In a world of burnout, disconnection, and rising attrition, leaders everywhere are searching for a new way forward. We’ve optimized for efficiency. We’ve engineered for productivity. But somewhere along the way, we’ve left behind what makes us—and our organizations—truly come alive.
At Happiness Squad, we call this missing ingredient the Flourishing Edge.
It’s not just about perks or mindfulness apps. It’s about reconnecting to purpose, expanding our definition of success, and building organizations that enhance both holistic wellbeing and performance. It’s about weaving happiness into the fabric of how we live, work, and lead.
In this blog, inspired by conversations with thought leaders like Thomas Eckschmidt, Raj Sisodia, and Alex Edmans, I’ll explore three foundational shifts that help unlock the flourishing edge—and what actions you can take today to get started.
From Profit-Only to Purpose-First
Too many organizations start with a vision to make a meaningful impact—but as they grow, the gravitational pull of short-term metrics takes over. Purpose becomes a poster on the wall, not a principle that guides decisions.
Businesses don’t fail because they don’t have good products. They fail because they lose sight of why they started. When leaders get caught up in hitting financial targets, scaling too quickly, or impressing investors, they often disconnect from the mission that once drove them. And when that happens, the energy that once fueled the business starts to fade.
And when employees can’t connect their work to something bigger, happiness drops, attrition rises, and performance suffers.
The good news? Reconnection is possible.
Key Takeaway:
Every business should have a purpose beyond just making money. Your purpose is not your revenue goal. It’s the impact you want to make. It’s the reason your employees show up every day. It’s the reason customers choose you over someone else. A company without a purpose is just another business competing on price. If you want to be a brand people trust, follow, and believe in, reconnect with your “why.”
Your organization’s purpose is your compass. It’s not just why you exist—it’s how you inspire, align, and differentiate.
Action Steps:
- Rediscover your “why.” Don’t just ask what your company does. Ask what change you’re trying to create in the world. Reconnect with the original intention behind the business.
- Lead with alignment. Before publishing your purpose, ensure your decisions reflect it. When your team sees purpose in action—through resource allocation, recognition, even cafeteria policies—it builds trust.
Build Key Purpose Indicators (KPIs) alongside your performance metrics. As shared in our prior conversation with Alex Edmans, organizations that align purpose with profit outperform over time.
“Even if you have $100 million in revenue, remember—there was a time you had nothing but your why.” – Ashish Kothari.
💡 When purpose is alive, it fuels belonging, drives innovation, and creates resilience during hard times.
From Stakeholder Lists to Interdependence
Business should serve everyone involved—not just its shareholders. Stakeholder orientation acknowledges that employees, customers, suppliers, and even the communities surrounding a business all play a role in its success. Traditional business thinking views stakeholders as entities to manage—employees, customers, shareholders. But what if we shifted our lens? What if we saw the organization as a living ecosystem, where relationships are not just transactional, but transformational?
Very few companies think about this: most businesses focus on their employees and customers, but what about the families that your employees go home to? They, too, are key stakeholders, because if an employee is stressed about their family, it evidently shows in how their work suffers. Leaders must realize that taking care of their people goes beyond the office.
Key Takeaway:
If a company takes care of only its shareholders, it may succeed in the short term, but in the long run, it weakens its foundation. But if employees feel supported all the way through, their performance improves. Thriving businesses operate like nature—diverse, interconnected, and regenerative. They recognize that holistic wellbeing of all stakeholders, especially employees and their families, is central to performance.
Action Steps:
- Map your stakeholder ecosystem. Go beyond direct economic relationships. Include families, communities, even competitors.
- Elevate invisible stakeholders. For example, your employees’ families are often a hidden leverage point. When they’re supported, your team flourishes.
- Design from wholeness. As shared in our prior podcast with Raj Sisodia, love and care are not soft—they’re the most powerful strategic assets in today’s economy.
💡 Businesses that nurture all stakeholders don’t just do good—they do better. Engagement soars. Attrition falls. Loyalty deepens.
From Ego to Ecosystem Leadership
The final shift is the most personal—and the most profound. It’s about how we lead. Conscious leadership challenges the notion that leadership is rooted in control. At its core, true leadership is about service. Conscious leadership isn’t about charisma or control. It’s about self-awareness, humility, and the courage to evolve. It’s a shift from “what can I get?” to “what can we create together?”
Ego-driven leadership may work for a while. But eventually, it leads to burnout, turnover, and disengagement. Ecosystem-driven leadership, on the other hand, builds a business that lasts. It creates an environment where employees, customers, and stakeholders feel valued and invested in the company’s success.
In today’s complex, uncertain world, the ability to navigate this ego-to-eco polarity is what sets great leaders apart.
Key Takeaway:
To unlock the Flourishing Edge, we must lead from presence, not pressure. The job of a leader isn’t to have all the answers—but to create the conditions where people feel safe, seen, and inspired to contribute their best.
Action Steps:
- Invest in your own inner development. You can’t pour from an empty cup. Your emotional fitness is your leadership foundation.
- Build cultures of psychological safety. Ask your team: “What helps you thrive?” then design rituals and rhythms around it.
- Enable distributed leadership. Just like forests, the healthiest teams share information across networks—not just top-down.
💡 In a world of volatility, leaders who foster trust, care, and clarity offer their teams the greatest gift: certainty within uncertainty.
Bringing It All Together: Flourishing Is the New Frontier
If your company disappeared tomorrow, who would care? If the only ones who would notice are your investors, then your business hasn’t created real impact. A successful business isn’t one that just generates revenue. It’s one that leaves a mark—on its people, its customers, and its industry. And that’s what conscious capitalism strives to achieve.
Purpose. Interdependence. Conscious leadership. These are not buzzwords. They are the new foundations of great business. Together, they unlock what I call the Flourishing Edge—a way of working that fuels happiness, productivity, and performance, while reducing attrition and burnout.
Here’s the invitation:
Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Don’t wait for a crisis.
Start now. Start small. Start with yourself.
Because when you change how you show up, you ripple change through your team. And when teams change, companies transform. And when companies transform—well, we create a world that works better for all of us.
Want more?
Explore these two powerful podcast episodes to dive deeper:
🎙 Raj Sisodia on Love, Purpose, and Healing Organizations
🎙 Alex Edmans on Purpose-Driven Performance
Let’s reclaim business as a force for flourishing. Let’s lead the change—together.
Learn more about Thomas at his Linkedin.
Listen to the podcast with Ashish and Thomas below.
Access and subscribe to all of the episodes of the Happiness Squad Podcast here.
Visit the REWIRE Program powered up by the HAPPINESS SQUAD Community and experience your shift within your 30-day risk-free trial today. Cultivate your Self-Awareness, Gratitude, Purpose, Community, and personal growth more through the 9 Hardwired for Happiness practices. Integrate simple and proven micro-practices grounded in the science of happiness and neuroscience of habit formation in 5 minutes a day.
Make Happiness Your Competitive Edge.
