Purpose-driven organizations step into the spotlight

Andrew Hewitt, an in-demand speaker and best-selling author, seemed to get his start by feeling empathy. He witnessed his university friends entering high-status careers only to find themselves disenchanted with the corporate mentality of “profit-at-all-cost.” Those feelings of empathy led Hewitt to ask himself some questions: “Why is it that we spotlight the Fortune 500, a list that benchmarks success based on revenue alone? What if we created a new list that showcased the growing movement of organizations maximizing their positive impact rather than just maximizing their profit?” Those questions led to what he calls his “aha” moment: the GameChangers 500. The GC500 is a list that highlights “force for good” businesses whose objectives are to maximize benefit to people and the planet. With the help of experts in the field, Hewitt assembled a research team that reviewed thousands of organizations around the globe, rating them in nine categories, or “badges,” of best practices. The result is a list that not only identifies the world’s top purpose-driven companies, but also points the way for new graduates searching for meaningful careers. As I’ve written before, when organizations implement our Affirmative Leadership program, everyone involved learns how to make a major leadership contribution, and the organization as a whole becomes more purpose-driven and productive. Affirmative Leaders understand that they exist in a larger social context and act to build Affirmative Leadership capabilities in other organizations and more generally in society. It’s refreshing to see that the next generation of leaders has a clear roadmap to finding purpose-driven organizations.]]>