This session presents the overwhelming evidence that purpose is a primary motivator of the people who ultimately produce results in organizations. Zach is the author of "The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of Authentic Purpose."

1. Zach Mercurio
Author, Lecturer, Consultant
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado USA
The Case for Purpose

2. There are no companies,
shareholders, markets,
and economies.
@ZachMercurio
…only human beings.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

3. @ZachMercurio
Purpose compels people.
Purpose drives results.
Purpose builds strategy.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

4. @ZachMercurio
Purpose (n.): the reason for
which something exists, is
done, or created.
What is
purpose?
Source: Dictionary.com
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

5. @ZachMercurio
The qualities of a
powerful purpose.
Human-centered.
Shared and believed.
Detached from results.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

6. Purpose
compels people.
@ZachMercurio
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

7. We are wired to search for
meaning – the “Why?”
@ZachMercurio
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

8. @ZachMercurio
Purpose
compels people.
80% of people would continue to work if they won the lottery.
51% of workers would take a lower paying job with more meaning.
Sources: Morse & Weiss, 1955; Šverko & Super, 1995;
Kelly Global Workforce Index, 2009
#1ranked as important by workers is “self-realization” and “meaningfulness.”
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

9. @ZachMercurio
Purpose
compels people.
?
Source: Senge, 2006
PURPOSE
HARMONIZED
ENERGY
WASTED ENERGY

10. @ZachMercurio
Purpose is other-centered and
activates emotion.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

11. @ZachMercurio
Purpose
compels people.
“We are not
thinking machines
that feel; rather we
are feeling
machines that
think.”
– Antonio Damasio
Sources: Ted.com; Damasio, 2006
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

12. @ZachMercurio
Results push, purpose pulls.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

13. @ZachMercurio
“My job existed all this time to
save my own life.”
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

14. @ZachMercurio
The Purpose
Effect
7
2x
42%
Average number of years longer
people with purpose live.
More likely to be content.
More likely to learn something
new everyday.
Sources: Hill, 2014; Leider, 2015
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

15. @ZachMercurio
The Purpose
Effect
4x
50%
#1
More engaged at work.
Factor in job satisfaction.
More likely to
be promoted.
Sources: Gallup, 2014; NYU/Imperative, 2015
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

16. @ZachMercurio
The Purpose
Effect
73%PEOPLE WHO SAID THEY CARE ABOUT A
COMPANY’S VALUES AND NOT JUST THE
PRODUCT WHEN PURCHASING.
Source: BBMG, 2015
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

17. @ZachMercurio
Purpose drives
results.
Purpose compels
the people who
drive the results.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

18. @ZachMercurio
The power of a human story.
Source: Grant, 2007
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

19. @ZachMercurio
The power of a human story.
Source: NY Times, 2009
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

20. @ZachMercurio
Purpose drives
results.
Re-humanizing the
narrative throughout a
company drives results.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

21. @ZachMercurio
Purpose drives
results.
Source: Harvard Business Review, 2015
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

22. @ZachMercurio
Purpose drives
results.
Source: Harvard Business Review, 2015
• 90% of employees surveyed indicated that the purpose
initiative made them feel more pride in KPMG
• 8.1% global growth, the fastest growth rate among the “Big 4”
firms
• KPMG rose 17 spots on Fortune’s 100 Best Places to Work List
and received the highest rating ever for a “Big 4” accounting firm
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

23. @ZachMercurio
Purpose drives
results.
Purpose-led people and
companies aren’t productive
because they have to be, but
because they deeply want to
be.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

24. @ZachMercurio
Purpose drives
results.
6:1ratio at which higher purpose-oriented companies outperform peers.
58%of purpose-oriented firms experienced growth of over 10% in 2014.
Source: Collins & Porras, 2005; Ernst & Young, 2015
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

25. @ZachMercurio
Purpose drives
results.
10xpurpose-driven brands global performance than competitors
$1.5 billionincrease of Dove soap sales in a decade since adopting a bigger, human-oriented, and
shared purpose.
Source: Stengel, 2012; Unilever, 2016
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

26. @ZachMercurio
Purpose builds
strategy.
Purpose
Discovered
Source: Helgi Library, 2017
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

27. @ZachMercurio
Our ultimate purpose is to inspire and develop children to
think creatively, reason systematically and release their
potential to shape their own future - experiencing the
endless human possibility.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

28. @ZachMercurio
This is where most
organizations and
people stop.
Purpose builds
strategy.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

29. @ZachMercurio
Belief is the activator of
purpose.
Purpose builds
strategy.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

30. @ZachMercurio
Source: Starbucks Newsroom, 2017
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

31. @ZachMercurio
Purpose builds
strategy.
People don’t care why
you say you exist
unless you prove it
every day.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

