PURPOSE
Purpose Needs A Job Description At The Top
MIT Sloan Management Review examined the emerging chief purpose officer role, based on interviews with 56 people holding purpose leadership positions across industries, company sizes and regions. The research found that many of these roles are recent, internally appointed and connected to strategy, culture and organizational meaning.
The article matters because purpose often fails when it remains an executive slogan. Formalizing the role forces a company to decide whether purpose is communications, governance, employee alignment, stakeholder work or business model design. At the top, meaning needs authority, budget and trade-off rights.
Source: MIT Sloan Management Review · September 1, 2026