Blood, Sweat, and ROI: How Profit Hijacked Purpose

Today I am reviving my recently abandoned Thursday Thoughts (on a Monday) after resurfacing a half baked idea that deserved more thought and air time. I’ve been having many conversations around what a good business is. And I’ve got some thoughts.

Shout out to Matthew Ganz, an analyst and Social Impact Advisor, for having much needed conversations regarding the standards we hold businesses to. More on that to come.

But for now this week’s Thursday Thoughts is about framing purpose, profit, and the act of doing good.

Let’s get into it: 

The concept of tying environmental and social efforts to Return On Investment has diluted the real reasons for doing better business. A common phrase in our industry, “Align your profit with purpose,” captures this tension and I've recently used it.

On the surface, it’s an empowering message, suggesting that businesses can make a difference while staying profitable. But I’ve been noticing that this mindset shifts the narrative too far. Instead of focusing on doing good for its intrinsic value we are pushing businesses to act only when it serves their bottom line.

Coming from the nonprofit world, one of my favorite terms was ‘No money, no mission.’ So it's not lost on me that the need for financial gain is necessary to have a greater positive impact. But motivating reasons for invoking social and environmental initiatives should remain untethered to financial gain – they should be perceived as an overhead cost.

Purpose-driven outcomes rarely deliver instant results—they’re long-term investments. From charitable giving that strengthens the community your business depends on, to creating a workplace where women feel supported enough to return after maternity leave, to integrating diverse perspectives that lead to more dynamic products and broader audiences, to conserving natural resources like money set aside for a rainy day—each decision builds resilience. Over time, these incremental choices compound, strengthening not just your business but the larger ecosystems we all rely on.

But tying these initiatives to ROI means that if they're not seeing results, it's an initiative worth cutting.

What if the solution for a resilient businesses isn’t ROI, but it’s altruism? Hear me out:

Altruism as a Survival Technique

I’d like to introduce the all too familiar concept of altruism and it’s importance in business. Altruism—the belief in or practice of selfless concern for others' well-being—should be at the core of impactful business decisions. When we focus too heavily on financial returns, we risk overriding our innate capacity for altruism, which is deeply embedded in human nature and the natural world.

Altruism is not unique to humans. In the animal kingdom, it is evident in behaviors that prioritize the survival of the group over individual gain. Vampire bats, for example, will regurgitate meals to feed hungry colony members, ensuring their collective survival. Meerkats take turns standing guard, putting themselves in harm’s way to protect the group from predators. Vervet monkeys issue alarm calls to warn others of danger, even though it increases their personal risk. Certain bird species have “helper” members that assist breeding pairs in raising their young by providing food and protection. Wild dogs and wolves will bring food back to injured or ill pack members.

These examples show that selfless acts strengthen the group and enhance its resilience. Businesses, which rely on thriving communities and ecosystems, have every reason to follow a similar approach.

Flip the Script

What if we stopped aligning profits with purpose and instead flipped the script entirely? Imagine a world where businesses adopt the mindset of “No purpose, no profit.” This shift reframes purpose as an operational cost—a non-negotiable element of running a responsible business—and a tactic for driving financial gain. You got extra money? Put it to purpose.

Think of it this way: you’re in this business for the long haul. Just buildings and equipment, preventative maintenance matters for your people and the environment. Pay attention to those “squeaky wheels”—they’re your first warning sign. If business slows, check if your team reflects the diversity of the audience you’re trying to reach. If the well runs dry, it may be because the conglomerate upstream chose profit over purpose. 

Without people to work, a community of consumers, or a physical environment to host your business – you wouldn't have a business. These things are part of your businesses overhead to treat with quality and care and offer regular maintenance to, just like a building, or infrastructure or just like your physical equipment – expected, required, operating costs. An essential cost of doing business, rather than a strategic lever for profit. 

Good Business is Smart Business

Businesses should be incentivized to act ethically and sustainably not because it’s good PR, but because it’s simply the right thing to do AND it’s smart business. 

Purpose should be the backbone of decision-making, guiding actions with integrity rather than serving as leverage for marketing campaigns or shareholder appeasement. In fact, if we take inspiration from our animal counterparts, we might go so far as to suggest that altruism and good business are not just ethical considerations but necessary for survival.

According to Berkley’s Greater Good, “Evolutionary scientists speculate that altruism has such deep roots in human nature because helping and cooperation promote the survival of our species. Indeed, Darwin himself argued that altruism, which he called “sympathy” or “benevolence,” is “an essential part of the social instincts.” Darwin’s claim is supported by recent neuroscience studies, which have shown that when people behave altruistically, their brains activate in regions that signal pleasure and reward, similar to when they eat chocolate (or have sex). [1]” 

What's the ROI of treating employees well, supporting the community, or planting trees? Who cares, it feels good.

The book Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods argues that natural selection favored increased in-group prosociality over aggression in human evolution. This selection led to cognitive changes that enhanced cooperation, allowing homosapiens to outcompete other human species and become the most successful mammals on the planet. 

The Reality

That said, it’s important to acknowledge the counterpoint. Tying purpose to profit isn’t always misplaced. For many small and medium-sized businesses with limited resources, seeing measurable returns on their efforts is often necessary and an indicator that the business is healthy. ROI can act as an entry point, helping companies justify initial investments in social and environmental initiatives.

For businesses reliant on shareholder support, demonstrating that purpose-driven actions yield financial benefits can pave the way for deeper, more meaningful commitments to social and environmental causes. 

The challenge lies in striking the right balance—ensuring that ROI supports the effort without overshadowing the intrinsic value of doing good.

This tension is not new, and many voices have contributed to the discussion. 

Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle framework, for example, emphasizes starting with “why” rather than “how” or “what.” Businesses with a clear purpose beyond profit often outperform their competitors because they connect with people on a human level. Publications like Harvard Business Review have explored how creating shared value—economic value in ways that also benefit society—is a more sustainable approach than chasing short-term gains [2]. 

Organizations like B Lab, which certifies B Corps, encourage companies to meet high social and environmental standards regardless of their profit margins. If you haaaaave to think about ROI there's plenty of proof in this B Lab report that businesses with purpose make better money. 

Ultimately, good business shouldn’t be a strategy for financial gain; it should be a cost of doing business. 

Ironically, it’s a paradox we all recognize—when you stop chasing what you want, you often get what you need. By shifting to an altruistic mindset, we tap into something deeper, aligning with our instinct need to build stronger, more sustainable communities. The question isn’t, “How can we profit from doing good?” but rather, “How can we use our profits to do good?” Ironically, that’s the mindset that often leads to greater profit anyway.