The purpose of Purpose
There are many objections we see out in the world to the growing movement for more purpose-driven businesses. Those objections come in several flavors. Here are a few:
The silly
“Well purpose can’t solve every problem.”
As if anyone ever said it could.
The grumpy
“I’ve worked for 30 years, and my boss never talked to me about purpose!”
Um, yeah. We’ve advanced in many ways over the past 30 years. Do you really want to wind the clock back? Should we get rid of penicillin too?
The thoughtful
“Why isn’t it enough for businesses to obey the law, make great products, and give people an opportunity to earn a living?”
It’s December. I’m trying to write a short article for once. Don’t ask me tough questions!
There’s a particular objection I want to focus on here. I’ve seen it on LinkedIn more than once. It always comes across to me in a snarky obnoxious know-it-all kind of way. As if the person making this objection uniquely sees Purpose for what it is — a fad unworthy of the consideration of serious businesspeople.
So here’s the objection:
Why should I care about the purpose of the company that makes my toilet paper?!
The point here is that not every product needs a higher purpose. And that as consumers, it is not only unnecessary for our toilet paper company to declare a purpose, it is absurd.
Nope.
Not so.
This objection can only come from someone who just doesn’t understand what purpose is.
My response to this particular objection is: Why do you believe that people who work for a toilet paper manufacturer don’t deserve meaningful work?
And that is really the purpose of Purpose: to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to engage in work that is meaningful to them.
This is not a fad. It is older and more grounded in reality than the concept of a corporation. One of the most core and enduring aspects of human nature is our desire to have an impact on the world. Including through our work.
That doesn’t mean we all have to save the whales.
Meaning is not binary nor is there a finite amount of it in the world.
Perhaps it’s true that someone who makes cancer-curing drugs is engaging in more meaningful work than someone who makes toilet paper.
Perhaps.
But I think it’s pretty damn arrogant for anyone to believe that they get to decide for the world how meaningful something is.
You may not give a shit about the purpose of your toilet paper company. [Insert obvious joke…] But there are many people who spend the majority of their waking hours working at toilet paper companies and the like. They are no less deserving of meaningful work than anyone else. And the fact that the product they make is lowbrow and low cost is totally irrelevant to the issue of meaning.
Remember the story of the janitor at Cape Canaveral who said to JFK when asked about his work “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.” No matter that this story is probably apocryphal. It makes a good point.
We all have a right to meaningful work.
So let’s do what we can to support continued efforts to make work more purposeful.
Even for the janitor at Cape Canaveral.
And yes, even for the people that make your toilet paper.
