2024

February Edition

Welcome to the February edition of A Few Good Things.

There is a Biblical rhythm to life. We apply it to how we talk about Good Places and the areas of The Good Place Organization Operating System. We call it the WHY-WHAT-HOW rhythm.

• The WHY determines our purpose (why we exist).

• The WHAT describes our aims (what we do). 

• The HOW defines our operations (how we do it). 

The WHY, WHAT, and HOW are intimately connected. Each one is informed and motivated by the other two. For Good Place Organizations, it is paramount that we have an interconnected WHY-WHAT-HOW rhythm. Here’s what we mean by that… 

The WHY — Good Place organizations get their purpose from a Biblical foundation. God created and designed all things out of the over-abundance of His love to fulfill His purpose. That purpose is His glory and human and all creation shalom (or flourishing). The essence of shalom is the primary characteristic of what people experience in Good Place, and our work, businesses, and organizations are not exempt from pursuing this as our ultimate purpose. Therefore, the WHY in Good Place organizations establishes a purpose where we glorify God and, in the process, experience the flourishing, well-being, wholeness, and harmony of shalom. 

The WHAT — Good Place organizations fulfill their purpose (the WHY) by “aiming” at what God cares about. That means we must define what success looks like within God’s economy, not the world’s. Success in God’s economy—His Kingdom—revolves around people and places designed to glorify God and experience shalom. Therefore, the WHAT in Good Place organization is defined, at a minimum, by three main aims: (1) value people, (2) build up Good Places in the community where we live and work, and (3) be economically regenerative. 

Before we get to the HOW, we’re confronted with a challenging thought. Christian leaders who desire to glorify God with their work, leadership, and organizations find it simple to establish a Biblical WHY and WHAT. That’s the easy part. It’s the HOW that often gets neglected.

The challenge is this: if we’re fully committed and invested in a Kingdom-minded and Biblically-based purpose (God’s glory and human flourishing), how do we choose the methods and tools we use within our day-to-day operations? 

The world has countless answers to this question. A quick online search will show dozens of operating systems designed to achieve organizational success. Some are better than others. Some have been around for a long time. Others are new and trendy. Some are proven to improve efficiency and increase your bottom line. But none are designed to reveal a robust, beautiful picture of the Biblical definition of organizational success. 

That’s why we created the Good Place Organization Operating System to complete the rhythm that aligns all three pieces.

The HOW — At the Good Place Institute, we have assembled and designed a Good Place Organization Operating System to achieve the WHAT and fulfill the WHY. It is a comprehensive framework of modular methods and tools to bring about principles and values derived from the Bible. It is an operating system that can be comprehensively applied to organizational life and leadership and designed to work together to achieve the aims of Good Place organizations and fulfill God’s purpose for our work within His Kingdom. This is how we practically build and steward Good Place organizations.

If you want to learn more about the WHY-WHAT-HOW rhythm or the Good Place Organization Operation System, I’d love to talk to you about them more. You can contact me here.                          

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Thank you to Mark Whitacre for his kind words and endorsement of the Leader’s Guide. We’re humbled knowing that people are diving into this book, learning more about The Good Place Institute, and transforming their culture of life and work.

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We're thrilled to announce a dynamic collaboration between The Good Place Institute (GPI) and At Work on Purpose (AWOP). Together, we're embarking on a transformative partnership journey, leveraging AWOP's innovative Collaboratory model. Within AWOP's Collaboratories, we're integrating GPI's comprehensive curriculum, focusing on the vital elements of why, what, and how—the essence of the Good Place Organization Operating System.

AWOP's Collaboratories serve as a unique platform for Christian workplace leaders—CEOs, entrepreneurs, business executives, and non-profit leaders. These collaborative laboratories, or "collaboratories," provide a faith-based executive roundtable experience. As part of this educational experience, AWOP will use GPI’s curriculum to help guide Christian leaders in stewarding their organizations, shaping industries, and serving communities. 

Join us in celebrating this exciting journey as we empower and equip leaders to build and multiply Good Place organizations. Together, we're advancing the faith-at-work movement and fostering a community of Christian leaders dedicated to making a meaningful impact.

Learn more about At Work on Purpose and their Collaboratories.

Thank you for checking out our newsletter. Our purpose at The Good Place Institute is to help leaders multiply Good Place organizations! If you know anyone who would benefit from this newsletter or The Good Place Institute, I would love for you to share this email! Thank you!

Shalom, my friend!

— Chris Young