Two distinguished scholars offer eight steps to help organizations discover and embrace an authentic higher purpose—something that will dramatically improve every aspect of any enterprise, including the bottom line. What does a lofty notion like purpose have to do with business basics like the bottom line? Robert E. Quinn and Anjan J. Thakor say pretty much everything. Leaders and managers are taught that employees are self-interested and work resistant, so they create systems of control to combat these expectations. Workers resent these systems, and performance suffers. To address the performance issues, managers double down on the coercion, creating a vicious cycle and a self-fulfilling prophecy. But there is a better way. Quinn and Thakor show that when an authentic higher purpose permeates business strategy and decision-making, the cycle is broken. Employers and employees see themselves as working together toward an inspiring goal, not just trying to hit quarterly targets. They fully engage, become proactive contributors, and, ironically, easily exceed those quarterly targets. Based on their widely acclaimed Harvard Business Review article, Quinn and Thakor offer eight sometimes surprising steps for shifting from a transaction-oriented mind-set focused on constraints to a purpose-oriented mind-set focused on possibility. This iconoclastic book will help any organization discover its authentic purpose and weave it into the fabric of everything it does, leading to unprecedented levels of personal satisfaction, service and product innovation, and economic growth.

Universities of the 21st century and beyond must be about teaching, learning, research excellence, creativity and innovation as much as they must be about enabling the destiny of students, communities and nations to realize their potential. UJ succeeded in her vision and responsibilities to transform the divisions, prejudices and limitations that often restrain the advancement of society. The story of UJ’s transition to an inclusive, diverse, dynamic, bold and purposeful institution of learning demands to be read by everyone, South African, African and beyond. It is a story of how to be an object rather than the subject of history, while dynamically shaping our shared futures, laying a solid foundation for future generations to be advocates and architects for social change and cohesion. It is a story of courageous and visionary leadership. The book offers our nation profound lessons in leadership that should enrich all our efforts to transform institutions in a sustainable way, to play a meaningful role in building ONE NATION. - DR WENDY LUHABE, Economic Activist, Social Entrepreneur, First Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg

Thinkers50 Top 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 A distinguished Harvard Business School professor offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent years than the notion of corporate purpose, and for good reason. Too many companies deploy purpose, or a reason for being, as a promotional vehicle to make themselves feel virtuous and to look good to the outside world. Some have only foggy ideas about what purpose is and conflate it with strategy and other concepts like “mission,” “vision,” and “values.” Even well-intentioned leaders don’t understand purpose’s full potential and engage half-heartedly and superficially with it. Outsiders spot this and become cynical about companies and the broader capitalist endeavor. Having conducted extensive field research, Ranjay Gulati reveals the fatal mistakes leaders unwittingly make when attempting to implement a reason for being. Moreover, he shows how companies can embed purpose much more deeply than they currently do, delivering impressive performance benefits that reward customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and communities alike. To get purpose right, leaders must fundamentally change not only how they execute it but also how they conceive of and relate to it. They must practice what Gulati calls deep purpose, furthering each organization’s reason for being more intensely, thoughtfully, and comprehensively than ever before. In this authoritative, accessible, and inspiring guide, Gulati takes readers inside some of the world’s most purposeful companies to understand the secrets to their successes. He explores how leaders can pursue purpose more deeply by navigating the inevitable tradeoffs more deliberately and effectively to balance between short- and long-term value; building purpose more systematically into every key organizational function to mobilize stakeholders and enhance performance; updating organizations to foster more autonomy and collaboration, which in turn allow individual employees to work more purposefully; using powerful storytelling to communicate a reason for being, arousing emotions and building a community of inspired and committed stakeholders; and building cultures that don’t merely support purpose, but also allow employees to link the corporate purpose to their own personal reasons for being. As Gulati argues, a deeper engagement with purpose holds the key not merely to the well-being of individual companies but also to humanity’s future. With capitalism under siege and relatively low levels of trust in business, purpose can serve as a radically new operating system for the enterprise, enhancing performance while also delivering meaningful benefits to society. It’s the kind of inspired thinking that businesses—and the rest of us—urgently need.

