Passion, Purpose and Productivity

I received an email recently from author and business consultant, Dr. Theresa Szczurek (www.tmsworld.com). In it, Dr. Szczurek asserts that "when you find your passion and align it with a worthwhile purpose, you are more productive."

I completely agree, for in this statement lies the principle (the word "purpose") of finding meaning. Yet too many individuals wait for their work to provide meaning, as if somehow their employer or their job were responsible for establishing the meaning. This simply does not and cannot happen. Rather, each of us has the uniquely human ability to define for ourselves the meaning (or the "seed of meaning") in each and every situation, including our work.

This by no means implies that every job is wonderful or will make us feel fulfilled. Rather, as Dr. Szczurek points out, when you bring passion to your work, and when your work is aligned with a meaninful purpose for you, the harmony created spurs productivity. Even where you don't feel that passion, however, you still have the ability to define the meaning of the situation for yourself (including the possibility that your current job is not fulfilling or rewarding because it is not in alignment with your values).

The pursuit of passionate purpose (which is also the title of Dr. Szczurek's book - see http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471703249/sr=8-1/qid=1146232957/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6686136-9048931?%5Fencoding=UTF8) is a worthwhile endeavor. But don't forget the role the YOU play in bringing meaning to every situation, even one that may not generate "passion." If you look for the "seed of meaning," you'll move more quickly toward your own purpose and your passion.

The Power of Beliefs and Thoughts on Circumstances: William Shakespeare, James Allen, Viktor Frankl and St. Paul

The ideas embodied in the BAR Formula™ are not new. There are as old as mankind itself and they restate a universally true set of principles: that which man contemplates and chooses to believe through his thoughts will become reflected in his actions, which inevitably lead to the results he achieves.

William Shakespeare summed this up when he said "There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so."

Three centuries later James Allen, author of "As a Man Thinketh," wrote, "A particular train of thought persisted in, be it good or bad, cannot fail to produce its results on the character and the circumstances. A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances."

Viktor Frankl, Nazi prison camp survivor and author of "Man's Search for Meaning", encouraged us to ask of ourselves at any moment in time, “What is life asking of me, in this moment? Exercise your freedom to choose in answer to this question. This is the most distinguishing, fundamental principle that sets man apart from the rest of creation.”

These three authors were in effect stating the BAR Formula™. That is, while we may not be able to directly change the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we CAN directly affect our response to them through our Beliefs and our Actions. In doing so, not only will we directly influence our Results, but by exercising our unique ability to choose our attitude and to find the seed of meaning in every situation, we will influence our circumstances.

St. Paul understood this connection between thoughts, beliefs and results when he wrote in Chapter 4 of his Letters to the Philippians that our thoughts should remain on those things that are positive and uplifting: "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Action, then, starts from a conscious decision to reframe our beliefs around those things that are beautiful, excellent, and possible within each one of us. With that mindset, we can approach the circumstances of our lives with a much more empowering set of beliefs, which in turn will enable us to find the meaning in our lives and will drive our actions in a positive direction. Doing so will lead to circumstances that support those beliefs, reinforce our actions, and lead us on a path of continuous improvement and fulfillment.

Building Great Companies and Great Jobs Through Contribution & Commitment

A business colleague of mine once wrote that a business owner must ask and answer 4 basic questions: (1) What do I need and want out of life? (2) How can my company help me accomplish that? (3) What would such a company look like? and (4) How do I get my company to look like that?

While these 4 questions are extremely useful, I believe that the first question is slightly off the mark. As I've said in earlier posts on this blog, we each have the ability to define for ourselves the meaning in every moment. The deepest meaning in our lives derives out of love, which is expressed in our relationships with others. Love, in turn, is expressed in the form of what we give, not what we get.

To build a great company (or a great job), it seems to me that the 4 questions above make a great deal of sense, with one important variation. The first of the 4 questions should be reconsidered as "What unique talents and abilities am I committed to using at work in service to others?" The answer to this question gets to the heart of meaning in the world of work, which is found in its highest form when we make a conscious decision to apply our unique gifts and talents in service to others.

In addition, this revised question includes the critical element of commitment, for it is only that to which each of us is committed that we will pursue in the face of obstacles and setbacks. Deep, abiding meaning and personal satisfaction comes from the experience of giving the best that we have to offer in service to a cause or mission that is bigger than any one of us and that provides a benefit to others.

So the correct question isn't "what do I want", but rather "What unique talents and abilities am I committed to using at work in service to others?" Great companies and great jobs can be built from this and the other 3 questions described above.

Man's Search for Meaning and The 3 Life Questions

Way back (today it seems like way, WAY back) in high school one of my teachers had us read "On Death and Dying" by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. The book was a summary of Dr. Kubler-Ross's interviews with terminally ill individuals. Dr. Kubler-Ross concluded that those facing impending death, when looking back over their lives, all analyzed their lives in the answers to three basic questions: "Did I give and receive love? Did I become all that I could be? Did I leave the world a little better?"

