Meaning as the perfect agent for change

“The Power of Meaning: The true route to happiness” is a personal book, but it has a lot of lessons you can apply to business. I think it is the perfect driver for change management, innovation, leadership and creating a healthy workplace.

Happiness frenzy

In the late eighties and early nineties, several hundred studies about happiness were published each year; by 2014, there were over 10,000 per year. And yet, there is a major problem with the happiness frenzy: it has failed to deliver on its promise. Indeed, social scientists have uncovered a sad irony — chasing happiness actually makes people unhappy. There is more to life than feeling happy. As Sartre wrote, “Life has no meaning a priori. It’s up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing but the meaning that you choose.”

The new purpose economy

We are in the middle of a major cultural transformation. The fourth great awakening. We are moving from a focus on “materialist” values emphasising economic and physical security to “post-materialist” values emphasising self-expression and “a sense of meaning and purpose.” There is even talk of “the new purpose economy.

Happiness versus meaning

People are beginning to turn away from the gospel of happiness and focus on meaning. It is not about…