LIVING FOR A HIGHER PURPOSE is part history book and part personal diary. As these parts weave together, you will see the divine presence and secrets of life that helped Viet survive a harrowing journey after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Viet relied on the protection of his ancestors and the help of guardian angels—kind and generous people—that God sent to him. Most important, he looked to his loving God and a higher purpose to stay alive and move forward each day. This book guides you through the many stories of Viet’s life that helped him determine his higher purpose. Interspersed with Viet’s life story are reflections on current issues such as war and its victims, refugees and their life challenges, life under a Communist regime, core curriculum, how the world views America, the relationship between Catholicism (Christianity) and Buddhism, and much more. Viet’s reflections on his life and current issues guides you to the secret of a fulfilling and joyful life: Use your life to serve Jesus and other people. By sticking to purposeful living, you will find meaning and unending joy even in the darkest night of your soul. Always trust in God’s love on the Cross of Jesus to guide, protect, strengthen, and encourage you!

In the American political system today, courage and the presidency are rarely spoken of in the same sentence. Forgotten is the wisdom of Andrew Jackson: "One man of courage makes a majority." Thomas J. Whalen's A Higher Purpose seeks to prove the truth behind Jackson's words by relating the stories of nine historic decisions made by commanders-in-chief over two centuries of American history. From Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation to Theodore Roosevelt's confrontation with the business trusts, these vignettes show how some of our presidents have demonstrated the capacity to place their political lives on the line for a higher purpose.

The questions raised in the book of Job are especially difficult. We take them on straight up. Using a unique abstract approach, this book walks the reader through Job and provides deep, intricate answers.

What if you could improve your physical health while deepening your spiritual life? In Running for a Higher Purpose, Most Rev. Thomas John Paprocki, Catholic bishop of Springfield—a marathon runner and hockey player—shares how the simple discipline of running can help you unlock profound spiritual benefits. Paprocki took up running as a teenager for his health; he ran his first marathon in his forties. Along the way he discovered that improving your physical health through running is a way to honor God and grow deeper in your spiritual life. Perfect for those who want to try running for the first time as well as for more experienced runners who want to set goals for a new challenge, Running for a Higher Purpose offers eight steps to reach spiritual and physical fitness. Review – Review where you are. Reform – Identify how to improve. Resolve – Resolve to put change into effect. Repeat – Don’t quit. Renew – Renew your physical and spiritual wellness. Relax – Balance physical and spiritual exercise with the need to rest. Reward – Feel personal satisfaction and reward by achieving your goals. Rejoice – Integrating a sound mind in a sound body leads to eternal happiness. Each chapter includes an inspirational quotation, a personal promise statement, and a prayer.

The higher purposes, or maqasid, of Shariah are applied and actualized (taf`il) through their means (wasa’il). This paper begins with the definition and meaning of maqasid and proceeds to ascertain three discernible tendencies regarding their scope: reductionist, expansionist, and the moderate approach of wasatiyyah/i’tidal. It addresses the question as to whether the maqasid may be recognized as a proof or source of Shariah in its own right. Can one, in other words, extract a ruling (hukm) of Shariah directly from the maqasid, or should one always follow the usul al-fiqh approach? Responding to these questions would help the reader to know more clearly what to expect of the maqasid. We often speak of the maqasid but when it comes to actual practice, we apply the fiqh rules. Can one just ignore the latter and refer directly to maqasid? The work explores the relationship of maqasid to the Qur’an and hadith, and to usul al-fiqh respectively. It also ascertains the roles respectively of the human intellect (‘aql) and innate human nature (fitrah) in the identification of maqasid. The author reviews the means and actualization of maqasid and elucidates this subject through several illustrations and a set of actionable recommendations.