Harnessing the power of purpose
With Aaron Hurst, Author of “The Purpose Economy”
In 1977, a young man named Marc Porat coined the term “Information Economy” in his doctoral thesis(1) at Stanford University. Embedded within our national economies, Porat argued, was a new economy that traded on information rather than physical goods.
Porat was ahead of his time, and his predictions held true as the skyscrapers and sprawling corporate campuses rose up throughout Silicon Valley and other tech hubs. But now, a new theory of our economy has emerged from Porat’s nephew Aaron Hurst. Hurst argues that we have moved beyond trading on information and that in today’s society, the new currency is purpose.
In the “Purpose Economy,” workers want more than a simple paycheck to take home at the end of the day. They even want more than engagement, which Hurst argues is focused on the needs of employers versus employees and assumes that work is fundamentally an undesirable task. In the new world order, finding purpose in one’s job is the superior factor that determines any employee’s performance and happiness at work.
Purpose is the new currency
In our ever-mobile and ever-social era, the line between work life and personal life is blurred. Employees and employers are moving towards work-life integration rather than work-life balance. And across generations and geographies, in all the places we live and work, we want our actions to matter. When it comes to work, we’re no longer satisfied with simply being satisfied.
According to Deloitte’s annual Millennial Survey in 2017(2), nine out of 10 millennials believe a business should be measured by more than just financial performance. They feel most capable of making an impact on the world via their jobs, and cleave to employers who “give back” in various ways. And LinkedIn’s Purpose At Work 2016 Global Report(3) found that actually more baby boomers than millennials consider themselves “purpose-oriented people” when it comes to work.
Purpose is not just a romantic idea; it’s a mandate that employers must embed into every aspect of their culture. “The whole dynamic must shift,” Hurst says, “To be about co-creation and work as a noble effort.” Companies that try to sideline purpose as a perk of the job — something employees are allowed to think about 20% of the time, for instance — miss the mark. As perhaps the most powerful driver for work, purpose has to be deeply integrated into every aspect of our jobs on a specific, individual level.
Intelligent machines boost human purpose
From the beginning of an employee’s tenure — starting with the hiring process — organizations need to redefine their entire approach to talent. Recruiters and human resources teams should focus on intrinsic motivation instead of extrinsic drivers like money, status, promotions, titles and perks.
“At the end of the day, technology is a tool for celebrating people.”
— Aaron Hurst
By applying a data model to the science of purpose at work, Hurst explains, any company can identify what brings meaning to its workers. Hurst now runs a company called Imperative that uses a data-driven approach to help companies identify and boost a sense of purpose for employees.
“Technology will play a key role in the shift to the Purpose Economy,” says Hurst. “It has the capability to measure what matters and set in front of employees the information that can inspire them. It can also help better connect employees and shift the business mindset from a task-oriented one to one of relationship, empathy and individual fulfillment in work.”
“By constantly using AI and data from the broader population, companies can more easily pinpoint and help people solve problems on the fly.”
— Aaron Hurst
Technology, with all its big-data and AI capability, can also ensure that every employee gets customized leadership and interpersonal communication he or she needs to prosper with purpose. Hurst is looking to artificial intelligence to help companies tap into deep personal motivation of individual workers.
Hire for purpose
Progressive companies now recognize that hiring the right talent means finding people whose purpose aligns with their own, and creating hiring and management practices that prioritize this mindset.
In the early days of the Dot-com boom, startups bent over backwards to offer incoming talent huge benefit packages and gratuitous onsite perks, and many still do. But a foosball table is no match for real inspiration. With the insight data can bring, it’s possible to look more closely at what each individual can add to a project, not just sticking John on Project X because he’s free and knows how to code, but assigning projects — and even creating projects — that will truly drive your talent from a deeper place.
As we transition from the Information Age to the Purpose Economy, Hurst’s vision for this new era is inspiring: “We can actually start to navigate the world by what’s truly meaningful to us. The impact we can have on our economy, and frankly, on the innovation of the world, is profound.”
The blueprint for a purpose-driven organization
- Discuss at the executive level how to hire, promote and engage employees around purpose.
- Use data and technology to understand what gives employees a sense of purpose.
- Bake purpose into your company’s culture.
About Aaron Hurst
Aaron Hurst is an Ashoka Fellow, entrepreneur and globally recognized leader in fields of purpose at work and social innovation. He is the CEO of Imperative and founder of the Taproot Foundation which he led for a dozen years. Aaron is the author of The Purpose Economy and has written for or been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and Bloomberg TV.
