Better thinking and decision-making
How to Measure Your Impact on the World
Introducing the Purpose-Influence-Power Model
Do you have an idea how you impact the world? Would you like to know how you compare on a relative basis?
We’re living in times when individuals can reach more fellow humans than ever before. This is because the world’s population has never been larger and our tools to reach others have never been more powerful. As a result, people today can do great good but also great harm.
Introducing the Purpose-Influence-Power Model
The Purpose-Influence-Power Model gives us a helpful tool to examine individuals’ relative impact. Let me explain a few terms and then we can fill in some details and try our model out.
What Does Purpose Mean?
Purpose means both what you are trying to achieve and the likely outcome, at least directionally. Important: you don’t get credit for good intentions alone.
If you are trying to feed your family but you do so by selling drugs or stealing, you’re trending towards the left side of the chart — causing harm. We say this even though your stated intention may be to help others, i.e. your family.
