A number of years ago I served as the President of our local Chamber of Commerce.  I found when I was President of the Chamber that I felt a certain degree of pressure to determine what the legacy of my leadership would be.

How would things be different because of how I led?

As best I could I endeavored to lead in such a way that would leave some sort of positive legacy, but there was one little initiative I launched that I was particularly pleased with.

It was called the “Prosperity for Purpose Charity Spotlight”.

Here is how it worked:  Every Chamber Luncheon we would provide the opportunity for one of our members, who was a registered charity, to promote their cause through displays, and materials at no cost.  As host of the luncheon I would announce the organization that was featured in this month’s ‘Prosperity for Purpose Charity Spotlight’, and encourage the businesses present at the luncheon to connect with the charity and determine if they would like to contribute “time, talent or treasure” to the cause.

The charities who were members of the Chamber loved the opportunity to create awareness and exposure in the business community, and I think the businesses appreciated the opportunity to discover the wide variety of good work that was being done in our community.  My hope and expectation was that business leaders would connect with charities that were doing the kind of work they could support, and then they would contribute their expertise or financial resources to help the cause.

Business is the life blood of any community.  Without a vibrant and prosperous business community many of the greatest elements of our communities wouldn’t exist.  Vibrant and prosperous businesses financially support a plethora of community programs:  everything from breakfast programs for kids, to cancer research; from programs for street youth, to symphony orchestras.  Even arts, cultural and social programs funded by different levels of government are made possible by a strong tax base which is significantly contributed to by businesses through corporate, personal and property taxes – as well as a number of other governmental mechanisms.

So, a vibrant and prosperous business community has a very significant impact on the community.  However, its impact is increased exponentially when business owners understand and embrace the principal of ‘Prosperity for Purpose’.  Very simply stated this means that business leaders recognize that business is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end.

And that end is the betterment of society.

Conducting business in a free market economy enables us to prosper – to create excess.  That prosperity can then be used for a purpose above and beyond the business, to contribute to the greater good of the community, both locally and globally.  A leader who understands and embraces Prosperity for Purpose recognizes that profit is not simply about increasing their ‘standard of living’, but their ‘standard of giving’.

Prosperous business leaders who practice Prosperity for Purpose recognize that business is not just about profit, but it is also about people and purpose as well.  Profit is not a dirty word.  However, profit without purpose easily becomes about greed and excess.  Profit with purpose improves the standard of living of others in the community as leaders increase their standards of giving.

A vibrant and prosperous business community led by people who practice the principle of Prosperity for Purpose is an incredibly powerful engine for change.  In fact, one could argue that the most powerful engine of change is a business community driven by wholehearted leaders given to the principle of Prosperity for Purpose; who recognize their business is a means to a greater end – the betterment of society.

I applaud all those wholehearted leaders who practice the principle of Prosperity for Purpose – our communities are better because of how you lead and how you live.

May Prosperity for Purpose be a cornerstone commitment of our corporate culture because magnanimous, wholehearted leaders continue to ensure that profit and purpose work hand in hand to significantly contribute to the betterment of people’s live and society in general.