Meaning, Inc.

The Price of Great Rewards

Businesses today ask more of their employees, clients and customers. At the same time, governments ask more from businesses. In the years ahead, increasingly powerful corporations will be asked to contribute more to society, over and above paying taxes. To put this in context, realize that Wal-Mart’s $287 billion gross annual sales in 2005 would have made it the 22nd largest nation in terms of gross domestic product. The World Bank and Fortune magazine found that two-thirds of the globe’s largest financial entities are corporations, not nations or public institutions.

As companies become more important, some executives are finding that they can encourage their employees to work harder by helping them reach for more meaningful corporate and personal goals. Companies such as Virgin, Starbucks, The Tata Group, ANZ Bank, Genentech and Southwest Airlines have realized that working toward purposeful objectives motivates employees and leads to greater profitability. Injecting meaning into daily operations gives employees a sense of purpose. The alternative is having workers who are no longer engaged in their work, thus undermining morale...