7 BOOKS FOR PURPOSE LOVERS
We are seeing how the market, investors, consumers, and society in general are clearly demanding that companies generate a positive impact on their environment and on the planet through their activities. Brands that are doing so are improving their profitability because employees want to work in Purposeful companies, consumers prefer to buy products that generate a positive impact, investors are betting on sustainable funds, etc.
For those who believe that the world is changing, that there is another way of doing business and that companies have to play a fundamental role in that change, from within, reinventing their way of working and placing social impact at the center of their activity, we want to recommend some books to them. Son Books on Business Purpose that inspire us and give us ideas for getting fresh air this summer.
Grow the Pie, by Alex Edmans
It is one of the reference books on business purpose for those who are interested in being part of the new capitalism. Based on academic evidence, but with very practical ideas and under the need to combine profitability with Purpose in business. It was chosen Book of the Year for companies by Financial Times in 2020.
Grit, the Power of Passion and Perseverance
Written by Angela Duckworth, this book allows us to learn about passion and sustained persistence to improve our resilience, ambition and self-control on the path to achieving our goals. A journey that can take us months, years and even decades.
Her research came about when, as a math teacher, Duckworth realized that IQ wasn't the only differentiating factor between successful and non-successful students. For years, I have researched the short- and long-term effects of the grit technique on school performance, work, and personal relationships.
TrailBlazer, by Marc Benioff
What is the secret for a company to grow and innovate and for your professional career to be driven by a Purpose in a world that is becoming immensely more complicated every day? The answer, for Marc Benioff, is to adopt a culture in which your values permeate and form part of everything you do.
The author of the book is president, founder and co-CEO of Salesforce, voted Top Innovator of the Decade by Forbes magazine, one of the great leaders according to Fortune magazine and one of the 10 best CEOs by the Harvard Business Review.
“Impact”, by Sir Ronald Cohen
The social impact guru published his book “Impact” last year. A book that shows how the push of impact investment is turning our economic system upside down, transforming the private sector and moving from being an element of pollution and inequality to being an element of positive impact; distributing opportunities more fairly and providing solutions to major social and environmental challenges. And, according to Cohen, this revolution called the Impact Revolution is going to be as innovative and disruptive as the Technological Revolution was in its day.
“A World of Three Zeros”, by Muhammad Yunus
It is a book that is based on three premises: zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions. Its author, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006, is one of the world's leading references in ecology and social economy. Founder of Grameen Bank, aims to encourage microcredit to people with few resources to promote social and economic development.
The Man in Search of Meaning, by Viktor Frankl
The Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl Who recounts his time in the concentration camps in the book gives us a lesson about overcoming and the search for the meaning of life. Through the personal construction of personal freedom and human dignity, it manages to remind us of the importance of purpose in what we do.
“The Heart of Business” by Best Buy's CEO
Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and the architect of the spectacular change of direction of this American company, presents his personal guide to achieving extraordinary results by putting people and Purpose at the heart of the business.
In 2012, “everyone thought we were going to die,” Joly says. Eight years later, Best Buy was transformed when Joy and her team made this company one of the country's preferred employers, greatly increased customer satisfaction and dramatically increased the share price of Best Buy. They also succeeded in making Best Buy a leader in sustainability and innovation.
The Heart of Business is a guide for leaders willing to abandon old paradigms and lead with Purpose and humanity. It shows how we can reinvent capitalism and contribute to a sustainable future.
Which of these books on business purpose have you decided to start with? Find out more at Our blog!
