i.e. whether I focus on the exit strategy or am determined to build up a sustainable business. I’m not saying one is worse than the other, I’m just saying you have to be aware of the consequences and see whether they’re compatible with your purpose. Charles Koch gives the interesting advice in his book Good Profit that you have to be clear about what an IPO means. The stock market can make you rich overnight – but it can just as quickly take you away from what you originally wanted to achieve. The same is true when you start up a business: VC involvement which takes place too early often sets a course which the founders aren’t ready for – at least not yet.

Greed for good

An article by Philipp Staufer on the subject of purpose is also worth reading. Everyone remembers Michael Douglas declaring “Greed is good” in the film Wall Street. Well, that was the eighties. Staufer says we should now adopt the motto “Greed for good” – that we can strive for profit, but should use this profit for ‘good’. This is a view that Bill Gates and Hasso Plattner certainly subscribe to.

Regardless of whether you’re founding a company or are being hired, it’s imperative to do what you stand for. Or to recap Richard Branson: What makes you happy is your purpose!

If you’d like to find out more about founders with purpose, there are some great podcasts here.

And if you’re in search of inspiration, this article contains some interesting background information on entrepreneurs and their purpose.

Photo by Jordan Madrid on Unsplash.