There are so many Chief something or other roles these days that if you haven't got Chief in your title then you really are an also-ran. Used to be only about 5 or 6 like Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, etc, and these were fairly standard. But now you've got Chief Data, Transformation, and Innovation Officers flying out of the woodwork.
The most recent arrival at the top table is the Chief Purpose Officer. It's not enough for a corporate body to have the purpose of selling more stuff, now the leadership needs to think more broadly about how selling their stuff improves society and satisfies the inherent psychological needs and wellbeing of their staff.
This creates a lot of work for consultants, particularly the ones who can't get onto a billable project, to have a think about how corporates that sell things like weapons, cigarettes, alcohol or sugar-coated sweeties in the shape of koalas are fulfilling a societal purpose that filters down to the general happiness of their employees.
But this is a big thing for Generation Z, and it flows through into their motivation to work on projects where the purpose isn't clearly identifiable as sexy or uplifting enough to appear worthy. Strategy man's advice?
Ignore it.
I showed this cartoon to the technology consultant I had in mind when I drew this and he said the problem with this depiction is that it assumes he goes to parties with people who aren't like him. 'When I speak to people, I am talking to me just in a different body - we all do the same thing'.
So this is total fiction.
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