Author and thought leader Joe Pine says the true purpose of business is to foster human flourishing. Not as an afterthought or an act of charity, but as the very foundation on which all enterprise stands. In his words, human flourishing is not a social responsibility; it’s a business imperative.
Ideologically, there is nothing we believe in more deeply; centering human flourishing in our work aligns with the expansive, hopeful, and deeply humane vision we have for our work.
And yet.
In a moment when many of us are struggling to live within a system that wasn’t designed to work for us, that in fact has forcibly, explicitly, and often violently enacted its will upon the most vulnerable among us — the idea of human flourishing can feel out of reach and tone-deaf.
How do we talk about flourishing when our communities are hurting? How do we hold a hopeful vision without denying reality? And how do we, as business owners, create the conditions for flourishing that include everyone, not just the privileged few?
Flourishing is a collective condition — a state of shared vitality that depends on justice, safety, and dignity. It’s a web of interdependence; only as part of the collective can an individual truly flourish.
From the business perspective, this collective flourishing includes not just customers, but employees, communities, society, and the planet itself. A business that fosters flourishing must see itself as part of that larger system — not apart from it.
When we put that idea in the context of what Pine calls the transformation economy– in which companies don’t just sell products or experiences, but help people become something new– we are challenged to get clear about who benefits from the transformation. If it’s just our customers– those who can afford to buy what we offer, if it’s just ourselves as owners, reaping the benefit of profits, that’s not flourishing, it’s privilege.
We often refer to CPA and author Greg Crabtree’s Simple Numbers framework. In it, he talks about business physics– or the four forces that govern cash flow: taxes, debt, core capital, and distributions. While we may not always like to think about them, these four things are the structural levers of a healthy business. How well we manage them determines the stability, resilience, and long-term sustainability of the work we do.
Human flourishing is what those structures are designed to protect and enable. When we build strong foundations — set aside tax money, reduce debt, maintain core capital — we’re not just securing our own survival. We’re creating the freedom to act with integrity and generosity.
When the core is stable, we can extend care beyond our walls:
That is business as stewardship. It’s not abstract. If our businesses are stable enough to thrive, then we have freedom, and we as owners need to use that freedom to center flourishing for all.
When the world feels uncertain, as it does right now, the instinct is often to contract — to conserve, protect, hoard. But flourishing asks us to expand — not recklessly, but courageously. To widen the circle of care. To imagine a version of business that strengthens and transforms the social fabric rather than frays it. That expansion might look like:
In other words, our duty is to each other, and our charge, in the face of fear and uncertainty, is to double down on our collective flourishing. Every act of business — every sale, every conversation, every paycheck — either upholds human dignity or erodes it; when we are accountable to our neighbors, each of these acts is a way of saying your flourishing is my flourishing is ALL of our flourishing.
It doesn’t require perfect circumstances — it requires commitment. It’s a practice.
It’s showing up to the work of your business with integrity, even when everything seems hard.
It’s creating pockets of stability in a shaky world, not to isolate yourself from the chaos, but to offer a counterweight to it.
It’s building something that lasts long enough, and stands solidly enough, to serve as shelter for others.
That’s what flourishing looks like right now. Not comfort. Not ease. But steadiness, purpose, and care.
To believe in human flourishing — especially now — is an act of faith. Not blind faith, but practiced faith. The kind that grows stronger every time we make a decision aligned with what’s life-giving and just. Our businesses will never fix everything that’s broken. But they can be places where people experience dignity, stability, and the possibility of transformation.