On Purpose: Why great leaders start with the PLOT

CHAPTER 1BACK TO SCHOOL

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

— Robert Burns

Once upon a time, in a land filled with wi-fi, 24-hour news and too much fast food, our teacher Ms Molloy prepared for the school year ahead.

Ms Molloy knows she has a big year ahead of her — new students, an updated curriculum, a daily goal of 10 000 steps (always tracked on her wrist), and the usual aches and pains that come from dealing with a few high-maintenance parents and their long-suffering kids.

What Ms Molloy doesn't realise is that this year she will create a ripple effect that will change a family's life forever, for the better, and that countless others will benefit from her teachings.

Why? Because Ms Molloy lives her life on-purpose and she has a plan. Without a plan, purpose can be meaningless, and a purpose without meaning quickly loses its way.

Ms Molloy's purpose is to make a measured difference in the development of her students, particularly those from disadvantaged families. Her how, which helps her to act with her purpose in mind, is evident in the way she treats her students: with respect, equality and a firm eye on their future.

This is why Ms Molloy's teachings are not just about school but also about life — and, specifically for this assignment, about business.

I am the narrator, by the way, better known as the voice that appears as a thought bubble above people's heads. I am that guiding, nagging feeling we all get when our gut tickles away at our conscience. I jump ...