? On Purpose Update

Hello and thanks for dropping by!

With events like fires, floods, the pandemic and Ukraine invasion, I'd be surprised if you weren't reflecting more than usual about meaning and purpose in your life?

And that's before taking personal factors into account, such as work commitments, relentless changes in routine, family duties, significant life events and general exhaustion or fatigue from juggling too many things at once.

In this update we look at the health benefits of purpose, staff engagement secrets, how businesses can move forward with a purpose agenda, talking purpose with Jo Taranto, how Ikea made its Russian operations decisions and the book, Girl, Woman, Other.

Bumper edition!

Meaning and Purpose is Healthy!

In a?Psychology Today ?article,?Douglas LaBier, Ph.D ?analyses a study into purpose as a predictor of mortality in adulthood, which finds there are significant physical and mental health benefits.

An interesting byproduct of the study is a finding that an unsuccessful search for purpose can lead to anxiety and stress, which I think raises an interesting question:

Do you really need to find a purpose or should you let your purpose find you?

In a world that has gone a bit Simon-Sinek-find-your-why mad, I'm bucking the trend and sitting in the latter camp.

That's not to say we shouldn't identify the purposeful activities that have meaning for us, it just means we don't need to spend 12-months meditating in a cave to create a fancy statement about our life's goal. Life doesn't work that way for most people. If you find it, great, if you don't, that's great too!

One thing is for sure - and I can say this from experience - defining success in life by your career or accumulated assets is a high risk strategy, because the moment it either becomes real or forever out of reach it can trigger deep personal crises.

What we can do, however, is hone in on the things we can do that most enrich and add meaning to our lives.

It's a bit of a wake up call - are you clear on what creates meaning and purpose for you? Do you prioritise it? Do you try and take on too many things instead of focusing on a few that matter?

I've created some simple and time-effective techniques to help people on their purpose journey, and you can message me if you want to know more.

The Secrets Behind of Unilever's Purpose Transformation

Paul Polman ?and?Andrew Winston 's?Net Positive?book draws on Paul's tenure at the helm of?Unilever ?and provides a wealth of experience and roadmap for putting purpose into practice. One of the many benefits of a successful transformation includes a highly energised and engaged workforce:

As little as 2-3 years ago, clarity of corporate purpose - meaning a company's benefit to society - was still regarded as a light and fluffy topic.

How things change! Today, it is seen as the engine room of performance and profitability ... including global?investors?who see it as a precondition for commercial success, which is a nice segue into ...

Moving a Business Forward with Purpose

How do you make an organisation's purpose real for people's everyday work? It's one of the biggest challenges facing companies today because it requires good planning and execution.

When it's done well it makes work inspiring and life easier for everyone, however?McKinsey & Company ?note that 70% of purpose transformations fail, so it's worth doing some hard yards up front.

I spent 90-minutes with a senior?leadership?team earlier in the week, helping to define what their next steps should be after they'd refreshed their purpose statement and are needing everyone in the business to be on the same page moving forward.

A point to reinforce is that the role of?purpose?is about creating value for the business and the society it serves - whereas?ESG?and responsible business is more about managing risk and reputation, making sure the minimum standards are in place.

Attracting, engaging, developing and retaining good employees is bolstered when purpose is genuine and pursued uniformly across the?business?- and it's the best way I know to align teams and leaders around the same goal.

As one attendee noted, the market for?talent?is tough - especially when it comes to recruiting and retaining Gen Z - and getting an edge will give their business an advantage.

Purpose isn't a passing fad, nor is it a 1-3 year project, it is the DNA of an organisation that touches every person's role. There are many barriers to overcome, such as uniform understanding and buy-in, crafting or refreshing a purpose statement, aligning incentives and integrating it into recruitment, strategy, communications and leadership development processes.

I'd love to hear about any challenges or successes you've had in this area?

Talking Purpose with Jo Taranto!

Talking Purpose in Business & Life explores why people do what they do and the impact they make, and my latest guest is the wonderful Jo Taranto, telling it like it is!

What if an innocuous local event sparked something BIG for you? That's what happened for?Jo Taranto , and her business became the change she is passionate about, leading to her involvement in?Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 's War on Waste and an appearance on Q&A.

Here's the link to the preview , and the the full episode is here .

How did IKEA Decide what to do with its Russian operations?

An interesting listen if you are searching for a good podcast. This is a fascinating interview with Ikea CEO,?Jesper Brodin , giving deep insight into how the company's purpose connects to the factors it weighed up in making its decision to shut Russian stores and export operations, but keep its malls open.

You can access the podcast here and find my summary in this post .

Currently Reading - Girl, Woman, Other ??

I love books that deliver insights into the experiences and mindsets of others, and I can truly say that Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Everisto is the 'bomb' in this regard.

It follows the paths of several characters who are loosely connected by a central event, and you find out a lot about life in this fictional story.

The Sunday Times review says it all, "... cracks open a world that needs to be known."

I've also learned that a big advantage of being in a book club is that it steers you towards books that you might not have read if left to your own devicMeanes.

So, what are you reading?

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As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my newsletter or if there's a topic that you think we should be talking about more.

Yours on Purpose

Phil Preston

Purpose Development Expert

Speaker | Facilitator | Advisor | Coach | Author

E | [email protected]