32. @ZachMercurio
Source: WellsFargo.com, 2016
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

33. @ZachMercurio
Source: Spence & Rushing, 2008
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

34. @ZachMercurio
Purpose builds
strategy.
• Drive profitability
• Drive innovation
• Boost productivity
• Increase competitiveness
• Customer service quality
• Maximize competitiveness
• Maximize efficiency,
reliability, quality
• Maximize profitability
• Industry-leading
• Customer service quality
• Increase competitiveness
• Lowest cost/highest
quality
• Maximize productivity
• Maximize energy
efficiency
• Industry-leading
• Responsive customer
service
COMPANY A COMPANY B COMPANY C
What do you notice?
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

35. @ZachMercurio
Purpose builds
strategy.
We want to make the world better.
We care about your business first.
We care about helping you achieve your vision.
Automating with us can…
• Increase competitiveness
• Maximize productivity
• Maximize energy efficiency
• Help you lead in your industry
Working with us will…
• Provide responsive customer and
technical support
• Ensure on-time, on-quality
delivery
• Provide flexible solutions
COMPANY C
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

36. @ZachMercurio
Purpose builds
strategy.
Others can copy what
you do and how you do
it, but they can’t copy
why you are.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

37. @ZachMercurio
Action.
Purpose is not easy. It
takes a mindset shift
and intentional,
consistent strategy.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

38. @ZachMercurio
Action.
Purpose is NOT a trend.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

39. @ZachMercurio
Action.
Purpose is NOT
reserved for social and
environmental
enterprises.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

40. @ZachMercurio
Action.
Purpose is NOT a
statement or branding.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

41. @ZachMercurio
Action.
1. Refocus on the problem,
not your solutions.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

42. @ZachMercurio
Action.
2. Know the human being at
the end of your supply or
service chain.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

43. @ZachMercurio
Action.
3. Become story-tellers and
story-collectors.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

44. @ZachMercurio
Action.
4. Clarify your purpose.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

45. I/we exist to…
_________________
___________________
to _________________.
VERB
HUMANS, WHO?
ACTION, FEELING, ETC.
Copyright 2017 Zach Mercurio

46. @ZachMercurio
Action.
5. Align all operations with
purpose.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

47. @ZachMercurio
Purpose compels people.
Purpose drives results.
Purpose builds strategy.
© 2017 Zach Mercurio

48. Coming October, 2017
www.ZachMercurio.com

49. Thank you!
@ZachMercurio
ZachMercurio

50. @ZachMercurio
References
Heider, F., & Simmel, M. (1944). An experimental study of apparent behavior. The American Journal of Psychology, 57(2), 243-259.
Peter, S. (1990). The fifth discipline. The Art & Practice of Learning Organization. Doupleday Currence, New York.
Morse, N. C., & Weiss, R. S. (1955). The function and meaning of work and the job. American Sociological Review, 20(2), 191-198.
Super, D. E., & Šverko, B. E. (1995). Life roles, values, and careers: International findings of the Work Importance Study. Jossey-Bass.
Kelly Global Workforce Index: http://www.kellyservices.com/Global/Kelly-Global-Workforce-Index/
Damasio, A. R. (2006). Descartes' error. Random House.
Leider, R. J. (2015). The power of purpose: Creating meaning in your life and work. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Hill, P. L., & Turiano, N. A. (2014). Purpose in life as a predictor of mortality across adulthood. Psychological science, 25(7), 1482-1486.

51. @ZachMercurio
References
Gallup Organization (2014) Why Your Company Must Be Mission-Driven: http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/167633/why-company-
mission-driven.aspx
.
Thorpe, D. (2015). Purpose-Oriented Employees Outperform Their Peers. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/devinthorpe/2015/12/22/4988/#3e6f1c693211
Grant, A. M. (2007). Relational job design and the motivation to make a prosocial difference. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 393-417.
Kraft, D. (2009). Radiologist Adds a Human Touch: Photos. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/health/07pati.html?_r=0
Pfau, B. (2015). How An Accounting Firm Convinced Its Employees They Could Change the World. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-an-accounting-firm-convinced-its-employees-they-could-change-the-world
Collins, J. C., & Porras, J. I. (2005). Built to last: Successful habits of visionary companies. Random House.
Ernst & Young (2015). The Business Case for Purpose. http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-the-business-case-for-purpose/$FILE/ey-
the-business-case-for-purpose.pdf

52. @ZachMercurio
References
50 Fastest Growing Brands in the World: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120117005066/en/Millward-Brown-
Partnership-Jim-Stengel-Reveals-50
Spence, R., & Rushing, H. (2008). It's Not what You Sell, It's what You Stand for. Brilliance Audio.