WE’RE ALL FALLEN, INSECURE, DOUBTFUL.  It’s a fact of life and part of the human condition.

HopeYour business, whatever it is, can supply hope.  For you, for employees, for partners, even customers.

I mean this in a deep way, not just as an element of your marketing messages.

The fact is, we all hope that the future is better than it is today.  Employees hope that their work will be meaningful, that their kids will be better off, that they’ll have a secure retirement.

If you have a powerful purpose that employees really internalize, then they’ll hope that the company achieves its vision and makes a difference.

That’s a key element of employee engagement.

When you make your foundation of purpose and values apparent to customers and partners, then they get drawn in as well.  Not sucked in – we’re not talking about a black hole.  They will happily engage with your values because it gives THEM purpose and direction.  And yes, hope.

When you hear these statements, do you hope that each company achieves its goals?

  • “We are making lives better for those without clean water, one family at a time.”
  • “We are creating an organization where every individual can flourish by exercising their creativity and passion.”
  • “We always make decisions with respect, openness, and honesty.”

Even if you’re the competition, you probably want them to succeed at that!

The reason these statements draw you in is because they engender hope for a better future.  Do your statements of direction do that?

1 Peter 1:3-6
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

This topic has come up for me this week because it seems a lot of folks are struggling with a loss of hope.  This is one of those fundamental human needs.  It’s important for us to support others on our human journeys.