Purpose and Authenticity in Companies

We all interact with big companies in many ways, every day, and more and more what we expect from them is changing.That’s what I spoke about with Joe Pine of Strategic Horizons this week on the Higher Purpose Podcast: what purpose and authenticity mean for companies. Listen to the full episode here, and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes!What I’d like to discuss today is what that means for those of us who engage with them!Joe brings up the idea that as our society as developed, we have moved from one kind of business to another – from agrarian communities, to commodity-based industry, to a service economy and now, to an EXPERIENTIAL economy, where in order to compete and succeed, companies need to help their customers have an experience that resonates with them, and possible, helps them transform from one way of being into another.This is a fascinating idea because it turns a company from a provider of a product or service to something that plays a significant role in our lives.The danger inherent here is that we don’t necessarily know what the purpose of a company is, or if they are fulfilling on it in a way that we agree is authentic.I think most of us have had the experience of learning that a company we knew and trusted was engaged in abusive or exploitative practices, and because we’re in the age of experiential business – that can feel like a real betrayal of trust as well as something that is independently wrong or illegal.Because we have these emotional ties to the companies we work with, it becomes more and more important for us to choose to align ourselves with organizations whose values are in line with our own. Similarly, companies are making more and more effort to find the people whose views align with THEIRS.“Worldview Segmentation” is something that didn’t exist 10 years ago, but now it plays a huge part in how companies approach and consider us for engagement and advertising. Companies consider how we vote, worship, relax, travel, browse the internet, work and spend time with our families – they know a lot about us from our behavior, and it’s often much more difficult to learn about the real values and practices of companies that we interact with.This is a pretty theoretical topic for the week – so in the Higher Purpose Facebook group, we're going to be very practical ;-) and talk about how keeping a focus on your PURPOSE even through changes (either personal or professional) will mean that you always have clarity.I’d also recommend you listen to the whole interview to get more information about how companies are thinking about purpose and authenticity, and what it means to you.Other things that we talked about during the interview were:

• How people want to buy things that are real from people who are genuine.
• How Joe developed the philosophies behind his several books.
• What it means to have almost everything we buy be customizable.
• How mindset affects how well businesses perform.

What do you think about this? Do you try to engage with companies who have similar values to you?Do you think the workplace is becoming more human? Do you see this in your own work? If you are feeling less than fulfilled in your work, I invite you to join the 5-day Purpose at Work email challenge! Every day for 5 days, I’ll send you a challenge to help you find more purpose in your work.