CONCLUSION

What to Do Right Now

IF YOU HAVE READ TO THIS POINT OF THE BOOK, CONGRATULATIONS! You are now officially far ahead of most leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs when it comes to being prepared to thrive in the age of social good, and we hope you are eager to get started. We end this book by suggesting four things you can do right now to begin changing your leadership and your team.

First, if you are like many readers, you read the book on an airplane, on vacation, or around the edges of your life. You got the content but may not have taken the time to do the exercises. Now that you understand the principles and practices, go back through each chapter and complete the exercises, taking time to integrate what you have learned. They are all intended to help you apply the content and move toward action.

Second, find someone with whom to share the ideas presented throughout the book. There is nothing more challenging and lonely than being one person with new insight into an old system. Research shows that when people are connected to just one other person trying to make similar changes in their life (e.g., losing weight, quitting a bad habit, and so on), they are up to 400 percent more likely to make that change than when going it alone. So, find an ally and do it now. Who else in your organization or circle needs to know what you just learned? Think about who would have the most impact if they knew and, as importantly, who would be receptive to it.

Once you identify that person or group of people, share a summary of what you have learned and focus on the actions you think might make a difference in the context of your organization. Form your own informal purpose accelerator team. Invite each person to read the book and then start meeting to ask, How can we infuse more purpose in our teams and organization?

Third, do something to infuse more purpose in your organization today. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing or not doing. Don’t sit around thinking If only the CEO, my boss, or my colleagues read this book and took it seriously, something good could happen. You are an agent of change, and you are the one person you have control over. Start doing something every day to focus more on purpose.

What you do does not need to be major. It could be telling a story about purpose and the difference your work is making, asking a question about what it means to live your company’s purpose or values when making decisions, recognizing someone for making a difference (and making a big deal of it), or simply sharing your own purpose with your team and colleagues more boldly. At the end of every day, ask yourself, What did I do today to grow purpose in my team and my organization?

Don’t worry if your action seems small—just focus on making sure you have done something every single day. Each chapter in the book has a list of actions you can take. Choose your five favorites and make your own list to keep on your desk or your smartphone. Look at the list every morning before you start your day and every afternoon before you head out of the office.

Finally, start tracking your own purpose experience. Remember, what we pay attention to gets done, so start being attentive to your own moments of purpose. When you realize that you really made a difference for a customer, a client, or a team member or that you contributed to a better society or planet, take a minute to notice how good it feels. Start a journal of some kind, cataloguing your own purpose moments. Being aware of purpose will help it grow, for you and for your team.

And please share your ideas with us! Tell us what’s working and what’s not. Join the conversation at purposerevolutionbook.com. We want to build a movement of leaders who will succeed in business by changing the world. Thanks for joining us.