Those three questions have stuck with me ever since. I'm not facing impending death (at least, not to my knowledge!), yet one of MY underlying beliefs (see the BAR Formula™ discussion below) is that these 3 Life Questions really do matter. In fact, they matter so much that, for me, I try to be sure that I can answer these 3 questions in the affirmative, every day. I figure that if I can answer these three questions in the affirmative every day, I'll be able to answer them in the affirmative at the end of my life.

It also seems to me that relationships are the key to answering these 3 Life Questions affirmatively. It is in and through our relationships with others that we give and receive love (Life Question #1). By giving and receiving love, we become all that we can be. After all, being in a state of true, unselfish love is the highest state of being for we humans and is how we truly "become all that we can be" (Life Question #2). That state can take many forms and includes one's relationship with oneself, another person (spouse, significant other, children, friends, family members, etc.), and (for those who believe this) one's creator, higher power, or universal consciousness.

The fact that becoming all that one can be happens in and through our relationships with others also leads to the answer to Life Question #3: "Did I leave the world a little better?" This question asks not about what you "got" out of life, but what you contributed. Contribution, of course, takes many forms. But the most impactful forms of contribution are those that produce a benefit to others, not (exclusively) to yourself.

It is in the pursuit of being able to answer these 3 Life Questions on a daily basis that we also uncover the meaning of our lives which, as Dr. Viktor Frankl accurately said in his book, "Man's Search for Meaning", is the ulitmate purpose of man's existence. Moreover, as Frankl said, each of us, through our uniquely human capacity to choose our meaning and to identify the "seed of meaning" in every moment of our lives (in both good and bad experiences), can define for ourselves the meaning that our lives have.

As Dr. Alex Pattakos pointed out in "Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl's Principles at Work" (www.prisonersofourthoughts.com), this uniquely human capacity to define the meaning of our lives is particularly important to apply in our work. (Additional thoughts on this topic may be found at Dr. Pattakos's blog at the Global Dialogue Center http://www.globaldialoguecenter.blogs.com/meaning).

I believe the 3 Life Questions and the principles described by Frankl and Pattakos are directly linked and should be applied in the world of work. So much of our lives are bound up in what we do for a living that it would be silly to leave the pursuit of meaning and the desire to answer the 3 Life Questions affirmatively to our "non-work" experiences. Rather, I challenge business owners, managers, and "rank-and-file" staff members to consider the 3 Life Questions and Frankl's principles in the context of the business enterprise. To what degree is the organization and its internal workings enabling all of its stakeholders (investors, employees, suppliers, customers) to give and receive love? To become all that each can be? To leave the world a little better?

Many will scoff at this notion. Yet I argue that the 3 Life Questions, coupled with Frankl's correct assertion that "meaning" is man's highest purpose, are directly related and must be included in the world of work if organizations wish to attract the best people and become sustainable. Relationships matter. They are where meaning is discovered. This is as true among the various stakeholders in the workplace as it is in the more intimate relationships that exist between individuals outside of work.

It's worth considering....

Organizations and the BAR Formula™

How do organizations utilize the BAR Formula™? Organizations often do not take the time to consider the path that they are on or the deeper meaning behind their work. All too often, tensions build up within an organization, particularly when the results are less than satsifactory. When the organization does take time to review its (or its employees') performance, the examination usually centers around the objective numbers on the financial reports and the actions that may have caused the numbers to be what they are (both positive and negative). By focusing on results and actions, these evaluations only look at 2 of the three components of the BAR Formula™.

To be truly effective, an organization needs to be willing to look deeper. Actions, and the results produced by those actions, are driven by the individual and collective beliefs of the people within the organization. Therefore an overall assessment of the organization must include an examination of the organization's belief systems. Those that are empowering should be reinforced and celebrated. Those that are not should be eliminated entirely or at least marginalized as much as possible.

For example, in many smaller companies (where the founder is still involved), I often find that decision-making occurs at the highest level in the organization (namely, by the founder). In these circumstances I usually find that the founder is extremely burned out and frustrated with the lack of accountability or concern that she/he perceives among the staff. The staff, in turn, feel disempowered and disconnected from the organization's deeper purpose.

What's usually going on in these circumstances is a belief system within the organization that says that all decisions need to be made by the founder. Quite often this reflects the entrepreneurial nature of a startup enterprise where the founder is the source of psychological (and physical) energy, vision, and capital. However, over time the fact that the founder feels compelled to make every decision becomes an ingrained belief within the organization. This belief, in turn, drives the actions of the employees. Rather than trying to think for themselves or make decisions that involve any risk at all (including such monumental decisions as whether to buy pens and stationery at Office Depot or Costco), employees run to the founder every time. The founder at first feels in control of his/her "baby," but soon grows frustrated with the lack of imagination and responsibility of the staff. "Why can't they make a simple decision?" the founder wonders.

Of course they CAN make this decision; they are simply operating under an erroneous BELIEF that they are not supposed to make any decisions. The belief drives the actions of the employees, which in turn produces a series of results (frustration and burnout by the owner; frustration and disempowerment by the employees).

Many additional examples can be given. Suffice it to say that, as with individuals seeking to create better results, organizations that are looking to produce more effective results need to break the age-old habit of examining only results and actions and instead go deeper by looking at, defining, and questioning the organization's deeply-rooted beliefs. It is in the belief system that the organization likely will find the key to the results that are being produced.