Episode 47

The Power of Purpose-driven Organizations with Alex Edmans

Here's a thought: What if the real secret to making more money was to focus less on the money itself? True success in organizations isn't just about chasing profits, but about being driven by a genuine purpose. It’s about making a meaningful impact, serving a greater cause, and adding value to the world.

In this episode of the HAPPINESS SQUAD Podcast, Ashish and Anil chat with Alex Edmans, a multi-award-winning professor of finance at London Business School with a PhD in finance from MIT Sloan. As a Fulbright scholar, he joined Wharton in 2007 before moving to London Business School. His TED talk, "The Pie Growing Mindset” and “The Social Responsibility of Business," has a combined 2.8 million views. He's written for the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and the Harvard Business Review.

The focus of this conversation is Alex's book, 'Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit'. Through quantitative research, Alex introduces the concept of growing value for all stakeholders rather than merely dividing it. He presents three pivotal principles that guide organizations in defining their purpose. 

Ashish and Anil supplement this with examples from their own work, ensuring that leaders, shareholders, or stakeholders of organizations will benefit. 

Ready to redefine success and discover the power of purpose in organizations? Listen to this episode now!

Things you will also learn from this episode:

  • The concept of ‘growing the pie’ and long-term greed
  • The correlation and causation of employee satisfaction and stock returns
  • The power of purpose in maximizing profit

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About the Podcast

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The Happiness Squad Podcast with Ashish Kothari
Unlock your full potential with the Happiness Squad podcast! Host Ashish Kothari, Founder & CEO, brings leading experts to help you live with more joy, health, love, and meaning. Discover the art and science of happiness to live and operate at your best.

About your host

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Ashish Kothari

Ashish Kothari is the Founder and CEO of Happiness Squad, a company focused on democratizing happiness and touching a billion+ lives over the next 20 years and helping them live with more joy, health, love, and meaning.

Prior to founding Happiness Squad and writing his best-selling book “Hardwired for happiness”, Ashish spent 25 years in consulting, including the last 17 at McKinsey and Co, a premier management consulting firm, helping thousands of clients and their organizations achieve breakthrough performance by building new mindsets and capabilities.

Ashish is a trained ontological coach and a lifelong student of human thriving.