What is your why?

The best part of my job is that I get a lot of chances to learn cool, new stuff.



At the end of May, Drug Store News and Mack Elevation Forum co-hosted the first Future Leaders Summit in Chicago. Unfortunately, my list of key takeaways from the event runs much longer than my word count will take me. Luckily, our in-depth special report appears in this issue.



So for now, I’ll just stick to one dominant theme from that day: Purpose matters.



It was said a lot of different ways by different people throughout the day, but perhaps most simply: What is your why? CVS VP health care George Coleman described it as “connecting to the emotional core” of why you do what you do.



SoapBox CEO and founder Dave Simnick talked about the difference between cause and purpose. “Cause is an afterthought; purpose is intentional,” he said.





Purpose is in the DNA of the (fill in the blank): Company. Brand. Person.



Purpose matters more and more, because people demand it of the brands they buy. According to Edelman’s 2016 Earned Brand Study, which talked to more than 13,000 consumers in 13 different countries, 62% will not buy a brand that fails to meet its societal obligations; 60% believe it should be a part of the brand’s DNA; and 53% believe brands could be doing more.



It shouldn’t be surprising that people — particularly, the next generation of business leaders — are demanding it from the companies they work for, too. The best people will gravitate toward the companies that have defined purpose.



So, what’s your why?



Figure it out. Fast.