The Missing Half of Employee Motivation

Recent research finds that the Viktor Frankl–based "Discover Your Purpose" intervention boosted performance by 51%

When we work with leadership teams at CEO-S, our first order of business is typically honing the company’s mission and vision.

For all the ink spilled about mission/vision statements, many companies’ are shockingly insipid.

So we start with sharpening them – so employees know the what and why behind the company’s very existence. These become the anchor of the 1-Page Strategic Plan.

The research I’m about to share with you in no way invalidates the need for a good mission and vision. What it DOES do is question whether they are sufficient for keeping employees dialed in to their work with genuine commitment.

Turns out there’s another side of the motivational coin that a lot of companies miss.

The “Meaning” Intervention

In a 2025 study from the University of Chicago and London School of Economics, researchers ran a randomized controlled trial with nearly 3,000 white-collar workers at a major multinational.

The goal was to test the efficacy of an intervention that led workers to articulate thei…