Career With Purpose

Poor access to public goods and services in India, a Chief Diversity Officer, the burst dot-com bubble, a water treatment plant in Ontario, and the Grateful Dead. Give up? Your question is: What does it take to have a career with purpose?

I wanted to know if people who have successful careers in social responsibility and social change got to where they are for similar reasons. Three common threads about these people. At some point, each had an insight about a social issue that was particularly meaningful to them. This insight provided inspiration to pursue working in social responsibility. Finally, they also had the intention to accomplish something remarkable that ultimately led to careers in this area.




Insight
Having a career with purpose starts with a realization that there is something fundamentally wrong with society or that there are particular gaps in the way specific social issues are being addressed.
In 2003, while teaching at the University of Delhi, Poonam Madan found herself interested in the problem of poor access to public goods and services in India including healthcare, education, water, and sanitation.

“The biggest source of social sector funding here is the state, but there are several systemic inefficiencies in public delivery,” says Madan. “As a result, globalization and high economic growth notwithstanding, there are persisting inequalities in income and in access to social infrastructure and clear implications of environmental degradation for poverty.”

Inspiration
In addition to becoming aware of and committed to a pressing social issue or injustice, it’s very motivating to discover something that inspires you to get more directly involved in corporate social responsibility and social change.

As an undergrad, Marcus Chung heard the President at his university give an award to a woman who was Chief Diversity Officer at a large, multi-national company. “It was the first time I’d ever heard of a position like hers – one that worked to improve business from within and align it to a ‘nobler’ mission beyond pure profit,” says Chung. “That first exposure to a values-driven business role ultimately sparked my interest in pursuing a CSR career.”

Intention
It’s great to be inspired, but, to be successful, ultimately you need to turn your wake-up call into action. Madan commissioned and edited a special section on sustainability awards for companies in India, and starting thinking about the role of business in society.