This post was originally posted 13 of July, 2015 on Linkedin. Revised.
I was a bit tempted to change the title to The Fastest Way to Heaven, but after a second thought, it hit me that it could sound a bit funny…
Simon Sinek put it beautifully, you have to know WHY you are doing what you are doing. If you know your WHY, it is easier to contribute, to make a change. The message is quite straight forward, just focus on Why (find your true purpose) and go out and do your best to fulfill it (=contribute).
If you fully understand WHY you are doing what you are doing, and that WHY responds to your inner self, to something that you find meaningful, wonderful things start to happen. Maybe we could even dare to use the word miracles.
As all nice adventures, even this one has some challenges.
First, let us face the fact — a lot of people (maybe even you) work with something because they believe that their job title gives them status, or they believe that it is good for their carrier, or just because their job appears to be “safe” or they stick to it because it gives them a pay check.
You can come up with many reasons why choosing a job based on other factors than the most important one: what- is-truly-meaningful-for-you.
This situation is especially notable in traditional companies. People are employed without getting to know the purpose of the company. Unfortunately, several companies have forgotten their purpose. (Their purpose has after some time been exchanged with the stock market´s value. )
The result is that traditional corporates have employees with different WHYs.
You can commit to a purpose, but as long as your company´s purpose does not align with your inner purpose, you will never connect to it on a deeper level. Even though you will do your best, you will never reach your peak performance.
For you, as an employee, it is important to find a company that has a purpose that corresponds to your own. When you find that match, it will give satisfaction, motivation and a feeling of meaningfulness.
From the organization’s point of view, you have teams and employees that do their best, but they will never perform at their best.
This is a real problem, that causes organizations to miss the opportunity to be more efficient, more prosperous and to have a bigger impact on society.
When the organization´s purpose is aligned with its employees it will automatically give more flow in work and cause less work-related stress and depression. Imagine the power of a team with join forces that strive in the same direction. (If you are a therapist or recruiter — congratulations. Good times ahead. Expect high movement on the employment market .)
Other challenges are the traditional financial structures and quarterly financial reports that make it a bit of a hard time to run a company in a modern way. This pulls your leg back to the old paradigm, so be aware to keep your focus forward. Time will come when the report system and financial structure will be changed and adjusted to the new age.
Finally, the last challenge is probably the toughest one.
The challenge is to be bold and lead with a commitment to create a positive change beyond one’s organisation. To make decisions based on impact, instead of, as in the old days, on profit.
Without question, this is a big shift. We have for ages managed our companies based on financial key figures and got successful results. We have invested in a long education, maybe even an MBA. We have read all the best practice cases of how to lead a successful company. Now the time has come to let it go.
We have to break through old structures. This calls for courage, this calls for an inner longing for a new world, this calls for a new beginning.
(Regarding the title that never got to be the title, The Fastest Way to Heaven. As the ancient wisdom says, we have to break through our fears to become who we are, to be able to step into a world in heaven, a world of miracles.)
