Page 284 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

the characteristics of their “ideal significant person.” This next part
was a bit abstract and I was worried that it would not work. I then
told them that the attributes they listed for the “significant person”
exercise were really their values, the attributes that they could aspire
to. I spent a long time on the idea that those attributes often become
hidden under much baggage, but if they focused on bringing mean-
ing into their lives, they could find it. They “got it.” Finally, I asked
them to recognize the meaning they bring to the world and their fami-
lies. I saw tears and many who recognized that they had worth within
them—maybe for the first time. These were boys who were in jail
who now had something in their hand, affirmed by them, which said
that they brought something to us all. By exploring how others gave
them meaning, they found meaning in who they were. So thanks.
Some CEOs will benefit greatly from your book—but for 20 boys in a
detention center it made a tremendous difference.

The search for meaning applies equally to Harvard
M.B.A.s with bright futures and young adults with tough
histories trying to identify who they are in a complex world.
While skilled leaders can help guide that search, it falls to
individual employees to pick up the trail if leaders do not.
Abraham Lincoln is often quoted, “Most people are about as
happy as they make up their minds to be.” We would tweak
this a bit: “Most people find about as much meaning in their
lives as they make up their minds to find.”
Employees make many choices that can enhance mean-
ing in their personal and professional lives. Some employees
might drop out of the corporate world and live more simply.
Others will invest deeply in their careers and their compa-
nies. Whether exploring options for a first job, a job change,
or just the job they get up for on yet another Monday morn-
ing, employees can make more thoughtful meaning choices

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