We have become obsessed with finding purpose.
We ask young people to discover it before choosing a career and professionals whether their jobs align with it. Organizations craft purpose statements hoping employees will feel connected to something bigger. But perhaps we have made purpose too grand. What if purpose is not always discovered in a dramatic moment of clarity? What if meaning is closer, like in the work already sitting on our desks?
After more than two decades of leading people and organizations, I believe we may be asking the wrong question. Perhaps we should ask: “What is the purpose of what I am doing today?”
We can refer to this as the Micro-Purpose Method: the deliberate practice of finding the meaning, contribution or value embedded in the task immediately before us. It is not a
replacement for “discovering” our broader life purpose. Rather, it brings purpose down from
