On Purpose: Why great leaders start with the PLOT

by Karen James

A witty, insightful guide to rediscovering Purpose and leading like you mean it On Purpose is a modern-day business book for those who want to steer their work — and life — back on course.  When your head and heart connect in both, our humanity becomes the hero in the story.  Shed the mediocrity that comes from halfhearted decision-making, and rediscover your PLOT — Purpose, Leadership, Operations, and Technology — as you learn to live and lead with purpose. This insightful guide provides a framework for re-evaluating your direction, then stepping back and re-aiming the ship. It starts with a fable that illustrates just how businesses lose their PLOT every day, then digs down to the nitty-gritty to give you the actionable steps and practical advice you need to climb out of the rut. Deliberately ironic and witty, this book presents a fun, but informative read that is anything but cynical. You'll learn from the author's own successes using PLOT in her career, as she turned a $9M business into a $100M business and went on to drive international and domestic philanthropic ventures and leadership training programmes.

PLOT will become the most practical four-letter word you'll ever use. This book shows you how a simple framework can become the turnaround your organisation and life so desperately need. Get your work on target Shift engagement methods for better results Leverage technology into a purposeful tool Get up and act You may already have a documented vision and mission statement, but that's no longer sufficient. You need to act and lead with purpose, every day, in every decision you make. You need to recognise and utilise good people and tools, and redefine your goals to make them worth striving for. On Purpose shows you how, and gives you the practical, tested guidance you need to start moving in the right direction.

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2015

Reviews

[Susan Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best practical leadership book for digital age.

This book is easy to read and to the point. It's a leadership book with lots of heart. It has a simple framework specially for 21st century - PLOT ... Purpose that touch heart, Leadership with 21st century skills (4Cs - communication, collaboration, creativity & critical thinking and fostering community) Operational principals that can navigate thru fast changes with agility and fluidity .. Finally it's all about Technology ... The world is at the cusp of exponential growth. Some say that we shall reach Singularity in 30 years time.

This is a timely book for everyone. Leadership is not for the elite 5% anymore. Everyone should live a life "On Purpose". Parents can use it in their family, teachers can apply it in their schools, individuals use it to build communities and connect the world to purposes that can touch hearts.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the way every business should run! A must-read for every leader and anyone in business, however big or small. Thank you Karen James for packing a powerful message into a story we can all relate to, given the immoral business news we seem to read about on a daily basis. Here's to the 'On Purpose' movement snowballing in the years ahead - and business on purpose becoming the norm, not the exception.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book itself is broken up into 2 seperate parts, first a fable focusing on an elementary (primary) school classroom doing a project of building a business and the second focusing on the key elements from the story, IE the PLOT. The fable in the first part is informative and interesting but definitely a "feel good" story. The ideas in the book are great and the examples shown are relevant and informative. The book offers ideas that are clearly applicable to business in modern times.