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THERE’S A WELL WORN STATISTIC 
which states that 95% of businesses fail in five years. Or something like that.
I’m not even going to bother looking it up, because it doesn’t matter.
This is just a way to discourage people, to make me somehow feel better than you because I was able to land a real job while you’re … frittering your life away trying to do that “start your own business thing.”
It’s not real.
And it doesn’t matter.
THIS IS THE CRAZY SEASON 
for consumers and the companies which serve them. We’re less than a month away from Christmas, and in the US we just had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It’s a time for family and brotherly love.
Then, OMG, we totally obliterate that goodwill with the worst bout of consumerism this planet has ever seen. It’s getting worse every year.
BILL TRACK 50 
is a great little company focused on helping people to be better integrated with what’s going on in our government.
It’s a straightforward idea: There’s loads of public information about what’s going on in legislative action, and people need to have a simple way to track it, pull information together, and use it for their own decision making.
Wait a sec: All this information is publicly available, right? Why would anybody pay to get it?
That’s a darned good question.
YOU 
HAVE A POWERFUL VISION: You’re going to save the natural river with your ice cream business. You’re putting together your plan, things are pulling together, but then you have a nagging feeling.
You’re losing sight of your vision.
Sure, the passion’s still there, but you’ve realized that you’re spending the bulk of your time just doing all the logistical stuff. Health department requirements, suppliers, inventory, opening a new location, advertising … it’s pretty overwhelming.
How are you ever going to have time to save the river?
ANNETTE 
AND PATRICK ARCHAMBEAU have a neat little window-washing business here in northern Colorado. They’re focused, professional, and dedicated to building their loyal client base.
But they’re also quite clear that this company isn’t the purpose of their lives. That honor falls to the dear horses they serve.
Back in the mid 1990s they formed a non-profit, now Archway Foal and Rescue Training. This is their deep passion, helping foals needing medical and social assistance. They typically work with an animal for 3 to 4 years, sometimes saving them from slaughter.
LAST WEEK 
I talked about how a sense of purpose is so much more than just what makes you happy.
But if you think about it, purpose can be an extremely self-centered thing. If you follow the direction of a higher power, then it’s going to be different.
Do you believe you’ve been given a mission from God? Do you believe that His direction is more important than your own wishes?
And what does this have to do with your business?
THIS 
IS PERHAPS the wrong question.
But we’ve been telling our kids for generations now to do what makes them happy. “Follow your bliss,” we say.
The problem is that happiness is an emotion, and it’s fleeting. Read the rest of this entry »
ASPEN INSTITUTE just came out with a new report entitled Unpacking Corporate Purpose: A Report on the Beliefs of Executives, Investors and Scholars. It’s an interesting read, especially for those who are thinking about how investors change the landscape of their company’s purpose.
For me, the most thought-provoking idea was that there are distinctly different philosophies about the concept of a corporation – and they’re all valid.
You’d think that traditional wisdom holds that the purpose of a corporation is to serve its shareholders. But is it? Read the rest of this entry »
The Values-Based Business 