Illustrated Blog

We’ve all suffered through it. Whether it’s because of a sick child, late-night concert or, in my case, ridiculous vampire novel, we’ve showed up to work sleep deprived. We try to excel but can’t drum up motivation. Caring about the quality of our product or attentively listening to a coworker takes herculean effort. Without enough sleep we’re foggy, sluggish and joyless. Guess what? For performance and well-being there is something we need as critically as sufficient sleep, but get less often. What is this vital work element that most of us unknowingly lack? It’s social purpose. Social purpose involves fighting global hunger, keeping a mile of highway trash-free, taking the single mother who works across from you to visit her hospitalized daughter or otherwise making a meaningful contribution to others

Raul is why I changed college majors, attended graduate school, started my business, donated to charity last week and wrote this post. I came across Raul in Caracas, Venezuela, when I was nine years old. I was staring out the passenger-side window of the family air-conditioned sedan trying to tune out the chatter emitting from my twin 12-year old sisters with whom I shared the backseat. I was sipping syrupy soda through a blue and white striped straw. We were on a congested highway. I had no idea the carefree portion of my life was about to end. He entered the frame of my window from the left as our vehicle inched forward, a still figure between rigid rows of cars marching past. He was my size but with tattered

If you’re an American business leader, this week likely threw you into a professional conundrum: Should you take a public stand against white supremacy knowing you’ll jump into treacherous political waters? Brands have traditionally been mute on political issues and active only in apolitical societal causes — reading to children, feeding the homeless and supporting injured veterans, for example. This approach minimizes the possibility of offending, and possibly losing, customers and employees. In today’s bizarre political context, there is the additional risk that our country’s president will exert revenge on a brand. No wonder many business executives are taking shelter from the white supremacy storm behind a shield of silence. Don’t be fooled, though. Inaction in the face of nation-shocking events is replete with risks. By staying silent, you might:

Are you motivated to strengthen your community, clean up our environment or otherwise make a positive impact on others or society? If so, don’t squelch this desire to contribute for fear that you’ll neglect your own financial wellbeing. Research by Anthony Burrow from Cornell University (my alma mater!) and three other academics found the opposite to be true: purpose, defined as acting to make contributions to the world beyond ourselves, modestly increases wealth (see full research report.) Burrow and team studied over 4,500 individuals between the ages of 25 and 74. Those with a sense of purpose had roughly $2,600 higher income and $15,000 higher net worth that could not be explained by educational levels, personality or other variables but instead resulted directly from the purpose. What’s more, purpose appears to have a

During one particular week in each of the last nine seasons, the New York Yankees have won 72% of games. This not only beats their regular record, which is 56% wins, it also beats the best team in baseball on almost any day (for example, the Houston Astros lead the major leagues today with 67% wins).[1] Why do the Yankees play outrageously well during this one week every year? No, fellow Red Sox fans, it’s not because they’re trouncing our team. The best explanation is that the Yankees are on something that provides a mental high and a performance boost: Social purpose. This winning week is Yankees HOPE Week. During HOPE Week, every member of the Yankees plays a role in surprising worthy individuals, families and organizations by celebrating their

Last week a Fortune 500 executive told me he was “personally interested in [company name] making a positive social impact.” After a pause he added “But, obviously, economists would caution that corporate social responsibility is financially imprudent.” Like this gentleman, many of us assume the great economic thinkers disapproved of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In reality, most economic — and management — iconic minds considered societal good integral to business success. We’ve just somehow neglected that part of their message. Let’s start with the father of economics, Adam Smith. It’s true that his second book, The Wealth of Nations, focuses on the role of self-interest in driving markets. Yet Smith’s first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, starts by stating that we are naturally interested in “the fortunes of others

Think your fancy modern job is better than the primitive jobs of our ancestors? Maybe not. It’s unlikely cave dwellers grumbled about the day they endured to put dinner on their stone tables. Anthropologists believe pre-historic humans legitimately enjoyed working. The legacy of these happy laborers appears to survive in our genes. Why else would so many of us hunt deer, catch fish and gather berries for fun? What’s more, our modern view that work is the unpleasantness necessary for survival would confound our forefathers and foremothers. Hunter-gatherer communities didn’t even have a word for “work.” Procuring food and shelter were not distinctly different from playing with the kids or drawing on the cave wall. We upright and suited modern humans, on the other hand, mostly see work as a

Does your job feel bland and purposeless? Do you like your work but still yearn for a more meaningful existence? I suggest messing with your job — just a tad — to ignite it with purpose. You can help homeless families, protect the natural environment, support customers battling illness or otherwise do good from work. A little charitable rebelliousness in the workplace will brighten the world around you, as well as your day. If research is any indication, it might even make you love your job. This practice of making a positive social impact from everyday work is called “job purposing.” Although job purposing is often a sophisticated management practice, it can also be a small act performed by any worker. Here are a few “lite” job purposing practices: 1.   Make