‘The mind knows how to manage people. But it’s the heart that knows how to move.’ – Maulik Parekh, award-winning entrepreneur and author
AWARd-winning entrepreneur and author Maulik Parekh at the recent Best Workplaces in Philippines 2026 awarding ceremonies in Conrad Hotel Manila.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DENI BERNARDO FOR DAILY TRIBUNE
Living and working with purpose: What does it mean?
While self-help books like The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren offer solutions, the keynote presentation by award-winning entrepreneur and author Maulik Parekh at the recent Best Workplaces in Philippines 2026 awarding ceremonies in Conrad Hotel Manila also offered some insights.
According to him, when upgrading a workplace, the first people think of is technology.
“But there is also a human solution,” he espoused. “Multiple studies have shown that when our employees are inspired by the purpose of our organizations, they are significantly more productive at work.”
He said, one study in particular done by global management consulting firm Bain and Company in 2015 showed that if you are to benchmark the productivity of a satisfied employee as 100 percent as base, the productivity of an engaged employee is at 144 percent or “significantly better.”
“But the productivity of an employee who is genuinely inspired by the purpose of your organization is a whopping 225 percent. It’s almost like doubling your workforce without having to spend the money for it,” he pointed out.
“When you look at charts like this, you would think that it would be common for companies to have a strong purpose because it makes sense. It’s a no-brainer. But unfortunately, it’s not that common. Numerous employee engagement surveys from around the world have shown that 2/3 of the global workforce today is still disengaged at work, and one of the primary driver of this disengagement is employees feeling like their work doesn’t have any meaning or purpose.”
A disengaged workforce
He shared that in his past life as chief executive officer (CEO) of one of the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in the Philippines, he experienced firsthand what it feels like having a disengaged workforce.
“In 2019, we had a massive attrition crisis in our company. Employees were resigning at an alarming rate and those who are staying behind were either stressed out, burnt out and some even completely checked out. The issue became so big that our chairman had to call a special board meeting just so that management can address this issue in detail.
“At a board meeting, when my team and I were taking them to our 57-slide PowerPoint presentation filled with numbers and charts and root cause analysis and compensation studies, one of the board members from Japan, a man of few words, someone who hardly said a word, raised his hand and said, ‘Enough of your PowerPoint presentation. Just tell me one thing: Do your employees know why their work matters?’.
“As my team and I were busy looking at each other because we didn’t know how to answer that question. He stood up. He went to the whiteboard and scribbled this in Kanji… There is a concept called PP (personal project) guide… Which literally means ‘Our reason to wake up in the morning. Our reason to be on this planet’.”
The guide, he said, means having a job that allows you to do what you are passionate about. To do what you’re good at, to get paid for it. And to make a difference in this world.
According to him, what he learned from the Japanese board member is it isn’t enough to pay people to do what they are passionate about or what they are good at. Don’t just offer money for the work they do. They should have an idea if what they are doing is making any difference.
Case study: Patagonia
Earlier in his career, Maulik came across Patagonia Outdoor Clothing & Gear, “a company that was truly purpose-driven and excelled at offering meaning to its employees,” he said.
He recalled meeting Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia’s legendary CEO and founder, who, unlike other CEOs, presented only one slide in a business conference: “Patagonia is in the business of saving our home planet.”
“Unlike other CEOs who presented before him, he didn’t speak a typical corporate charter. He didn’t say how he was going to maximize shareholder value. Or how we’re going to increase market share or expand global footprint. Instead, for an hour, he spoke passionately from the heart about the importance of saving our home planet for the future generations and what he and his team at Patagonia were doing to achieve this lofty goal,” Maulik reminisced.
“I was so blown away by his passion and his conviction that as soon as he got off the stage, I walked up to him, I introduced myself and I said, I’m so inspired by your speech, you know, since I’m graduating in the next three months, I would love to explore an opportunity to come and work at Patagonia.”
When Maulik came to his interview, he observed first-hand what makes Patagonia a great company.
“So a few days later, when they flew me in, I was super excited, you know, I put on my best suit and tie. That morning, I shined my shoes a little extra hard and I arrived at their head office in Ventura, California. So when I arrived at their office, I was greeted by this recruiter who looked like a surfer character from a Hollywood movie. He walked up to me in his flip flops, introduced himself and led me to a meeting room.
“And as I was walking behind him, I realized that in my suit and tie and extra shiny shoes, I looked like an overdressed idiot for the occasion. I almost asked him, ‘How come I didn’t get the memo?’ Years later, you know, nobody was using that phrase. The second thing I realized.
“So, it was a big office, but not a single soul working there. So I asked him, I said, ‘Where is everybody?’ And he said, ‘Well, they’ve all gone surfing. Yvon, our founder, expects us to drop everything we’re doing and go have fun surfing if the waves are good, no questions asked.’”
Maulik told the recruiter that it was “amazing.” “I’ve never heard of a company that offers this benefit to its employees,” he said, then the recruiter replied: “Well, let me tell you about two other benefits we offer for our employees that no other company in the world is offering. Every year, our founder highly encourages all employees to take up to two months of paid time off to go and volunteer at an environmental NGO (non-government organization) of their choice anywhere in the world, and the company will cover the bill for your travel expenses. The company will even give you a daily stipend if you need it.”
The second benefit completely blew Maulik’s mind: “He said, as an employee, if you ever get arrested for participating in any mass protests or demonstration, supporting an environmental cause, Yvon will personally fly there, no matter where you are in the world and bail you out of jail.”
By this time, Maulik knew that Yvon was the real deal. “He wasn’t just talking the big talk. He was walking his big talk as well.”
Although Maulik was completely devastated to have not gotten the job, he understood why Patagonia “was a company that people were leaving their high paying jobs for,” why “people were leaving their management consulting and investment banking jobs to come work for this relatively tiny company, even though it paid only a fraction of the cost that they were getting paid somewhere else.”
According to him, Patagonia’s real-life lesson is “how to lead from the heart, how to live with purpose.”
“If you want to build a culture like Patagonia, where our employees are willing to walk through walls for us, then it’s more than just the money. We must offer meaning to our workers. Money may motivate people for some time. But meaning will inspire them for a lifetime. More than works, we must offer purpose to our employees.”
He believes that every person has an innate desire to be a part of a purpose that is bigger than us, where we feel like we are making a difference in this world.
“More than answering just the mundane questions of what we do in our country and how we do it, it’s taking the time to answer the most important question — why do we do what we do?”
More than just engaging with the minds of our employees, he encouraged everyone to engage with their hearts: “The mind knows how to manage people. But it’s the heart that knows how to move.”
