Leading From Purpose Podcast
Join Nick Craig, President of Core Leadership Institute and author of “Leading From Purpose: Clarity and The Confidence to Act When it Matters Most” as he interviews some of the greatest minds in the field of authentic leadership and purpose-driven leadership in the modern world.
Featured Podcasts
Purpose-washing versus Deep Purpose
On this episode of Leading from Purpose Podcast, Nick is joined by best-selling author of Deep Purpose, Ranjay Gulati. A Harvard Business School professor whose pursuit was to strategize how to unlock growth for companies in good times and in bad until he discovered that the ultimate unlock of performance in a business on all dimensions is purpose. Ranjay has studied the likes of Facebook, Best Buy, Etsy, Buhler, The LEGO Group and more to understand the business value of having a purpose to create a moral community versus a purpose statement for profit.
Listen in for how Ranjay defines purpose in a way that resonates with individuals and organizations and unveils the true challenge most people have with purpose – focusing on the self AND the consequences for the world.
Leaders have choices to make every day – how much do I give shareholders? How much do I give customers in terms of pricing? How much do I give employees? The community? The planet? It’s one thing to create value. It another thing to capture it and then have to decide how to divvy it up. Having a Deep Purpose, gives you a guiding light or framework in which you can think about the inevitable tradeoffs that will ultimately determine the trajectory of your organization.
Find out the 4 business benefits of purpose and how to make it count.
Recent Podcasts
The LEGO Group pioneered having a company purpose – was it worth the investment and what did they learn?
Snuggle in, turn up the volume and get ready for an energizing yet realistic view from the head of Talent and Development at one of the pioneers in the organizational purpose space – The LEGO Group. On this episode, Zahed Kamathia, joins Nick to chat about individual purpose, a company purpose and how a business uses purpose as a lever to create a company culture employees feel connected to and energized by. How do you attract the best talent and keep them?
Creating a company purpose isn’t the hard part, the challenge is in creating a connection between the company purpose and its employees – that is where effort and investment is required.
The LEGO Group offers a purpose course to every single employee across the world. The entire workforce has an opportunity to invest in themselves and put their own purpose into words. The experience is different for every single person, but the impact it has on the business is in the stories they share and the perspective they bring back to work. While each individual is unique, there is one common outcome – everyone discovers their purpose and it defines how they show up in the organization and connect to The LEGO Group’s purpose “to inspire the builders of tomorrow.”
Purpose isn’t just a Talent and Development tool, it impacts business results. To quote Zahed, working for The LEGO Group isn’t quite like “walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! It is a creative and fantastic place to work, but it’s also a business that is driven by innovation, growth demands and high ambitions.” In 2021 alone, the company saw historic growth in both sales and profit – their net profit grew 140%.
For The LEGO Group, its purpose isn’t just a set of words, it has meaning and is integrated into every aspect of the business, but more importantly, it’s why the top talent wants to work there. Hear more from Zahed on his personal purpose statement and how he discovered the value of “Purpose” with a capital “P.”
POWER ON: Plugging into Purpose as Your Energy Source
“When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple” -Paul Coelho
In 2021, the LEGO Group delivered record-breaking business results with revenue jumping +27% to 55.3 billion DKK and operating profit going up +32% to 17.0 billion DKK. Fueled by their mission to “Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow” the LEGO Group has mastered taking the long view on getting every child in the world to experience LEGO play. But how do LEGO leaders engage employees’ day to day with such a loft, long-term vision?
In this edition of the “Leading from Purpose” podcast, Nick Craig introduces listeners to Victor Saeijs, Regional President for Western Europe at the LEGO Group. His purpose? To “Be the Duracell Bunny that makes my team sell boats in the Sahara.” In this lively repartee, Victor describes how he uses challenging goals and new ways of working to make the impossible possible, challenging his team to reach new levels of performance while simultaneously pushing himself to new heights.
Hear how Victor’s tapped into this approach to capitalize on opportunities throughout his career and gain an appreciation for the LEGO Group’s newest challenge—helping children learn 21st century skills by making a significant contribution to learning and education.
One in a million: How a Single Determined Person Changed a Million Person Organization
“The reality is that the only way change comes is when you lead by example.” -Anne Wojcicki
With over 200 years of proud heritage and rich tradition, the United States Army is one of the largest, most sophisticated organizations in the world today. The 1.1 million person Army Force, comprised of Active Duty, the National Guard and Reserve Forces, is approximately 16% women and 30% racial minorities. Changing anything inside a bureaucracy this large is an undertaking that requires grit, willpower, and an indominable spirit—and that’s exactly what one determined woman brought to bear to change the Army for the better.
In this episode of the “Leading from Purpose” podcast, Nick Craig, talks with Dr. Andrea Peters, Army Lieutenant Colonel and West Point Assistant Professor, whose purpose is “to be the rocky jawed, gap spanning amp” that amplifies the voices of those who can’t to provide them a bridge to their future.
Listen to hear how she overcame serious illness, bureaucratic machinations, and deeply entrenched government policy to change Army regulation 670-1—Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia. Through diligence and determination, Lieutenant Colonel Peters— a second generation soldier— marshalled women leaders from across the Army to bring the military grooming standards more in line with social norms to help women— women of color in particular— express themselves more fully and feel a stronger sense of belonging in today’s all volunteer force.
If you want to hear how one person’s dogged leadership by example overcame 40 years of history, listen in to this engaging episode.
Can Purpose drive revenue?
In 2020, the most popular retailer in Australia, Bunnings, announced operating revenue increased by 13.9%, to over $14 billion. How does the company continue to see growth and remain on top? By doubling down on its commitment to being a purpose-driven organization.
On this episode, Michael Schneider, the CEO, stops by to talk about leaning in on Purpose to lead an organization through economic unknowns. Michael shared, “Our team was scared, but by creating that reassurance that we understood our Purpose and we understood what we were going after – we actually got even more out of it.”
Last year, Bunnings created jobs and opportunities to the tune of 10,000. Shifting gears from a ‘wanting more’ to a ‘doing more’ mindset helped him step into his full potential as a leader and pay it forward to his team and the customers they serve.