Interview with David Ulrich: The why guy

What led you and Wendy Ulrich to write The Why of Work ? At a personal level Wendy and I are “meaning junkies” – we like to find meaning in our personal and professional lives. At a broader level we have found that, because work takes up so much of people’s time and energy, organisations have become a universal setting where individuals can meet their needs – including the need for meaning. So we wanted to produce a practical guide to how organisations can help their people find meaning through work. This sounds like a radical departure from your previous work on the HR function. Is that the way you see it? I wouldn’t say it’s a complete change of direction. I’ve written over 20 books, all based on the common themes of creating value for customers and investors from what happens inside a company. Some of those books focus on HR departments and people, some on leadership and some on organisational capability. This book on meaning is also about how to add value to customers and investors, only the focus this time is on helping people to become more productive. I’ve always said that the HR function has to operate like a professional services organisation and turn knowledge into productivity. This book is about one dimension of that knowledge - finding meaning - and how leaders can make it happen.What exactly do you mean by “meaning” in the workplace and why does it matter? Meaning is finding a “why” for work. Employees are more productive when they have a compelling reason to work. In the talent domain we have seen a focus on competencies, commitment or engagement, and now we see an emerging focus on contribution or finding meaning from doing the work. A number of recent publications, such as Mojo by Marshall Goldsmith, Glow by Lynda Gratton and SuperCorp by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, signal the importance of this topic.