In a previous blog, I suggested that to start the journey to finding purpose, we need to be aware of our surroundings.  Like everything in life, this too is a balance.

Is purpose about saving the world?

It's all too often that you meet someone who is obsessed with the problems of the world.  They are so absorbed with the news of the world. Some people react to this by seeing themselves as so insignificant in relation to world events that their purpose becomes an obsession with how bad the world is.Recently I met people who were focused on the saving of the silverback gorillas in Africa, despite all the problems on their doorstep. They had become somewhat immune to their surroundings, and I suspect were using the cause far away as some sort of escape mechanism from the problems around them. Before I get flamed (or trolled) for these comments let me state unequivocally that given infinite, time and resources, I would ideally spend my time solving as many problems around the world as I could.So that goes back to the topic of this blog around finding purpose. Does purpose need to be altruistic ? Does your purpose need to be something to do with saving the world ? I don’t really think it matters if we have purpose.

Is Profit a purpose?

A few weeks ago, I was having a discussion with a potential consulting client. I asked the directors about the corporate purpose and their answer was “to make profit”.  The next logical question as a consultant was how that translates to the person working on the warehouse floor. Their response was that it did not translate, and the turnover rate of staff on the floor was 25% and relative to a country with incredibly high unemployment rates where this was regarded as acceptable. The next question was whether the staff saw the company as a place to identify with, or merely a place to earn money.  In a previous blog, I looked at why we work - and if not for pure income then what else is there as a motivator? The answer to my question was that the staff saw the company as merely a place of employment, and by extension remuneration. They did not have a real or philosophical purpose on which to hang their hat.

Global Culture Research Project

Over the last year of researching culture on a global scale, I have come across many variants on purpose in organisations around the globe. Some of those companies, despite having a purpose, vision, values and mission, ended up with a toxic culture. That said, many companies had incredibly vibrant and cohesive cultures where everyone involved understood the purpose, and to a large degree bought into that purpose.Going back to the consulting client; the question on a greater level is how does an organisation find purpose ?So, what is a good organisational purpose? And is there such a thing as a good purpose? The actual beauty of purpose is that each company (and by extension each individual) has their own purpose.The question I will leave you with today is: Should an organisation work out their purpose based on an awareness of their surroundings, or should their purpose be about how they affect the surroundings ?Future articles and blogs will consider each of these ideas.

I finish every blog with “why am I writing this?”

The answer is BECAUSE –

• Because I want to share the ideas, stories, anecdotes and business tips and traps.
• Because I want to pay it forward.
• Because I want to help people grow their businesses.
• Because I want managers to become better managers.
• Because I believe that I can “Give your business the EDGE”

If you want to discuss how I can serve your business better and add value to your business, please contact me through www.raelbricker.com  or email rael@raelbricker.comIf you would like to be a part of the largest GLOBAL CULTURE RESEARCH PROJECT, please drop me an email and we can connectRael has diverse work history, which makes him perfect to advise businesses on growing and achieving excellence as he has experienced the rollercoaster himself. From being 6000ft underground, to starting an education business (that grew to have 4000 plus students) to spending years working in venture capital, Rael has seen it all. He's listed companies on international stock exchanges, and his financial services group has settled more than $3bn in loans in 17 years.Rael Bricker holds two Masters degrees, an MBA and an MSc (Engineering). He is  currently a Fellow of the MFAA (Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia) and a Professional Member of PSA (Professional Speakers Australia).Copies of my book "Dive in" are available here :https://www.amazon.com.au/Dive-Lessons-learnt-Business-School/dp/0648311104/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536970198&sr=8-1&keywords=rael+bricker