Commongood had the opportunity to chat with the book’s author, Lara Galinsky, to learn more about what it means to work on purpose.

What was the inspiration behind Work on Purpose?

A few years ago, I heard a statistic that really struck me: 62% of college students are interested in nonprofit and public sector careers, but only 9% know how to find those jobs. There’s a lot of hunger around pursuing social change careers, but no easy access to the tools and resources to satiate that hunger. The idea for Work on Purpose came out of the desire to help this change-driven generation of young adults access the framework they need to pursue meaningful careers.

Work on Purpose is geared towards the foot soldiers of the social entrepreneur movement. Through Echoing Green’s experience supporting social entrepreneurs for the past 24 years, we know that these individuals do not work alone. It takes all sorts of talent – staff, volunteers and funders – to build institutions and networks. The inspiration for the book comes from a deep belief that all of these participants are the lifeblood of social change organizations.

What is motivating this movement? Why are more people pursuing social change careers?

There are a few factors. Throughout the economic crisis of the past few years, more people have taken stock of their values and decided to pursue careers with meanings. At Echoing Green, we speak to folks who are looking to trade corporate jobs for social change careers nearly every day. They come to us in search of a compass to help them do so.

For example, I work closely with our Social Investment Council, a group of private equity, venture capital and management consulting professionals who are interested in financing social change work. Over the years, I’ve seen many of these members leave their corporate jobs to pursue roles that are more aligned with their values of doing good in the world.

For members of the millennial generation entering the workforce for the first time, they bring with them a deep-seeded belief in making a difference. The research on this generation shows that millennials prioritize “helping others who are in difficulty” in their career choices. This generation was raised on volunteerism and service, much more so than previous generations. To this group, working for a cause isn’t necessarily a choice; it’s the orientation that many millennials developed early on in their lives. The relationship between career, impact and personal fulfillment is at the core of the millennial generation’s choices.

What trends did you see across the individuals profiled in the book?

The book follows five individuals who are relatively early in their careers. While their stories are different, the common thread is that they’ve all chosen similar paths, specifically joining organizations that reflect their personal values. And they all pushed past challenges to do so. Their stories represent what happens when you align your heart with your head, which we see as creating the “hustle” needed to pursue what’s most important to you.

The book suggests a rather spiritual approach to career planning. How can readers leverage the book in practical ways during a job search?

Planning for one’s career is a practice; it requires intention and discipline. A job search is all about not taking shortcuts. If you take your time to pay attention to what you really want, and then ask the right questions, you will be more successful in your job search.

At the end of each chapter, there are questions and activities to stimulate this process. I hope the book provides a framework for young adults to develop criteria through which they can evaluate job opportunities.

Jobseekers that are better informed about what they want – and how what they want matches to the specific requirements and qualifications for an open position – are positioned for success. For some jobs at Echoing Green, we receive over 600 applications. You better believe that the person who demonstrates self-assuredness and purpose is going to stand out.

To learn more about Work on Purpose, please visit: www.echoinggreen.org/work-on-purpose

To get your very own free copy, tell us how you work on purpose by posting a comment on our blog.

Tuesday, September 14th

Time: 5:30-7pm

Location: City Year

287 Columbus Ave, Boston

RSVP to: bigcitizenship@gmail.com

In Big Citizenship, Alan Khazei shares his experiences founding and growing his City Year program, saving Americorps, and creating the new national campaign called ServiceNation, offering inspiration as well as practical advice. He addresses how to balance private and public funding; work with all levels of government; build bipartisan support on even the most contentious issues; attract volunteers, and get young people involved.

For social entrepreneurs, activists, idealists, community leaders, politicians, and donors who support nonprofit organizations, Khazei’s story demonstrates not just how to fight for what you believe in, but how to turn ideals into effective institutions that make the world a better place.

This event is being hosted by Meg Ansara, Stand for Children; Josh Biber, Teach for America; Michael Brown, City Year; James Cleveland, Jumpstart; Patrice Keegan, BostonCares; Vanessa Kirsch, New Profit Inc.; Eric Schwarz, Citizen Schools; David Shapiro, Mass Mentoring; Bob Giannino-Racine, ACCESS; and James Weinberg, Commongood Careers

Positioning social enterprise as a business that creates social value, the article discusses the need for venture philanthropists to better define measures of social return, as well as offers a warning to nonprofits to avoid launching ventures that could potentially distract an organization from its mission-critical work.

There is an ongoing debate in the nonprofit sector on what makes an organization a social entrepreneur. Forces for Good, a recent voice on the subject, provides a fresh approach to this topic.

To make the distinction between social entrepreneurs and traditional nonprofits, authors Crutchfield and McLeod-Grant spent four years researching the management techniques of hundreds of nonprofits.  Their findings target the management techniques of twelve nonprofits that they conclude are examples of high-impact, socially entrepreneurial change agents.  In their analysis of these organizations, Crutchfield and McLeod-Grant posit that these groups do not measure success through revenue increases, brand recognition or organizational chart sophistication.  Instead these twelve social trailblazers measure success by the change they are affecting in the piece of the world that they are attempting to improve. 

While old-school nonprofit management looks to governance, organizational structure, fundraising and other internally facing strategies to build a strong organization, social entrepreneurs focus their energy externally through six creative techniques.  These techniques (such as one that advises nonprofit groups to cross sectors and include for-profit partners into the execution of the mission) challenge traditional nonprofits to rethink goals and strategies in the execution of their mission. By exposing limitations and even flaws in traditional thinking, Forces for Good identifies commonly held myths about nonprofit management that are indicative of an outdated system of thought.

The authors conclude that the twelve nonprofits in study focus on the end-goals of creating impact and improving society rather than focusing on building a secure, fiscally sound organization, as their traditional counterparts so often obsess.  The authors offer well researched and thought out examples of innovative approaches to management employed by these groups. The case for innovation and out-of-the-box thinking is also supported by the authors’ warning against reckless management based on wild idealism.  The success of the organizations featured in Forces for Good is instead a product of an unwavering management philosophy that postures mission above tradition.