60-Minute CEO: Mastering Leadership an Hour at a Time

Chapter 10

Mission-Driven Business

Chapter 3 made a brief reference to a different kind of business, one where the “atmosphere is electric.” If you’ve ever felt the tingle of being in one, you know what I’m talking about and you’ve been astounded. These are businesses that vibrate with enthusiasm and positive impatience. The people who work there have bright eyes and wide smiles. They talk in machine-gun bursts that sound like secret code to outsiders and they walk fast with hands in a flurry. It can be disorienting to a visitor, who doesn’t know how to get into the flow. As a visitor you stick out. But it looks so absorbing and inviting.

What ...