In an era defined by rapid disruption and growing demands for authenticity, businesses are grappling with the challenge of aligning purpose and profit. While financial success is often the immediate focus, many leaders recognize the need for long-term strategies rooted in core values to sustain growth and relevance.
Bradley Hook, founder of The Values Institute and author of Start With Values (Penguin Random House), believes the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, purpose can be the catalyst for sustainable profitability.
“The businesses that thrive are the ones that align profit with their core values,” Hook explains. “Purpose drives trust, engagement, and innovation. It’s not about sacrificing financial success; it’s about ensuring profit is meaningful and enduring.”
Hook’s new book and AI-Driven Values Assessment offer tools to help leaders navigate this complex terrain. Both resources provide a practical framework for identifying and prioritizing values, fostering alignment at both individual and organizational levels.
The Journey to Start With Values
Hook’s journey to writing Start With Values began with a candid moment in a boardroom.
“I was in a boardroom discussing resilience with senior executives and mentioned the importance of defining values,” Hook recalls. “One executive said values are esoteric and that you can’t measure them with a heart rate monitor, so they’re unimportant. This led me to research whether values can be measured physiologically, and the answer is clear: when we are out of alignment, we experience distress; when we are in alignment, we experience peace, joy, and calm.”
This realization became the foundation of Start With Values, a book that has resonated with leaders globally. It offers a blueprint for aligning actions with values, ultimately creating stronger, more resilient organizations.
Harnessing AI to Align Purpose and Profit
The AI-Driven Values Assessment, a companion to the book, takes these principles a step further by offering personalized insights into core values. Hook explains how it works:
“The assessment enables people to get clear about what is most important. Clarity creates control. This enables us to create a life by design habits, goals, behaviors, and mindsets all geared toward what matters most, both individually and collectively.”
Using advanced AI, the assessment generates a customized Values Action Plan, providing actionable steps for aligning values with daily life. For businesses, it can serve as a strategic tool to align teams, foster engagement, and bridge the gap between purpose and profit.
The Biggest Challenge: Walking the Talk
When asked about the greatest challenge businesses face in prioritizing values, Hook emphasizes the importance of authenticity:
“Leaders have to walk the talk; otherwise, employees will be justifiably cynical about values. If profit, growth, or financial stability are core values, be explicit about this! Employees will trust you more when they know what you really value. Don’t manufacture values to look good these are ideals. Be clear about how you want to operate in the world and lead by example.”
Hook also highlights the need for practical action:
“Be sure to equip teams with clear practices to support values alignment. Remember, culture doesn’t come from a workshop it comes from deliberate practice.”
How to Get Started
For leaders looking to balance purpose and profit, Hook offers three actionable steps:
- Clarify Your Core Values: Use tools like the AI-Driven Values Assessment to identify the values that truly matter.
- Embed Values into Daily Practice: Create rituals and habits that reinforce these values across the organization.
- Model Authentic Leadership: Demonstrate your commitment to these values through consistent actions and transparent communication.
A Purpose-Driven Future
As industries evolve, Hook sees a growing role for values-driven leadership in shaping the future.
“As AI and automation continue to reshape the business landscape, human values will be the differentiator,” he says. “The organizations that succeed will be the ones that place purpose and profit on equal footing. This is critically important to Generation Z, who are entering the workforce with a strong preference for purpose-driven companies that align with their values.”
With Start With Values and his work at the Values Institute, Bradley Hook is providing the tools leaders need to navigate this shift. His message is clear: prioritizing purpose is not just good for the soul it’s good for business.
