Top Takeaway:
It really is possible to create a sustainable business based on our passions. In fact, it’s what will help set a business apart!
Overview
Adam Davidson spent 30 years as a economics journalist, writing for The New Yorker and as a host on NPR’s Planet Money, just to name a few of his publishers.
This book came about as he noticed a shift in the business world from what he calls the widget economy to the passion economy. I heard about it from one of my favorite business podcasts – The Business of Authority, hosted by Jonathan Stark and Rochelle Moulton – as they interviewed Adam about what it means to build a business from passion.
That conversation and then reading the book absolutely gave me permission to explore those first inklings of discontent with my work. The full process from those initial questions to the full career pivot took another two years, but the research and examples Adam provided in his book introduced me to the possibility of running a business fueled by passion and purpose.
Adam gets really deep into each of the case studies so the reader gets to know the details of how each business owner made decisions and the impacts of those decisions. And most of these examples are people Adam got to know personally, so he gives us nuances not found in many other business books.
And while this book will likely resonant more with people who run a business or are thinking about starting one, Adam also ties these findings to being an employee – how to bring passion and purpose into a job.
Here’s a passage from page 187 which brings this into focus. He’s in the middle of a story about how a pencil company is thriving and writes:
…. lessons I learned in the building were not just specific to the pencil industry. I came to think of them as exemplifying the single most important rule for thriving in a 21st century economy. The rule applies to manufacturers, but also to bankers and artists and teachers and middle managers at large corporations. The rule is simple: Do not be a commodity. Do not be easily comparable to other people who have, roughly, the same set of skills and the same background. The rule may be simple, but its history and implications are incredibly rich.
And as you can guess by the title, the passion we bring is one of the areas which help set us apart. Through his work with passion-driven business people, he gives the reader some helpful steps to take – or at the very least to consider, to challenge the way we’re thinking about our businesses and our careers.
So those are my takeaways from The Passion Economy. Give it a read then let me know what your takeaways are!
