The False Choice Between Meaning and Performance.

In conversations with friends across different companies this past year, I kept asking the same question: Why do you work there?

The answers were polite, predictable. The people. The benefits. The salary. Sometimes, they’d mention the company’s values — usually a string of polished buzzwords like “empowerment with responsibility,” “innovation,” or “working together to succeed.” Rarely did anyone speak of meaning. Rarely did they speak of impact.

And that’s the problem.
We spend our most precious resource — our time — on work that rarely stirs us. We show up, we do what’s required, and we trade our energy for a paycheck. But we don’t often do what we could do. We don’t go above and beyond.

Because people don’t go above and beyond for “responsibility” or “customer service.” They do it for something that matters. Something that connects them to a bigger whole.

Companies have forgotten this. They focus on performance, but neglect meaning. Yet it’s meaning — that deep, intrinsic motivation — that unlocks performance. It’s what pushes people past their limits, what helps them grow, what makes them thrive.

But this isn’t just about performance. It’s also about responsibility. Business today is still largely built on taking — extracting resources, capturing attention, driving consumption. What it too often forgets is its role in giving: to employees, to communities, to the planet. To be sustained, business must also sustain.

We are like plants with roots in the same soil: we need to feel connected to something larger. Without that connection, work feels hollow, and organizations erode their own foundations.

Here’s the truth: performance without meaning, and profit without responsibility, are both unsustainable. To unlock real potential, organizations must bring them together. People don’t just want to succeed — they want to matter. And the world doesn’t just need profitable businesses — it needs meaningful ones.